What is the process for applying for a Thai ED visa as an exchange student at Mahidol University?

Hi everyone 😊

I know this is not directly about the DTV, but I hope it’s okay to ask here since many people seem experienced with Thai visa processes and visa runs.

I’ll be studying as an exchange student at Mahidol University (MUIC) from July until January and I’m currently trying to figure out the ED visa process.

The application deadline for MUIC is June 30, and according to the university, the acceptance + visa documents are only issued around 3–4 weeks after the deadline. However, I already have a flight to Bangkok on July 27 and leave on January 26, so I will most likely enter Thailand first on a tourist/visa exemption entry.

MUIC told me I can apply for the Non-Immigrant ED visa in a neighboring country (for example Vientiane, Laos), but I saw that the processing time there is currently around 10–15 working days 😭

I was also wondering if anyone has experience with applying for the ED visa in their home country, then entering Thailand before the visa is issued, and later leaving and re-entering Thailand once the ED visa has been approved.

So I wanted to ask if anyone here has experience with:

* applying for a Thai ED visa in Vientiane as a foreign student

* if the process was actually faster than officially stated

* whether anyone has done the “leave and re-enter with the ED visa” method

* or if anyone had a similar situation with entering Thailand before receiving the university visa documents

I’m from Austria if that matters 😊

Any experiences or advice would help a lot, thank you so much!