One of the quality objectives that Stamford aims to achieve is to provide best services to students. With this in mind, the Student Services Department caters to the needs of all full time students enrolled at Stamford.

Visa Categories

According to the Immigration regulations, an international student intending to study in Thailand has to apply for a Student Visa, otherwise known as a Non-Immigrant 'ED' Visa through a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate located in his/her home country. Normally, a student visa application takes 2 working days for approval from the authorities and requires a Letter of Certification from STIU before an applicant is granted one.

A student may also opt for a Non-Immigrant 'O' Visa, which is a Dependent Visa if he/she has a parent (father or mother) or spouse (husband or wife) working in Thailand. This visa is issued to the dependent, if and only if the parent/spouse holds a valid work-permit in Thailand along with a Non-Immigrant 'B' Visa.

Non-Thai students are legally not allowed to work in Thailand. If a student becomes legally employed with a Work Permit, they must change their visa status (Non-Immigrant 'B' Visa) accordingly with their employer and they may also be required to sign a letter releasing Stamford International University of any visa / immigration responsibilities. Pursuit of academic coursework at STIU under such a visa is permitted by law.

Please avoid entering the country for the purpose of studying on a Tourist Visa or, Non-Immigrant 'TR' Visa. You're legally not allowed to pursue academics or be employed on such a visa. Moreover, conversion of such a visa to a proper Student Visa - while not impossible - presents certain difficulties. The conversion is time-consuming and depending on the situation, may require the bearer to leave the country and re-enter with a fresh visa if the previous stay permit expires before the official paperwork is complete. In effect, this can be quite troublesome.

Validity of Visa

A freshly issued visa is valid for only a certain number of days. You absolutely must use your visa to enter the Kingdom on or before this date. If you fail to do so, your visa will expire and you'll have to apply for a new one.

Do not confuse this with the number of days you are permitted to stay in the Kingdom using this visa (Stay Permit). A stay permit will be stamped separately onto your passport and TM.6 (Arrival/Departure) Cards by the Immigration Official who processes your documents while entering Thailand.

Once you have entered the Kingdom and a stay permit has been stamped onto your passport, the visa validity date is rendered inconsequential. From then on, it's the stay permit date that matters.

To find the validity of your visa, check for a calendar date printed below the section titled "ENTER BEFORE."

Extension of Stay

A class 'ED' or 'O' visa issued by a Royal Thai Embassy holds valid for 2-3 months (refer to the stay permit date in your passport) from the date of entering the Kingdom. During this period, the University staff assists the student with the paperwork necessary for filing for an Extension of Stay. The application for the extension has to be made to the Immigration Bureau while your current stay permit is still valid for a minimum of 30 days - beyond which such applications are usually not accepted.

Extension periods are based on the needs of individual students. For an exchange student who is at STIU for only a term, the extension may be only for 3-6 months, while for the average full-time student it is for one whole year and is renewable annually.

For further details please refer to the section on Extension of Stay.

At Stamford International University, the Student Services Department assists international students in this area. All services are meant for full time students with proper Non-Immigrant (Class ED / O) visas. All kinds of immigration related forms are available from the Student Services Department at our campuses.