Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing conversion from an ED Visa to a Business Visa here in the Kingdom of Thailand; an ED to a B.

I do get this question posed to me a great deal and people ask it in a general sense and I think that they are looking for a general answer.

If that is what you are looking for, unfortunately there really isn't a general answer. Conversion from one visa category to another is not overly liked, for lack of better term. It is not conducive with the overall policy of Thai Immigration. Thai Immigration, under traditional circumstances, prefers that those who are looking to change from one Non-immigrant category, in this case Education to Business, if you are looking to do that they prefer that you leave the country, seek a new visa abroad and come back in. 

Unfortunately due to COVID-19 and the restrictions associated with the government's response associated therewith, that may not be an overly viable option. What I am saying is it may not be possible to leave the country and effectively nullify an ED Visa and get a new B Visa. What needs to happen to convert? Well long story short, it heavily depends on the facts of a given case and it is definitely going to be dependent on the circumstances surrounding why you want to convert; the circumstances as to why your ED is coming to an end; what type of activity you are looking to engage in; if you are looking to engage in a Business Visa, is a Work Permit forthcoming etc. These are all questions that are going to play in to any analysis that an Immigration adjudicator is going to undertake when they are looking at the possibility of converting from one Non-immigrant category to another. 

As stated, this is not something that the policy is overly fond of so in terms of seeing this under traditional times, under "normal circumstances" this is not something that is going to be relative I shouldn’t say easy but it is not going to be a straightforward endeavor. Even during this more restrictive time with respect to travel, it is not something Immigration Officers take lightly, so it may be a good idea to contact a legal professional in order to gain some insight and guidance in to how best to convert from an ED Visa to a B Visa here in the Kingdom of Thailand.