Thailand tightens regulations on student visa with 5 new measures

On Wednesday (April 30), Pol Lt Gen Panumas Boonyaluck, Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, together with bureau executives, held a joint meeting with Supamas Isarabhakdi, Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) and related officials. 

The meeting focused on visa approvals for non-degree international students to prevent student visa abuse, and resulted in the following five key measures:

1. Program Disclosure Requirement

MHESI will issue a ministerial announcement requiring each educational institution to provide detailed information about their programs. This includes the program name, responsible institution, curriculum content, instructional format (proportion of online vs. onsite classes), program duration (class schedules, number of days and hours per day), and appropriate student capacity per program.

2. Monitoring and Compliance Measures

Institutions must ensure student attendance and participation in line with curriculum standards. There will be guidelines for supervision and verification of compliance.

3. Monthly Status Reporting

Institutions are required to report the status of student enrollment or termination from programs on a monthly basis through an electronic system. This will support timely decisions regarding visa revocation if a student's activity does not comply with program standards.

4. Consequences for Non-Compliance

Institutions that fail to comply with the ministerial announcement will have their proposed programs revoked. Non-compliance may also impact the approval of future programs.

5. Data Sharing and Investigation Cooperation

MHESI requests that, if the Immigration Bureau identifies suspicious or irregular data from educational institutions, such information should be shared with MHESI for further investigation.