Follow these steps after receiving your Non-Immigrant ED Visa. Always follow the expiry date and conditions printed in your passport. Contact Bangkok Language School if your passport dates differ from the schedule below.
After ED Visa approval
What must I do after returning to Thailand with my ED Visa?
Contact Bangkok Language School and bring your passport to the school within 7 days of arrival. We use the updated passport information to prepare the next Ministry of Education letter. The school copies the required pages and does not keep your passport.
Does the 14-month Thai course provide 1 continuous 14-month visa?
It is 1 ED Visa for the whole course, given in 2 periods. Your first ED Visa period covers up to 8 months, and you extend it at Immigration every 60 to 90 days. When those 8 months are complete, you leave Thailand for a few days, and no re-entry permit is needed for this exit. When you come back, you can enter on a Tourist Visa (TR-60), which we highly recommend, or visa-exempt. Use a staffed immigration counter so you get a stamp in your passport. Then go to Immigration as soon as you can with the documents the school prepares for you, and pay the 2,000 THB Immigration fee. You do not need a new Ministry of Education approval, so there is no 5 to 6 week wait like the first time. Immigration takes about 2 weeks, or 10 working days, to give you the ED Visa stamp for the 2nd period, which covers the remaining 6 months. You still extend the stamp at Immigration every 60 to 90 days, as in the first period. While you wait, you stay in Thailand on the permission to stay shown by your entry stamp. This is not a new visa application, and you do not pay the school again. This is an Immigration rule for every ED Visa student at any language school, not a rule of our school. The 2,000 THB and 1,900 THB are government fees, the same for ED Visa students at any school. Contact the school before you travel so we can prepare your documents and confirm your dates.
When should I contact the school before an ED Visa extension?
Contact the school at least 14 days before your current ED Visa stay expires. That is the stay date stamped in your passport, not the expiry date of the passport itself. An ED Visa extension may normally be submitted up to 1 month before the current stay expires. This is separate from the 30-day extension of a Tourist Visa (TR-60) stay, which happens before an in-country ED Visa application.
What do I need for an ED Visa extension?
The ED Visa is first issued for 90 days, and you then extend it at Immigration every 60 to 90 days, depending on the date on your current stamp. Extending at Immigration is the standard process for every ED Visa holder in Thailand, whether you study at a university or a private language school. For each extension, bring a completed TM.7 form, your passport and a copy, 1 photo (4 cm by 6 cm) taken within the last 6 months, a copy of your TM30 address notification, and the 1,900 THB fee, a government fee that is the same for ED Visa students at any school. The school provides all the school documents you need for the extension, so contact us at least 14 days before your current stay expires.
Will school staff accompany me to immigration?
Students attend their immigration appointments themselves. Contact the school at least 14 days before your current permission to stay expires so we can prepare the required school documents and explain the current process.
Are tests or quizzes required?
For the Thai program, there is a worksheet test to complete and submit near the end of month 8, and the school will help you with it. Students may also complete school quizzes as evidence of study. Students continuing into the next Advanced Thai period need the completion letter, and the school prepares it.
What happens if I leave Thailand without a required re-entry permit?
Your current ED Visa permission will be cancelled. Restarting the process requires new Ministry of Education paperwork and a reinstatement fee of at least 5,000 THB. Approval of a new application cannot be guaranteed.
Does a re-entry permit replace my visa extension?
No. A re-entry permit preserves the existing permission to stay but does not extend its expiry date. You must return to Thailand before the current stay expires and attend every required extension.
Detailed guidance
Contact the school within 7 days of arrival
If you received your ED Visa through a Thai embassy outside Thailand, contact Bangkok Language School and bring your passport to the school within 7 days of arriving in Thailand.
We use your updated passport information to prepare the next Ministry of Education letter. A delay may affect the preparation of your next visa extension.
The school does not keep your passport. We copy the required pages and return it to you.
How the 14-month Thai program works
It is 1 ED Visa for the whole 14-month Thai course, given in 2 periods. The initial Non-Immigrant ED Visa normally gives a 90-day stay. Your first ED Visa period covers up to 8 months, and you extend it at Immigration every 60 to 90 days. When those 8 months are complete, you leave Thailand for a few days, and no re-entry permit is needed for this exit. When you come back, you can enter on a Tourist Visa (TR-60), which we highly recommend, or visa-exempt. Use a staffed immigration counter so you get a stamp in your passport. Then go to Immigration as soon as you can with the documents the school prepares for you, and pay the 2,000 THB Immigration fee. You do not need a new Ministry of Education approval, so there is no 5-week wait like the first time. Immigration takes about 2 weeks, or 10 working days, to give you the ED Visa stamp for the 2nd period, which covers the remaining 6 months. You still extend the stamp at Immigration every 60 to 90 days, as in the first period. While you wait, you stay in Thailand on the permission to stay shown by your entry stamp. This is not a new visa application, and you do not pay the school again. This is an Immigration rule for every ED Visa student at any language school, not a rule of our school. The 2,000 THB and 1,900 THB are government fees, the same for ED Visa students at any school. Contact the school before you travel so we can prepare your documents and confirm your dates.
Language-school ED Visas and university ED Visas follow different processes.
ED Visa extensions and address reporting
Contact the school at least 14 days before your current ED Visa stay expires. That is the stay date stamped in your passport, not the expiry date of the passport itself. We need time to prepare the school documents for your extension.
Your first ED Visa stay is 90 days. After that, you extend at Immigration every 60 to 90 days, depending on the date on your current stamp, until your course ends. This is the same for every ED Visa student at any school.
Each extension costs 1,900 THB and is paid directly to immigration. It is a government fee, the same for ED Visa students at any school. An extension may normally be submitted up to 1 month before the current stay expires.
After immigration updates your stay permission and address-reporting slip, contact the school so we can update your records.
Students attend their immigration appointments and any separate 90-day address reporting themselves. Contact the school before the expiry date so we can prepare the required school documents and explain the current process.
Tests and proof of study
Students must genuinely attend and participate in class. Students may also complete school quizzes as evidence of study.
For the Thai program, there is a worksheet test to complete and submit near the end of month 8, and the school will help you with it. Students continuing into the next Advanced Thai period need the completion letter, and the school prepares it.
Re-entry permits for travel outside Thailand
During the first 8 months of your ED Visa, you must obtain a re-entry permit before leaving Thailand if you want to preserve your current permission to stay. The planned exit when those first 8 months are complete does not need a re-entry permit.
You can apply at the immigration office in Chaeng Watthana before travel or at the airport on your departure date. Applying at least 7 days before travel is recommended when using the immigration office.
Current fees are:
- Single re-entry permit: 1,000 THB.
- Multiple re-entry permit: 3,800 THB.
If you leave without a required re-entry permit, your current ED Visa permission will be cancelled. Restarting the process requires new Ministry of Education paperwork and a reinstatement fee of at least 5,000 THB. Approval of a new application cannot be guaranteed.
A re-entry permit does not extend your visa. You must return to Thailand before your current stay expires and attend every required extension.