Student Visa

Find out how we can help you apply for a student visa

Short courses (less than 3 months)

Overseas students applying for course shorter than 3 months do not require a Student/Education visa.

Most of our overseas students enrolled on short courses enter and leave Thailand on a tourist visa according to the duration they are granted on arrival (typically 30 days) or at the Thai embassy/consulate in their country (typically 30-60-90 days).

Different countries have different immigration agreements with the Thai government, and we suggest checking with the Thai embassy/consulate in your country to find out whether you can be granted a tourist visa on arrival (and its duration) or you need to apply for it in advance. Some students, for example, decide to apply for a longer tourist visa (typically 60 days) in advance when they intend to study for longer periods or extend their stay after the course for travelling.

Long courses (more than 3 months)

Overseas students applying for courses longer than 3 months are required to apply for a Student/Education visa.

If you want to study for a course longer than 3 months, International House can help you with the application for an ED Visa (Education Visa).

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Thailand Student Visa is a Non-Immigrant Thai Visa. Non-Immigrant Visas are issued to foreigners traveling to Thailand for reasons other than tourism and are categorized based on the purpose of travel. The Thailand Student Visa is a Non-Immigrant Visa Category ‘ED’.

In order to qualify for a Thai Student Visa for an English language course, you have to:

be at least 12
have passport from a country where English is NOT one of the official languages
take a course longer than 3 months
take a course which includes at least 15 hours of classes per week

APPLICATION

Once you have applied for one of our courses and paid the deposit, you will need to send us, by mail:

12 recent photos of you (4cm x 6cm)
your original course application form, signed by you
1 copy of the photo page of your passport and every page of your passport with stamps, original size, signed by you
completed and signed Personal History Check and Purpose of Attendance forms
student High school or University Certificate, signed by you (and officially translated into English if necessary)

After we receive the documents, we will request a student approval to the Ministry of Education. This usually takes between 3 and 5 weeks. Once we have received this and your final payment, we will send you by mail some documents:

letter of incorporation from IH Bangkok
full details of the course that you have signed up for
the Ministry of Education student approval document

You will then need to produce these documents, along with your visa application form, other personal documents and payment to your local Thai embassy or consulate. The full list of documents required for the visa application can be found here: Thai Visa.

COST & VALIDITY

The visa currently costs 2,000 baht, but please check with your local Thai embassy or consulate as this may vary.

Please note that, although you can use the same visa for up to a year, it has to be extended every 90 days by visiting the Thai Immigration Office in Bangkok or Chiang Mai. The cost of each 90-day extension is currently 1,900 baht.

TIMELINE

It is advisable to start the visa application process at least 2 months before the start of your course.

Let us help you with your Visa application

Contact us today to speak to a course advisor. We are here to help you better understand the visa application requirements and process.