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.

In two weeks I will be applying for my first ever Non O (retirement) visa in Chiang Mai. I will have three weeks remaining on my current visa as they prefer.

My question is will they retain my passport for the three weeks I am under consideration?

USA passport and I am not anticipating any qualificaion problems.

Also will the date of the new 90 day non O visa be consecutive with the last day of my current SETV?