Ed visa queries

[chrystan]

I am currently in Pai on an Ed visa, which is suppose to be a year visa. I got stamped till Feb 9th 2010 when I entered Suvarnabhumi. The lady briefly said I gotta go to the embassy to renew. But I just had someone telling me that I have to exit the country and do a visa run.

Can anyone clarify?

[GkapiBreath]

While you wait for a reply, I suggest checking the Thai embassy web site for your country of origin.

The embassy in Los Angeles, California, has this page on the ED Visa: http://www.thai-la.net/visa/visa-non-im-ed.htm

It also lists this in its FAQ:

How can I extend my visa while in Thailand?

You should apply to the Thai Immigration office before the visa expires. Whether or not the visa will be extended is strictly up to the Thai Immigration officer. For more information on extending Thai visas, please see the web site of Thai Immigration at http://www.immigration.go.th/ (Select "Required Documents" from English Menu > select "Visa Extension" from menu [click on folder icon] > and then select appropriate topic from resulting menu [click on document icon]).

(If I recall correctly, that site only works correctly in Internet Explorer.)

[ian71]

hi chrystan,
ive just checked for you on the uk thai visa, should be the same world wide, business, educational or non immigrant "o" visa,
your visa hopefully should be multi entry, then every 90days you have to leave the country to do a visa run, on return you will get 90days again, i have multi non immigrant "o" and come in and out many times with no problems, im not sure if you get problems coming back in on a bus though? i alway fly to Cambodia and back,
So basically as ive read the paper work you have to leave the country every 90days the same as the rest of us, retirement only can get extensions while in Thailand, dont shoot me if wrong but better be safe than sorry, im 90% sure ive read this correct, good luck,

[lamlam]

This might be a little late for the original poster, but you do NOT have to leave the country on an ED visa. I have one. In the ~2 years I've been on an ED visa, I've never had to leave the country on a "visa run." Here are the rules:

Every 90 days, go to the immigration office and report your present address. This is free to do, and it's required by law. I'm not certain, but I think if your address is in Bangkok, you have to go to the Bangkok office. If you live in the North, you have to go to Chiang Mai, etc.

When you get close to the one year date from your original entry (should be stamped somewhere in your passport), you can extend your ED visa with 1,900 baht and an official letter from your institution requesting an extension.

I don't know about you, but my ED visa is single entry. If I leave the country, my visa will be canceled and I have to buy a new one. So if yours is single entry and you want to leave the country, you have to buy a re-entry permit at the immigration office - 1000 for one time, or 3800 (I think) for unlimited times in a year.