Please consult this check-list before contacting us with passport or visa questions. We strongly recommend that you:

• • Keep track of the time limit specified on your visa; ask if you are not sure.
  • Check your passport with a remaining validity of not less than 6 months. The validity of 18 months is required for one year visa application.
  • Visit the Visa Officer with your passport at least two weeks before your visa expires.
  • Carry a photocopy of your passport in your wallet in case of emergency, and keep the original some place safe.
  • Report to Immigration every 90 days (beginning the 90th day after you have arrived in Thailand) and fill out the “form for alien to notify of staying longer than 90 days”. If you fail to do this, you can be fined severely or incarcerated.
  • If you plan to leave the country and then return after being in Thailand for 90 days or longer, you will need to get a re-entry permit. The re-entry visa request paperwork must be completed prior to your departure. For the re-entry permit, see the Visa Officer for advice and then apply directly at Immigration. You will need several copies of your passport, one two-inch passport photograph, and the re-entry fee. If you do not apply for a re-entry permit before you leave Thailand, and then you return, your previous non-immigration visa will become void and you will then have to leave Thailand again in order to re-apply for a non-immigrant visa and continue your studies at Payap University.

• • If you are holding a Non-Immigrant Visa category “ED” and it is your first entry into Thailand, you will be given 90 days by Thailand immigration. Subsequently, you will need to extend your visa and do so at least 2-3 weeks before the expiration date. You can extend your visa in advance 30-40 days prior to your visa expiration date.
  • You will be fined 500 baht per day (maximum 20,000 baht) after your visa expires (no more than 1 month expiration). After you pay your fine, you can proceed with your visa extension. If your visa has expired more than 30 days, your will have to leave Thailand and re-enter in order to extend your visa.
  • Every time you leave Thailand, you will have to request “re-entry,” otherwise your visa will be cancelled.
  • You will require a visa letter, extension letter, and visa category change letter, all of which are only valid for 30 days after the date issued.
  • You need to report to the Chiang Mai Immigration Office every 90 days. This can be done 7 days in advance but no later than 7 days after the given due date. Note: If you do not report to the Chiang Mai Immigration Office (near the airport) within 7 days after the due date, you will be fined 2,000 baht. If you are arrested during this period, you will be fined 4,000 baht.
  • If you leave the country, your 90-day count will start over again.
  • If you wish to change your visa category, you will need to file your document at the Chiang Mai Immigration Office 15 business days before your visa expires (excluding Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays). You need to file the document at least 25-30 days prior to your visa expiration date to allow the document to be processed (excluding Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays)
  • For visa category n.30 and tourist visas, if you do not have enough time to extend the visa before the expiration date, you can file another extension at the Chiang Mai Immigration Office. This will allow you 30 more days, with the exception of China, Myanmar, and South Korea, which allows for 7 days.
  • For visa category change, the Chiang Mai Immigration Office will send your request to the Bangkok Immigration Office to process. In the interim, you will be given a visa extension and will be called for your visa approval hearing every 30 days until the Bangkok Immigration Office approves your visa category change.
  • When you graduate, you must cancel your visa within 2 weeks after the last day of the semester at the Chiang Mai Immigration Office. The Chiang Mai Immigration Office requires all educational schools/institutions/universities to report and cancel student visa as soon as students graduate. The student visa becomes invalid once the student graduates even if the visa expiry date is several months later.
  • For graduates whose visa expire around the same time as their graduation and would like to extend their stay for other business, they can file their extension request at the Chiang Mai Immigration Office for another 7 days. This can only be done once.
  • For visa extensions, you will need to file your documents at the Chiang Mai Immigration Office. For visa category change and 90 day reporting, you can contact the Immigration Office at the Chiang Mai Immigration Building, at 71 Moo 3, Sanambin Road, Suthep, Muang Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai 50200 (near the airport).
  • You are not allowed to work while on a student “ED” visa in Thailand.

For all student visa issues, please contact the Visa Officer.