Hi, I have a question concerning the possibility of overstay during the process of visa conversion in Thailand.
I am a Chinese citizen with a UK residency. I am currently in Thailand on a tourist visa and would like to start a language course of Thai and transfer my visa to the ED visa.
The language school I want to attend told me that now for Chinese nationals, before beginning the already complicated visa conversion procedures, I need another two weeks to obtain criminal records from the Thai police. Even if I am to have a 30-day extension of the tourist visa, the additional two weeks makes it questionable whether I can go through all the process and get the ED visa stamp before my current visa (plus the 30-day extension) expires.
The visa agent of the language school said that there is a 70% possiblity that they can help me get the ED stamp in due course. Well that sounds inspiring but I really want to know what happens when the other 30% occurs. Will I waste all my money and have my ED visa rejected and required to leave before the current visa expires? Or will they give the ED stamp anyway but regard the gap between the expiration day of my current visa and the ED visa issuing day as my overstay and have me penalized? How harsh is the punishment for this kind of overstay? I am fine with 500 baht payment per day but I am worried about the negative records. e.g. Will this be shown on the passport? Will it affect my future visa applications?
I have also read that Covid extension will be continued to July. Will this help me with my situation in any way?
Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
TLDR : Answer Summary
A Chinese citizen on a tourist visa in Thailand seeks advice regarding the potential for overstay during the conversion to an ED visa for a language course. They are concerned about the time needed to process the criminal record check required for the visa conversion and whether they might incur penalties if their current visa expires before they receive the ED visa. The individual is also worried about the implications of overstaying, including potential fines and negative records affecting future visa applications, and is seeking alternatives to mitigate the risk of overstay.
