Answered8 years ago

Is it safe to plan my trip around my ED-Visa expiration date while applying for a new visa from Sweden?

ED-Visa Visa application Visa extensions Swedish passport holder Thailand visa rules Re-entry permit

Rickard *******

asked Nov 24, 2018

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EDIT: SOLVED. Sort of, at least tickets are booked and the rest is up to fate.

Swedish passport holder, entered July 11th on an ED-Visa. School tells me I need to apply for a new visa after 8 months. I need to go back home for one month for a medical issue. The timing is flexible so I would like for the trip to coincide with the expiration date of my visa so I can apply for a new ED-Visa in Sweden.

School tells me that date is 29th March. My plan would be to leave as close to that date as possible and apply for a new ED-Visa while in Sweden.

I've spoken to the guy that handles Visa issues and he tells me the duration is not dependent on when I entered the country but rather on the dates in my application.

So my question is basically if this makes sense and if I can trust that date enough to make plans around. I'm hoping to be able to skip getting a re-entry permit and not having to go to Laos to apply for a new visa. Is this a sound plan or are there any pitfalls I'm missing? Any greater risk of getting rejected applying for an ED-Visa in Sweden as opposed to Laos?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Answer summary

A Swedish passport holder on an ED-Visa seeks confirmation that their visa's expiration date as stated by their school (March 29th) is trustworthy enough to plan their medical trip to Sweden around. The user has already extended their visa and plans to apply for a new ED-Visa once back in Sweden. They are concerned about potential pitfalls, such as the necessity of a re-entry permit and the risks associated with applying for the ED-Visa in Sweden as opposed to Laos.

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Robert *******

Okay, so you're on an Extension of Stay. if you apply again you get 90 days of stay on top of your current permitted up to date or till the last day of your course if less than 90 days.

8 years ago

Rickard *******

@Robert ******

It seems like it will work out as you wrote, at least both you and the school administrator are in agreement. Tickets are booked and hopefully it'll work out. Thanks a lot for your kind assistance!

8 years ago

Rickard *******

Yeah, what you're saying makes perfect sense. It's only a single entry and there obviously would be no need for a re-entry permit if I'm leaving the country. I'm starting to think the office-girls here don't have a clue at all. I'm guessing that I'm administratively studying two separate courses, the first of which has a duration of 9 months after which I'll have to start over again with a new visa application for a further 6 months. I won't bother you with any more questions until I've been able to kick this up to a Westerner at the office. Thanks a lot for your help so far.

8 years ago

Robert *******

As I understand, you paid for a 9 months course till 29th March 2019. Till that day you can apply for the extensions of stay, as mentioned earlier, you cancel this extension of stay at immigration office. Leave the country, in your case do your things back in Sweden, apply for a new Non Immigrant ED visa at the consulate with the documents from your school for the nexxt 6 months course, come back into Thailand, get 90 days and apply again for Extension of Stay till end of course. Cancel the Extension of Stay before you leave Thailand again and apply for other visa if you like to stay after your courses.

8 years ago

Robert *******

a School does not decide when your visa or admitted to stay ends. Immigrant Office is the only place allowed to make adjustments of dates and put stamps inside your passport.

8 years ago

Robert *******

a Re-Entry permit is only needed if you have days left on your permitted to stay period and you like to keep this period alive and arrive back into Thailand BEFORE the last day of that stamped date inside your passport.

8 years ago

Robert *******

NO, you can not extend a visa. On the visa itself there are a few things you should look at. Nr of Entries and valid until or enter before date. If the Nr of Entries is S (single) the visa is used on your entry and just a memory in your passport. On entry you get a NEW stamp with the text Admitted to Stay untill ../../.. date. This period you can only extend with an application at your local immigration office.

8 years ago

Rickard *******

I may have misunderstood a bunch of things from the beginning because they're telling me I have to leave at that point (29th March) to extend the very same Visa from outside the country. I would thus still need to get a reentry permit. The course is sold as 9 + 6 months so the end date will be around September or so.

So I misunderstood it as the Visa ending on the 29th of March but that's actually when, according to them, I need to extend it from outside the country. Does that sound correct, do you think?

8 years ago

Robert *******

So if your school tells you that 29th March is the last day of your course your can keep on applying for Extension of Stay in periods of 90 days till that day. Than you cancel this Extension of Stay at Immigration Office and leave the country on 29th March.

8 years ago

Robert *******

Yes, there is a limit. The limit is the end date of your course.

8 years ago

Rickard *******

So from what I understand there's a limit to how many extensions of stay you can get and according to my school that limit is until 29th March, after which my Visa will expire and I will have to apply for a new one. I'm trying to become sure of that date and also informing myself of any problems that might occur, as they inevitably seem to do.

8 years ago

Rickard *******

Indeed, hence why I made this post. I've extended it once before and will soon have to extend again. According to the school my cumulative extensions will last until March 29th when I will have to leave and apply for a new ED-Visa. The course duration is 15 months total, I believe.

I want to be 100% sure of this date before I book any flights. Wanting a second opinion before I commit.

8 years ago

Robert *******

I only trust the stamps in my passport and not rely on a guy from a school telling things. You entered on July 11th with an ED visa, got 90 days Admitted to Stay, so around 8 Oct. What did you do then?

8 years ago