ED visa process.

[anotheruser]

I am going to apply for a ED visa with a school in BKK. What I am wondering is, when I submit the application at the school do they need to keep my passport for the 4 to 6 weeks it takes to process? I am here currently on a 30 day waiver and have been here a couple of weeks. So I am wondering if I can submit the application and take my passport back in two weeks to leave and come back on another visa waiver?

The other way of doing it is to leave and come back on a tourist visa but wondering if I can avoid this? Anybody with recent experience getting an ED visa have any idea what papers they will want to see from me when I leave to get the ED visa?

I asked about this at the school and they said I wouldn't need to show anything at the embassy to get my ED visa but I find this hard to believe? I am guessing a bank account with sufficient funds should be enough to show them?

[paz]

You cannot get an ED extennsion (it is not a visa) without a non-imm Ed visa first. So you will have to to e.g. Vientane Laos with the correct school paperwork, then before 90 days you can apply for a 90 days extensions.

Chances are you will be given a 60 days extension instead of 90, and pressed for money money

.

You can stay in Thailand end study Thai legally on a while Tourist visa. That will allow you to study at your own pace and not be hassled by immigration for proficiency, and also save money.

[anotheruser]

I don't really understand your post. I am not looking for an extension but a new ED visa.

[anotheruser]

So I would enter either on a visa waiver or tourist visa to wait for the ED visa. But waiver is too short is why I walking if I need to leave my passport for the entire time. Either way I expect to leave the country again to get the ED visa.

[paz]

I don't really understand your post. I am not looking for an extension but a new ED visa.

A new ED visa requires the correct paperwork (MoE approval letter) from you school. In a nearby country it can be only issued for one single entry of 90 days only, after that you will need an extension as mentioned above, or travel again to get a new visa. If you find that desirable as opposed to a double entry tourist visa, up to you really.

[nowretired]

OP

A school has no need for your passport or any reason for retaining the passport.

The school will provide paperwork which will support an application for an ED visa which must be made in a nearby country.

If more time is needed your current visa exempt entry can be extended by 30 days at an immigration office for 1900 B ht.

Would advise ignoring the rambling of the other.

[paz]

So I would enter either on a visa waiver or tourist visa to wait for the ED visa. But waiver is too short is why I walking if I need to leave my passport for the entire time. Either way I expect to leave the country again to get the ED visa.

You will not get an ED visa in Thailand while on an tourist visa, or visa waiver. You will need to leave country. Either you haven't understood that, or the school is lying to you.

[anotheruser]

OP

A school has no need for your passport or any reason for retaining the passport.

The school will provide paperwork which will support an application for an ED visa which must be made in a nearby country.

If more time is needed your current visa exempt entry can be extended by 30 days at an immigration office for 1900 B ht.

Would advise ignoring the rambling of the other.

Thank you for your reply. So my plan is to pay the school fee and apply to the school and go to Singapore near the end of this waiver. Apply for the ED visa there and come back in. Any idea what proof of finances they will require? I am thinking of opening a Thai bank account and depositing maybe $6,000? I can do more than that but it is a convenient figure for me to transfer with out having too fuss around too much.

I think Paz doesn't understand that I know I have to leave the country.

[paz]

I think Paz doesn't understand that I know I have to leave the country.

When you start with a sentence as follows:

What I am wondering is, when I submit the application at the school do they need to keep my passport for the 4 to 6 weeks it takes to process?

That implies that, as mentioned above, either you haven't understood the process, or the school is lying to you. You do not need to leave your passport for more than the 30 seconds needed to make copies.You can face trouble if you stay in Thailand without a passport, unless it has been lost, stolen or take by authorities for a lawful reason.

Anyway, if you want apply in Singapore for the non-imm ED visa, assuming you are Singaporean citizen or resident, you should check with them for the exact requirements. A bank account and funds are not usually required.

[anotheruser]

The school never said I had to leave my passport. The question was mine as I was a bit tired when I went to the school and didn't ask for that information at the time. So I followed up here and found out that I do not leave my passport with them. I didn't understand the process and that is why I made this post to seek clarification.

I am uncertain why they say it takes 4-6 weeks to issue an ED visa now. Sorry if my posts were unclear now I have a good chunk of my misunderstanding out of the way. I am going to go back to the school today and ask some further questions. The lady that I dealt with didn't seem to speak English so well so at the time I thought I could come here to get some insight. So far that plan has worked out so thank you for the information and I can go in armed with better questions to ask them to verify exactly what they want from me. So far it looks like they want 25,000 Baht and 8 pictures.

I am not a Singapore citizen but it sounds like a letter of enrollment from the school is all they need.

Once again thank you for your patience and your answer to my questions.

[nowretired]

OP

A school has no need for your passport or any reason for retaining the passport.

The school will provide paperwork which will support an application for an ED visa which must be made in a nearby country.

If more time is needed your current visa exempt entry can be extended by 30 days at an immigration office for 1900 B ht.

Would advise ignoring the rambling of the other.

Thank you for your reply. So my plan is to pay the school fee and apply to the school and go to Singapore near the end of this waiver. Apply for the ED visa there and come back in. Any idea what proof of finances they will require? I am thinking of opening a Thai bank account and depositing maybe $6,000? I can do more than that but it is a convenient figure for me to transfer with out having too fuss around too much.

I think Paz doesn't understand that I know I have to leave the country.

Sorry you are having to negotiate the ramblings!

Singapore is not the best of places to obtain a visa.You would be best advised to apply in Vientiane, Laos.

No proof of finance is required.

[paz]

They need to obtain a letter of approval from MoE for your study plan. From other posts four weeks seems about right. I'm not sure what they will deliver for Bt 25,000 beside said letter, you may want to check with other schools.

Singapore is not a good place to obtain a visa:

2014-07-04 http://www.thaivisa....pore-need-help/ visa refused
2014-09-04 http://www.thaivisa....a/#entry8338839 visa refused

You may go to Laos or Penang for safe results.

Again remember that this visa would give you only 90 days in country before being subject to examinations and more costs.

[anotheruser]

25,000 Baht is the price for 200 lessons on a 6 month course. I am guessing that at 90 days I get an exam and that is fine. So I leave and come back on visa waiver 30 days and apply for approval from MOE. If need be apply for an extention for the visa exempt stamp. After that go collect the approval letter and then travel to a neighboring country and submit it.

I guess what I wasn't communicating very well is if I could pay the school to start the process to secure the approval from the MOE and leave in the 4 to 6 weeks they are doing that and collect it when I get back? Do I need to remain in Thailand for any reason while they are securing the letter or am I free to go where I choose?

[Kitsune]

Your school need COPIES of your passport but should not keep your passport at all.

The MOE application process can take anything from 2 to 6 weeks.

If you are thinking of enrolling any private language school especially in Bangkok I would advise you to meet the students of this school and ask them how their extension went. Right now only TWO schools are getting 3 months extension, a few 2 months, the rest gets 1 month.

[paz]

At 90 days of the initial visa you will need to apply for a 90 days extension, cost is Bt. 1,900. You may be given 90 days or less according to whatever immigration decides that day in relation to your school.

If you are now on a visa exempt entry you can apply for a 30 days extension, again cost is Bt 1,900. If you have to leave country while waiting for the letter you might as well obtain a tourist visa, which will you get you more time (up to six months) for a fraction of cost more.

You can be everywhere you want while MoE approves your study plan.

[anotheruser]

Thank you now I understand exactly what to do.

[Kitsune]

25,000 Baht is the price for 200 lessons on a 6 month course. I am guessing that at 90 days I get an exam and that is fine. So I leave and come back on visa waiver 30 days and apply for approval from MOE. If need be apply for an extention for the visa exempt stamp. After that go collect the approval letter and then travel to a neighboring country and submit it.

I guess what I wasn't communicating very well is if I could pay the school to start the process to secure the approval from the MOE and leave in the 4 to 6 weeks they are doing that and collect it when I get back? Do I need to remain in Thailand for any reason while they are securing the letter or am I free to go where I choose?

You don't need to stay in Thailand while waiting for MOE letter.

The "exam" is after 6 months, everyone passes.

Yes you need to pay to start the process, yes you can leave for 4/6 weeks and come back to pick it up.

[anotheruser]

Great thanks again. What pax said last makes sense I might as well farm out a few tourist visas before eating into the ED visa. It's just that I actually want to study to give me something to do with my time.

[ubonjoe]

You will not need to leave the country to get a new visa exempt entry (waiver). You can get a 30 day extension of it at an immigration office for a fee of 1900 baht.

As said you will not be able to get a non-ed visa in Singapore. Their requirement to get one is equal to attending a university.

[anotheruser]

Thanks for that info Joe, very helpful.

[Colabamumbai]

You never give your passport to anyone, other than maybe at the immigration office.

[aronp1]

The school doesn't get your ED visa for you. The school will give you paperwork that you need to bring to immigration. At immigration you will be required to change your visa waiver to an non-O visa then change that to a non-immigrant ed visa. There's no need for any financial statements, the cost of this with traveling expenses to and from immigration will be about 4,300 Baht. 1900 for non-o and 2000 for Ed. Unless it is different when immigration deals with a language school versus a University, this process took me 4-6 hrs. not 4-6 wks..

[nowretired]

The school doesn't get your ED visa for you. The school will give you paperwork that you need to bring to immigration. At immigration you will be required to change your visa waiver to an non-O visa then change that to a non-immigrant ed visa. There's no need for any financial statements, the cost of this with traveling expenses to and from immigration will be about 4,300 Baht. 1900 for non-o and 2000 for Ed.

This is a confused mish-mash of "mistaken" , wrong, bad advise.

Best ignored.

[aronp1]

The school doesn't get your ED visa for you. The school will give you paperwork that you need to bring to immigration. At immigration you will be required to change your visa waiver to an non-O visa then change that to a non-immigrant ed visa. There's no need for any financial statements, the cost of this with traveling expenses to and from immigration will be about 4,300 Baht. 1900 for non-o and 2000 for Ed.

This is a confused mish-mash of "mistaken" , wrong, bad advise.

Best ignored.

This is exactly what I had to do at immigration and I have the stamps in my passport to prove it. All done in one day.

[anotheruser]

I am pretty sure the consensus is I have to leave the country to get an ED visa. Maybe when it is clearly agreed upon by those who know there should be a sticky to avoid confusion like this in the future.

[aronp1]

I am pretty sure the consensus is I have to leave the country to get an ED visa. Maybe when it is clearly agreed upon by those who know there should be a sticky to avoid confusion like this in the future.

I go to Bangkok University and I didn't need to leave Thailand to get my ED visa. Like i said in a post, maybe it is different when immigration deals with a language school versus a University.

[anotheruser]

Then maybe you should stick to the spirit of this thread which doesn't involve a university. If somebody asks about attending university perhaps you could make your information there where it is applicable.

[nowretired]

I am pretty sure the consensus is I have to leave the country to get an ED visa. Maybe when it is clearly agreed upon by those who know there should be a sticky to avoid confusion like this in the future.

I go to Bangkok University and I didn't need to leave Thailand to get my ED visa. Like i said in a post, maybe it is different when immigration deals with a language school versus a University.

If you are at University you probably have either a multi--entry visa obtained outside Thailand or an extension of stay (which is not a "visa") obtained from Thai immigration.

[anotheruser]

So here is the process simplified from what I have learned...

1. Have some money.

2. Apply to the language school of your choice and give a deposit. You need 8 passport pictures and they need to copy your passport. The deposit may or may not be refundable depending on the school if you are for any reason denied the ED visa.

3. Wait either inside Thailand or go abroad to wait for your MOE letter of approval after the school sends them the relevant documents.

4. Collect the acceptance letter at the school and exit Thailand to whatever country you feel you have the best chance of an ED visa being issued. No proof of finances should be required upon applying for the ED visa.

5. Return to Thailand and begin your studies.

If this sounds right then maybe the next person will find it easier to understand the process. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any of the steps.