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ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawThailand Immigration LawTypes of Thai Visa: The ED Visa (Education Category)

Types of Thai Visa: The ED Visa (Education Category)

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the Thai ED Visa. That is the Education Visa

I have had some feedback in recent days were folks have told me, “Hey we really appreciate what you are putting up and it is really nuanced and it is providing some insight with respect to the evolving state of the Immigration system”, but especially for first timers and I do know a lot of you folks that are stranded here in Thailand, it may be your first time ever dealing with Thai Immigration matters and there is a whole lot out there and frankly getting a handle on the fundamentals may be a bigger issue than anything under the current circumstances. So I have wanted to make these videos for a while. Things just have kept me from doing this and I am doing a series where we sort of go "back to the basics". 

So what is the ED Visa? It is a Visa designed specifically for people to come to Thailand in order to take up a course of study here in the Kingdom. Now this course of study can be varied depending on what you are looking to study here in Thailand. So Thai language courses are a popular course of study that is utilized for ED Visa holders. Meanwhile, other things like Muay Thai can oftentimes be a basis for obtaining an ED Visa; even certain religious studies which can be undertaken in Thai language may warrant an ED Visa and there are of course University programs, other seminar certifications which may also warrant an ED Visa.  

It should be noted that in order to gain the actual ED Visa, generally speaking whatever program or course of study you are undertaking, needs to be approved by the Thai Ministry of Education and that along with other types of documentation are going to be required when applying for an ED Visa. 

Now generally speaking, you are going to need to seek your initial ED Visa outside of Thailand and extend your status here in the country. There may be circumstances under the current COVID situation which may allow someone to convert into ED status but as of the time of this video, doing Border Runs is not really an effective way of gaining an ED Visa, so that is not really on the table. But there are folks and it has been noted that notwithstanding COVID, the restrictions associated therewith, it is possible to enter Thailand under ED status provided one has the requisite documentation to show that they are in a course of study which is approved by both Ministry of Education and the Immigration apparatus. 

To sort of sum up, the Thai ED Visa is an Education Visa. The education program needs to be approved by Ministry of Education in order to provide Immigration status associated therewith and there may be even further requirements under the current COVID restrictions in order to get an ED visa and enter the Kingdom of Thailand.