BANGKOK – Thailand has recently introduced stricter regulations for student visas to address concerns about misuse.
Thai Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) and the Immigration Bureau announced multiple key measures on Wednesday aimed at preventing abuse of education visas.
These measures require educational institutions to provide detailed information about their programs, including curriculum content, instructional formats, and appropriate student capacities.
As part of the fresh measures, institutions must also monitor student attendance and participation to ensure compliance with program standards.
Moreover, schools are now obligated to report student enrollment statuses monthly through an electronic system, facilitating timely decisions on visa revocations of students if necessary.
The government has clarified that non-compliance with these regulations may result in the revocation of the institution’s programs and could impact the approval of future programs. The MHESI has also requested that the Immigration Bureau share any suspicious or irregular data from educational institutions for further investigation.
These changes come in response to reports of foreigners exploiting student visas to work illegally in Thailand, particularly in second-tier provinces. Such misuse has been reported to negatively impact the tourism industry and local businesses.
The Thai government aims to preserve the integrity of its education system and ensure that student visas are used appropriately for genuine educational purposes. The measures are part of the broader efforts to increase national security.
The fresh regulations come weeks after it was reported that the government was considering reducing the visa-free stay period from 60 days back to 30 days for tourists from 93 countries. This potential change follows reports of some tourists engaging in illegal activities under the relaxed visa rules introduced in July 2024.
