Of all the questions Burmese parents ask us at SSELC Thailand, visas are the most stressful. The good news: the process is not as complicated as the rumours suggest. The bad news: every step has to be done in the right order, with the right documents, or you start again. Here is the path we walk every family through.
Step 1: get the school's acceptance letter
Nothing happens before this. Once your child is accepted by a Thai school (SBS, ABS, ABA, or another), the school issues an official acceptance letter with the start date and school details. This letter is the foundation of every other document.
Step 2: MOFA stamping in Myanmar
The Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) authenticates your child's documents β birth certificate, passport copy, school certificates. Stamping is done at the MOFA office in Yangon or Naypyitaw. The official government fee is around MMK 500 per document. If an agent quotes you MMK 500,000 or 600,000, they are either including their service fee or they are the wrong agent. Choose carefully.
Booking is now done online through MOFA's portal. We walk our families through the booking and explain which counter to visit on the day.
Step 3: Thai Embassy certification
After MOFA, the same documents go to the Thai Embassy in Yangon for the Thai-side certification stamp. Without this stamp, Thai immigration will not recognise the documents at the border.
Step 4: apply for the Student Visa (Non-ED)
Now you can apply for your child's Non-ED (education) visa. With it, your child can stay in Thailand as a student for the full school year, with extensions thereafter.
Step 5 (optional): Guardian Visa (Non-O)
If one parent wants to stay with their child in Thailand, they can apply for a Non-O Guardian Visa. This is what allows a parent (or designated legal guardian) to live near the child.
Many parents choose not to apply for the Guardian Visa β that is exactly where our boarding house comes in. Children live with us, parents stay in Myanmar, visits happen on tourist visas during holidays.
What SSELC does (and doesn't do)
To be very clear: SSELC is not a MOFA stamping agent or a visa issuer. We are an education consultancy that has walked dozens of families through this process. We tell you what to bring, where to go, in what order, and what to watch out for. Every family we work with completes the process β no one has been stuck because of a missed step.
Have a specific visa question? Message us on Facebook or Viber β we reply within the working day.