I just discovered I overstayed my EDU visa by a few days, and want to know if I still can file an 'extension of stay'?

I'm a EDU visa student who has been here for 6 months, studying a one year edu visa thai language course. Typically I have been going to immigration to file an 'extension of stay' every 3 months.

I went to my language school today (who shall remain nameless) and they informed me I have to do the extension of stay every 70-days, not 3-months, and I have effectively overstayed on my visa. All the staff at the language school told me earlier this year I have to do the extension of stay every 3 months, it even still says it is done every 90-days on their website. This was the first I heard anything about 70-days.

Needless to say I'm not very happy with the language school's negligence in this instance, but I want to ask, anyone know if an extension of stay is still possible after an overstay of a few days?

Thanks.

Edited August 7, 201510 yr by keemao1

What is the admitted to date stamped in your passport, the date that was stamped when you did your last extension? That's the date that counts not what someone in the school's office told you.

One of the mods I am sure will be much more informed but would not get too concerned as I believe this is a matter easily corrected if you go down and pay for the overstay days. I believe they will then grant the extension from the day it should have started.

As said you need to check your last extension or entry stamp to see when it ends.

How many is a few days?

What you must do is get to immigration immediately and explain your situation, and apologize. You will be fined for each day you over stay but probably not banned. At immigration Jomtien yesterday there was a sign saying "over stay 1 year and be bared from the Kingdom for 3 years" I believ it a fine and case by case decision otherwise. If you have good reason to stay you will get extended so go prepared as they are being very critical of fake edu visa cases.

The last extension expired 3-4 days ago.

I wasn't expecting the language school to give me wrong information on the visa from their staff and on their website, and wasn't expecting immigration office to change the rules from 90 days to 70 days.

I'm going to the school now will post here what they say afterwards.

Thanks for the comments.

Edited August 8, 201510 yr by keemao1

I'm a EDU visa student who has been here for 6 months, studying a one year edu visa thai language course. Typically I have been going to immigration to file an 'extension of stay' every 3 months.

If you've been here six months, how can you say you "typically" apply for extension every 3 months? How many 3 month extensions have you obtain since your original permission to stay was granted when you entered the country.

Complying with immigrations' requirements is your responsibility regardless of what someone at the school may tell you. All you needed to do was to look at the permission or extension of stay stamp in your passport to see when you would need another extension.

Edited August 8, 201510 yr by Suradit69

op, you got me confused here... 3 months is not the same as 90 day's ? ( give or take a day... )

Where the hell did get the 70 day's rule from ???

In your case, before you do blame someone else, didn't you check the "admitted until" date stamp in your pasport ????

op, you got me confused here... 3 months is not the same as 90 day's ? ( give or take a day... )

Where the hell did get the 70 day's rule from ???

In your case, before you do blame someone else, didn't you check the "admitted until" date stamp in your pasport ????

Maybe the confusion is generated by the new rules saying that the immigration is not giving you an extension of 90 days right away, but first 15 days (theoretically for checking if one really attend the class) and later on the remaining 75 days.

op, you got me confused here... 3 months is not the same as 90 day's ? ( give or take a day... )

Where the hell did get the 70 day's rule from ???

In your case, before you do blame someone else, didn't you check the "admitted until" date stamp in your pasport ????

Maybe the confusion is generated by the new rules saying that the immigration is not giving you an extension of 90 days right away, but first 15 days (theoretically for checking if one really attend the class) and later on the remaining 75 days.

Might be yes, but accusing someone else of being neglecting but not looking into your own pasport....

And further, having a 1 year edu visa, as mentioned, does not require a 90 days extension of stay, merely a 90 days reporting...

so, whatever he's putting up for a story....

it does not make sense...

op, you got me confused here... 3 months is not the same as 90 day's ? ( give or take a day... )

Where the hell did get the 70 day's rule from ???

In your case, before you do blame someone else, didn't you check the "admitted until" date stamp in your pasport ????

Maybe the confusion is generated by the new rules saying that the immigration is not giving you an extension of 90 days right away, but first 15 days (theoretically for checking if one really attend the class) and later on the remaining 75 days.

Might be yes, but accusing someone else of being neglecting but not looking into your own pasport....

And further, having a 1 year edu visa, as mentioned, does not require a 90 days extension of stay, merely a 90 days reporting...

so, whatever he's putting up for a story....

it does not make sense...

Of course he's the only one to be held responsible for not having take a better look on the "admitted until" stamp on his passport...

Sent from my GT-I9082 using Tapatalk

He does not have a one year visa, He posted what schools incorrect y say in their advertising, All he has is a year enrollment in a language school he paid for.

He got a single entry ED visa that gave a 90 entry. He then applied for a 90 day extension but only got 70 days which some people get.

Students enrolled in informal schools only get extensions up to 90 days at a time.

What you must do is get to immigration immediately and explain your situation, and apologize. You will be fined for each day you over stay but probably not banned. At immigration Jomtien yesterday there was a sign saying "over stay 1 year and be bared from the Kingdom for 3 years" I believ it a fine and case by case decision otherwise. If you have good reason to stay you will get extended so go prepared as they are being very critical of fake edu visa cases.

Very bad advice!

The last place anyone on an overstay should go is an immigration office. They would likely be arrested, taken to the IDC, fined and deported. They should head to the nearest border and exit asap. At the border they will be fined 500 baht for each days overstay up to a maximum of 20,000.

The overstay bans that immigration want to impose have not yet been given the go ahead and are not currently being enforced.

Has anybody has been in this situation before, with an EDU visa studying thai language, being late on visa extensions? Surely there must be someone.

I spoke with the school they are sending a senior school representative with me early next week to go to immigration and try the extension.

Of course it's my responsibility to check the visa extension stamp. I didn't check because:

- Researched language course a year ago, found out can get 1-year language visa requiring 90-day extensions, as advertised on websites on many schools.

- When I signed up the language school and fill out my documents for the visa the staff tell me I have to do the visa extension every 90-days, not 70 not 53 not 152—90-days is what they said and I immediately put the dates in my calendar and set email reminders for the whole year so I don't forget.

- Their website lists visa extension required every 90-days on their FAQ section and information about visas, which I read through a dozen times and even put into a spreadsheet when choosing the school and planning my trip.

- I get my first visa extension in May after staying for 90-days. I not check because at that point I'm obviously thinking it's 90 days—not an arbitrary number of days 70, because all of the above reasons.

Yes it's my responsibility, it's also the schools responsibility to give students the correct information when they're advertising EDU VISA, otherwise we obviously wouldn't be having this discussion right now. They tell me yesterday it's changed from 90 days to 70 days for all students, but they still have the old information listed on their website. Anyways what's done is done and I don't want to get into any further discussion about whose fault it is.

I'm hoping to find out if anyone been in this situation before with an EDU visa overstay, or any kind of overstay, of a few days, and are the visa extensions still possible?

Question:

- Should I go to immigration with the school representative and try the extension?

- Or if that is too risky then what are my options in regards to continuing staying here (Yes I have a 1 year lease on an apartment here with all my stuff and a girlfriend, I would like to continue to live here and complete my language course).

- Should I just leave the country immediately, pay the overstay fine, come back on a 30 day exemption and try get another EDU visa? Or perhaps leave the country and try get another EDU visa while I'm outside of the country this time.

For the record it was a non-immigration 1-year EDU visa that I applied for, there's no time frame listed on the actual VISA in the passport. I've been having to go to immigration every (90/70 days) to file an 'extension of stay' which updates the date that I can stay until, listed on a 'extension of stay' stamp in the passport, as advised by the language school.

kovaltech: It's 90 days, not 3 months. Mis-type on my behalf. It has been 90-days for a number of years and evidently changed to 70-days for all students early this year (or that's what the language school tells me)

elviajero: You make a good point I will speak with an immigration lawyer beforehand, advise friends and family of my situation, maybe start packing and look into alternatives.

Edited August 8, 201510 yr by keemao1

Has anybody has been in this situation before, with an EDU visa studying thai language, being late on visa extensions? Surely there must be someone.

I spoke with the school they are sending a senior school representative with me early next week to go to immigration and try the extension.

Of course it's my responsibility to check the visa extension stamp. I didn't check because:

- Researched language course a year ago, found out can get 1-year language visa with 90-day extension, as advertised on websites on many schools.

- When I signed up the language school and fill out my documents for the visa the staff tell me I have to do the visa extension every 90-days, not 70 not 53 not 152—90-days is what they said and I immediately put the dates in my calendar and set email reminders for the whole year so I don't forget.

- Their website lists visa extension required every 90-days on their FAQ section and information about visas, which I read through a dozen times and even put into a spreadsheet when choosing the school and planning my trip.

- I get my first visa extension in May after staying for 90-days. I not check because at that point I'm obviously thinking it's 90 days—not an arbitrary number of days 70, because all of the above reasons.

Yes it's my responsibility, it's also the schools responsibility to give students the correct information when they're advertising EDU VISA, otherwise we obviously wouldn't be having this discussion right now. They tell me yesterday it's changed from 90 days to 70 days for all students, but they still have the old information listed on their website. Anyways what's done is done and I don't want to get into any further discussion about whose fault it is.

I'm hoping to find out if anyone been in this situation before with an EDU visa overstay, or any kind of overstay, of a few days, and are the visa extensions still possible?

Question:

- Should I go to immigration with the school representative and try the extension?

- Or if that is too risky then what are my options in regards to continuing staying here (Yes I have a 1 year lease on an apartment here with all my stuff and a girlfriend, I would like to continue to live here and complete my language course).

- Should I just leave the country immediately, pay the overstay fine, come back on a 30 day exemption and try get another EDU visa? Or perhaps leave the country and try get another EDU visa while I'm outside of the country this time.

For the record it was a non-immigration 1-year EDU visa that I applied for, there's no time frame listed on the actual VISA in the passport. I've been having to go to immigration every (90/70 days) to file an 'extension of stay' which updates the date that I can stay until, listed on a 'extension of stay' stamp in the passport, as advised by the language school.

kovaltech: It's 90 days, not 3 months. Mis-type on my behalf. It has been 90-days for a number of years and evidently changed to 70-days for all students early this year (or that's what the language school tells me)

elviajero: You make a good point I will speak with an immigration lawyer beforehand, advise friends and family of my situation, maybe start packing and look into alternatives.

as far as my knowledge go's:

You can not do an extension anymore since you'll be considered being illegal in the country now, nobody else to blame but yourself, no lawyer needed to confirm that.

Wise would be, take paperwork from school and apply for a proper ED visa in the nearest embassy outside Thailand and return with that one to school.

Pay the overstay fine at the border and again, please stop wining about anybody else being the fault for your mistake, period.

For the record, it is still unclear to me what kind of visa you did got in the first place. I think UJ is the most correct in his assumption that you just received a 90 days initial visa. No timeframe on a visa in your pasport ? Thats a new one... it would mean you could stay in Thailand forever.... Most likely there is at least 1 date that say's enter before and then the number of entry's as S for Single entry... So the actual entry stamp they gave you at you entering the country would have been 90 days, where as you need to file for an extension before the ending of that period. at that point you'll get another stamp : admitted untill... yours to read, to understand and to comply with...

Whether you got to immigration really depends on the extent of the overstay. If the overstay is really only one or two days then there would be no harm in visiting immigration where a fine will be imposed for the overstay and you would most likely be granted an extension of stay if the school provided paperwork is in order.

Just for information schools do not grant visas or extensions of stay. All a school can do provide documentary support for a person to make a personal application for a visa and subsequent extensions. A person studying at a Language school is only able to remain in the country for a maximum of 12 months before a new visa is required.

NB

There is no 1-year language visa! It is possible to obtain a one tear Multiple entry ED visa in some countries but not within the region.Those studying at university can obtain a one year extension of stay.

Edited August 8, 201510 yr by nowretired

I will often do an extension if you qualify for one if you only have a few days of overstay. But you will need the 500 baht per day fine with you when you go.

Thanks kovaltech.

Nowretired: after the weekend it will be closer to 4 or 5 days. Thank you for your input.

Yes it is not technically a 1 year visa as advertised and the 12 month stay on the language visa is dependant on the visa extensions as you described.

The visa itself just says EDU visa 1 entry, when it was granted and when it has to be used by. Then a stamp was entered at the immigration office after an initial 90 days, giving an extension of stay for an additional 70 days.

I will consider the options unless any other suggestions and post here afterwards with what happens for future reference.

Thanks kovaltech.

Nowretired: after the weekend it will be closer to 4 or 5 days. Thank you for your input.

Yes it is not technically a 1 year visa as advertised and the 12 month stay on the language visa is dependant on the visa extensions as you described.

The visa itself just says EDU visa 1 entry, when it was granted and when it has to be used by. Then a stamp was entered at the immigration office after an initial 90 days, giving an extension of stay for an additional 70 days.

I will consider the options unless any other suggestions and post here afterwards with what happens for future reference.

All the best keemao1 and I hope you get it sorted.

However, IMO you are on very dodgy ground and absolutely no one here can guarantee how many days grace any immigration office will give especially when there is no justifiable reason for the overstay. If I were you I'd get a rep from the school to enquire and gain agreement before stepping inside the immigration office yourself. If you do take the chance and the worst happens the deportation will not stop you getting another visa and returning straight away.

Whatever you do you are clocking up 500 baht for everyday until this is sorted. IMO leaving the country asap and getting another ED visa would be the sensible choice.

I went to my language school today (who shall remain nameless) and they informed me I have to do the extension of stay every 70-days, not 3-months, and I have effectively overstayed on my visa. All the staff at the language school told me earlier this year I have to do the extension of stay every 3 months, it even still says it is done every 90-days on their website. This was the first I heard anything about 70-days.

Did you not look at your passport stamp after you got it back from immigration? Pretty simple & smart to look at it after they hand it back to you to make sure you get the correct timeframe given to you, plus when they are questioning your Thai language ability they make a decision on the number of days you get, they usually say this (in Thai). Not to mention when they stamp the passport in front of you with the dates you can see how long they are giving you too.

Edited August 8, 201510 yr by bbi1

Has anybody has been in this situation before, with an EDU visa studying thai language, being late on visa extensions? Surely there must be someone.

I spoke with the school they are sending a senior school representative with me early next week to go to immigration and try the extension.

Of course it's my responsibility to check the visa extension stamp. I didn't check because:

- Researched language course a year ago, found out can get 1-year language visa requiring 90-day extensions, as advertised on websites on many schools.

- When I signed up the language school and fill out my documents for the visa the staff tell me I have to do the visa extension every 90-days, not 70 not 53 not 152—90-days is what they said and I immediately put the dates in my calendar and set email reminders for the whole year so I don't forget.

- Their website lists visa extension required every 90-days on their FAQ section and information about visas, which I read through a dozen times and even put into a spreadsheet when choosing the school and planning my trip.

- I get my first visa extension in May after staying for 90-days. I not check because at that point I'm obviously thinking it's 90 days—not an arbitrary number of days 70, because all of the above reasons.

Yes it's my responsibility, it's also the schools responsibility to give students the correct information when they're advertising EDU VISA, otherwise we obviously wouldn't be having this discussion right now. They tell me yesterday it's changed from 90 days to 70 days for all students, but they still have the old information listed on their website. Anyways what's done is done and I don't want to get into any further discussion about whose fault it is.

I'm hoping to find out if anyone been in this situation before with an EDU visa overstay, or any kind of overstay, of a few days, and are the visa extensions still possible?

Question:

- Should I go to immigration with the school representative and try the extension?

- Or if that is too risky then what are my options in regards to continuing staying here (Yes I have a 1 year lease on an apartment here with all my stuff and a girlfriend, I would like to continue to live here and complete my language course).

- Should I just leave the country immediately, pay the overstay fine, come back on a 30 day exemption and try get another EDU visa? Or perhaps leave the country and try get another EDU visa while I'm outside of the country this time.

For the record it was a non-immigration 1-year EDU visa that I applied for, there's no time frame listed on the actual VISA in the passport. I've been having to go to immigration every (90/70 days) to file an 'extension of stay' which updates the date that I can stay until, listed on a 'extension of stay' stamp in the passport, as advised by the language school.

kovaltech: It's 90 days, not 3 months. Mis-type on my behalf. It has been 90-days for a number of years and evidently changed to 70-days for all students early this year (or that's what the language school tells me)

elviajero: You make a good point I will speak with an immigration lawyer beforehand, advise friends and family of my situation, maybe start packing and look into alternatives.

Immigration can, and do, change the rules without giving any notice. Normally you get 90 days, you got 70. Blame immigration, not the school, for this. The school doesn't issue the visa/extension. As has been mentioned by quite a few, you are responsible for checking dates in your passport for your visa. The school has offered to assist you at Immigration.

As has also been mentioned, nobody can predict with absolute certainty what Immigration will say to you. As far as I know and from what you've described, your visa has expired.

It's your negligence that's caused your current situation.

Edited August 9, 201510 yr by Loaded

Well obviously I'm going to check it next time now that I know it's not 90 days as advertised by the language school.

For the record the extensions has always been 90 and now they are all 70 days, as reported by the language school.

Edited August 9, 201510 yr by keemao1