Non-Immigrant Education (ED) Visa
The Thai Education Visa is officially known as a Non-Immigrant Education (ED) visa. This visa is for any foreign national aged over 12 years who intends to stay in Thailand for the purposes of attending a recognized full-time educational course.
For any applicant registering for the Chiang Mai University TEFL on-campus program shall be eligible for Non-Immigrant ED Visa assistance. Chiang Mai University is the only TEFL provider in Thailand to be able to provide the necessary paperwork to apply for a Non-Immigrant ED Visa within 7 working days of successful application into the program.
Please note, that a visa is not guaranteed and will depend on the Embassy or Consulate which the application is being submitted.
Requirements
In order to apply for a Non-Immigrant ED Visa you will need to formally register, be formally accepted and to make a deposit to study in the Chiang Mai University TEFL course. After meeting these requirements, you will be asked to supply a scanned copy of the following documents to our Course Administrator in order to process your supporting documents:
- A passport or travel document with at least 6-month validity from the planned date of arrival in Thailand
Applicants must ensure that the scanned passport photo page is in colour and legible. Scanned documents can be emailed directly to the Course Administrator at tefl@cmu.ac.th. The applicant must also confirm which Embassy or Consulate they will intend to submit their visa application, as the official documents which we provide shall be addressed to that Embassy or Consulate.
Once we have received this, our Course Administrator will begin the processing your supporting documentation. It will take up to 7 working days to process the necessary paperwork and it shall be emailed to you, however if you require the original document, we can courier the paperwork to you (via DHL) for an additional fee. The documents which we will send to you shall include the following:
- The official letter of request for a Non-Immigrant ED visa to be issued signed by the Director of the Institute.
- Copy of our registration documents for the Language Institute Chiang Mai University
- Copy of the Official Government Identification Card for the Signatory of the official letter (Director of the Language Institute Chiang Mai University).
- Copy of Course Syllabus for the Chiang Mai University TEFL program
**Important** Starting 1 January 2021, due to the on-going pandemic and Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) procedures in place for international visitors, Chiang Mai University will be able to support an applicants stay in the Kingdom of Thailand for an additional one month stay, this means applicants will be able to stay in Thailand for a period of 4-month (normally 3-month). Upon entry into the Kingdom of Thailand, an applicant will be granted 90-day stay from the date of entry, but we can help provide supporting documentation for applicants to extend their visa for an additional 30-day at Chiang Mai Immigration, please note there will be a fee of 1,900 baht when making an application **
How to Apply
To apply for a Non-Immigrant ED Visa you must make your application at a Thai Embassy or Consulate outside of Thailand.
An application form should be downloaded from the Embassy or Consulate website and attached with the supporting documents provided by Chiang Mai University. Please follow any additional guidelines as shown on the Royal Thai Embassy (or Consulate) website.
Processing times vary depending on which Embassy or Consulate you are applying for your visa – but applications can normally be processed within 3-5 working days of submission.
Other Visa Options
Thailand Visa Exemption (VE) allows tourists from 64 countries to enter Thailand without a visa. They are granted to stay a maximum of 30 days if they are entering Thailand via an international airport or entering through a land border checkpoint from neighbouring countries.
64 countries allowed to enter into Thailand under the Visa Exemption rule include:
Andorra, Argentina (90 days), Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil (90 days), Brunei, Cambodia (14 days), Canada, Chile (90 days), Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (90 days), Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar (14 days only), Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Peru (90 days), Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam
The Single Entry Thai Visa (SETV) is given to various countries that wish to visit Thailand for the purpose of tourism for the period of 60 days. This can be extended for 30 days if required.
This visa type has to be applied for at a Thai Embassy or Consulate outside of Thailand, which could be a neighbouring country (i.e, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia) if you’re not staying in your home country.
The Thailand Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (METV) replaces the old triple entry tourist visa. There are more specific and strict requirements, although flexibility is given in terms of being able to enter and leave Thailand as many times as you wish once the visa is activated (entered Thailand).
You still have to leave Thailand every 60 days or request a 30 day extension at a Thai immigration office, giving you 90 days x 3. Extensions can be done every 60 days allowing a person to spend the good part of 9 months in Thailand, if they get the dates correct.
