How to extend the ED visa / Thai language school visa
Extension is a separate process from the original application, judged by a different office against different documents. Most of what goes wrong here is specific to that difference.
The procedure
| Where to file | Inside Thailand, at the Immigration office with jurisdiction over your registered address — not at an embassy. In Bangkok that is Immigration Division 1 at the Government Complex, Chaeng Wattana, Building B. You extend where you live; the school's address does not substitute for yours. The online e-Extension channel (thaiextension.vfsevisa.com) covers 12 listed grounds, of which the only education entry is "Attending a public school", so private-school and non-formal (language, Muay Thai, cooking) ED students file in person. Degree-level Non-ED PLUS holders are the exception to the whole process: their university or institution submits the extension application on their behalf. |
|---|---|
| Form | TM.7 (ตม.7) — Application for Extension of Temporary Stay in the Kingdom. TM.8 (ตม.8) if you also need a re-entry permit. TM.47 (ตม.47) for the separate 90-day address report. |
| Fee | ฿1,900 |
| Timing | Front end: the school must obtain the Ministry of Education / Private Education Commission approval letter before you can apply for the visa at all, and a non-official guide puts that step at up to about three weeks. Extension side: file before your current permission to stay expires — the stamp date in your passport, not the visa's validity date. Thai Immigration does not publish an advance filing window for ED extensions. Non-formal school students repeat this every 90 days, so roughly four visits a year, each a fresh discretionary decision. The TM.47 90-day address report runs on its own clock and is not satisfied by the extension appointment. |
| How many times | Depends on which kind of school you are at. Government institutions and private formal schools/universities: extensions of up to one year at a time under items 8 and 9(1) of the official criteria. Private non-formal schools (Thai language, Muay Thai, cooking, vocational, tutoring): item 9(2) caps each grant at no more than 90 days, total no more than one year, counted from the date you entered Thailand or from the date your visa was changed or issued. That one-year clock is not reset by a border run. Beyond that year, a non-official expat guide reports that officers will not keep renewing the same language course and expect a different language or a different course. Non-ED PLUS holders (bachelor's level or above) are additionally allowed a further one-year stay after graduation to seek work, travel or take part in other activities. |
What to bring
- TM.7 application form with photo
- Copy of passport (photo page, visa page, entry stamp) plus the original
- Copy of the school's licence to operate, issued by the relevant government agency
- Letter from the school certifying enrolment and requesting the extension, stating the number of academic years and the course level
- Endorsement letter from a government body at department level or equivalent, or from the provincial governor responsible for that school — waived for international schools and for higher education
- From the second extension onward: your past study results
- Non-formal schools only: a copy of the curriculum, the class timetable, and the number of hours you have actually attended so far
- Re-entry permit application (TM.8) if you intend to leave Thailand before the new permission expires — not needed by Non-ED PLUS holders, who may depart and re-enter without one
- Any further document the Immigration Bureau's oversight committee specifies — this open-ended clause is in the official list and is how offices add local requirements
What goes wrong at extension time
- Leaving Thailand mid-extension without a re-entry permit. The ED visa is single entry, and a departure without TM.8 voids the permission to stay. The exception is Non-ED PLUS: degree-level holders may depart and re-enter during the course of study without a re-entry permit.
- Counting the one-year non-formal limit from the first extension rather than from the date of entry or visa change. People plan four 90-day extensions after a 90-day entry and find the fourth refused because the year is already up.
- Turning up with a school letter but no attendance hours. Hours attended in the course are a named document for non-formal schools. If the school's register does not match the timetable, the file is weak before the officer has said anything.
- The language check. If you are on an ED visa to study Thai, the officer may give an oral or written test at the extension interview; the reported outcomes are a 60-day extension, a 30-day extension, or none. This is reported by a non-official guide, not published by Immigration.
- Forgetting the second-extension study results. Both the government-school and private-school checklists require past results from the second application onward, so a repeat of your first bundle will not pass.
- Missing the department-level or provincial governor endorsement for private non-formal schools. International schools and higher education are exempt, so guidance written for university students omits it entirely.
- Relying on the online e-Extension portal. Language-school ED is not one of its 12 supported grounds, and discovering that days before expiry leaves no time for an in-person appointment.
- Treating the extension appointment as covering the 90-day report. TM.47 is a separate filing with its own dates, and the two cycles drift apart.
- Spot-checks. Chiang Mai Immigration's own activity log records random inspections of foreigners holding ED status through non-formal schools, dated 28 April 2026 — a check can happen between extensions, not only at the counter.