Can I enter Thailand visa exempt to explore educational programs and then apply for an education visa later?

You can talk to us. We are a language school. Apply for an educational visa to stay in Koh Samui

If you’re only planning on a year maybe slightly longer, ED visa will work. If you think you’re going to live perpetually long term on ED, you’re going to be very disappointed. And, if you leave the country while on ED, you may have problems with the IO on re-entry.

Great plan. Do your research. Read the other postings. This is discussed daily on the forums. Go visit Thailand and the schools you are interested in. You probably should make several visits because Thailand is way way different than in the USA.

After all of that, then the school can advise you how to obtain your visa.

You do know that you will have to go to classes regularly?

Get a multi engry visa. You get up to 9 months and enough time to search a school. Duke is the best in Bangkok and you can probably live in Udom Sok for 15k baht if you want. Messege me if you need advice. I am at Duke right now.

This is a very respected visa agent here in Pattaya, read what they say!

30 days is not likely enough time to figure-out a employment situation and a living situation. If you rush it you may end-up in some unpleasant situations. However, you can get a 30 days extension which gives you 60 days, which maybe enough time.

You can not get a tourist visa while in Thailand but you can get one from most of the neighboring countries. It takes a couple of days plus transportation you will be out $200 probably. Getting a tourist visa while you are in your home country takes about 1-2 weeks ( I recently did it). Tourist visa can be extended for 30 days giving you 60+30 days. I am not that familiar with different types tourist visa. I *think* some can be converted to non-o (work visa).

Hint:

"Non-o" means "Non immigration type O visa", Almost all of your long term visa are 'non-SOMETHING'. I think I am on a non-o, marriage visa, as example.

Gonna throw another wild card into the mix, things vary between imm offices!

If you come in visa exempt, you have to leave Thailand to get any kind of visa. You cannot convert visa exempt entry into an education visa (corrected on this! Couldn’t when I did my ed visa, but now you can 😄)

You could do visa exempt & figure out your long term plan. Then, go to Laos, Cambodia, or Vietnam to get a 60 tourist visa. Start your process of converting the visa to an Ed visa as soon as you get back (it’s usually 6 weeks - 2 weeks of your school processing & 4 weeks of processing at immigration). Or apply for your education visa in one of those countries, but I’ve never done that.

USA citizen? You can show up and get a 30 day stamp. You can extend for another 30 days. So zero planning can easily get 60 days. Or apply for an evisa before you arrive and get 60 days on arrrival and 30 day extension.

You might need 21 days left on your stamp to apply for an education visa. The school will help you.

Nothing really is difficult.

Very popular here to do a border bounce for more time. You are allowed to leave the country from land borders and come back 5 minutes later for an additional 30 days. Repeat going to immigration for the 30 day extension. You can do this twice in a calendar year. Resets January 1st each year.

Are you a nurse?

You can come visa exempt and look for school to get you student visa. But you cannot apply tourist visa for from inside Thailand.