If I need to get a non-immigrant visa from a neighboring country, what documentation do I need?

last updated 23rd July 2009

Firstly, your school needs to be on the unofficial official school-list at the consulate you are going to. If your school has got its act together, they will have notified the consulate in the past and be ‘on the list’. Sadly, organization is not one of Thailand’s best traits. All is not lost though, and if you can plead your case well enough and you’re wearing a clean shirt, you’ll probably get your non-immigrant visa. From experience, it always seems that the consulate in Laos is by far the strictest when it comes to ‘hey your school is not on the list so here’s a tourist visa, now bugger off’ - Vietnam and Cambodia aren’t far behind so I’ve heard.
You will need to take paperwork with you in order to get a non-immigration visa. Again, if your school knows what it’s doing, this won’t be a problem. The keyword is ‘if’.

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