Thailand's Student Loan Fund and Whether It Can Be Used for Overseas Study
By Muntasir • Published Jun 16, 2025 • Updated Sep 27, 2026 • Money & Budgeting, Study in Southeast Asia
Thailand's Student Loan Fund (กยศ) only lends for study at institutions that have signed an agreement with the fund, and those are Thai schools and universities. For overseas study, Thai families turn to bank loans such as Krungthai's education loan instead.
🏠 กยศ pays tuition and living costs only at participating Thai institutions, not foreign universities.
💵 Krungthai Bank's overseas education loan charges MRR plus 3% per year with a guarantor, or MRR minus 0.75% with property collateral.
⏱️ Krungthai repayment runs up to 10 years, and your age plus the loan term cannot exceed 65 (60 if you are the student borrower).
📩 Guarantors need a minimum income: 15,000 baht a month for civil servants, 20,000 baht for private employees, 50,000 baht for self-employed applicants.
Why กยศ does not reach foreign universities
The Student Loan Fund, known as กยศ (Kor Yor Sor), is a state fund under Thailand's Ministry of Finance that lends Thai students money for tuition, education-related expenses and living costs. The fund only disburses to institutions that have formally signed on as participants, and that list is made up of Thai schools, vocational colleges and universities. A student enrolled at a foreign university outside that agreement structure cannot draw on กยศ for that program, confirmed on the fund's own FAQ page .
This rules out กยศ as a direct funding source for a bachelor's or master's degree taken entirely abroad. It does not rule out a domestic loan running alongside separate savings, a scholarship or a bank loan for the years you spend overseas, if your study plan mixes Thai and foreign institutions.
What กยศ still covers for hybrid study paths
Some Thai students combine a domestic program with a short exchange or a dual-degree year abroad while staying formally enrolled at their Thai institution. In that setup, the Thai school stays your enrolling institution and reports your status to กยศ, so the loan can continue covering the domestic portion of your program. Confirm this directly with your university's registrar and with กยศ before you assume continuity, since reporting rules differ by exchange agreement.
Bank loans for overseas study
For a full degree abroad, Thai families typically turn to a commercial bank product built specifically for overseas education. Krungthai Bank's overseas study loan is one example: it funds actual education costs up to your accepting institution's estimated cost breakdown, and requires an acceptance letter, embassy or institution certification, and an itemized cost estimate as part of the application, per the bank's own product page .
| Security offered | Interest rate |
|---|---|
| Personal guarantor | MRR plus 3.00% per year |
| Deposit assignment as collateral | Deposit rate plus 2% margin per year |
| Property mortgage as collateral | MRR minus 0.75% per year |
Repayment stretches up to 10 years, with a rule that the borrower's age plus the loan term cannot exceed 65, or 60 if the student themself is the named borrower rather than a parent. Guarantors need a minimum monthly income: 15,000 baht for civil servants, 20,000 baht for private sector employees, and 50,000 baht for self-employed guarantors.
What to prepare before you apply
Your university acceptance letter, since the bank sizes the loan against your program's actual cost.
An itemized cost breakdown from the foreign institution covering tuition and, where relevant, living costs.
A guarantor or collateral option decided in advance, since the interest rate you get depends heavily on which security you offer.
Proof of stable income and a clean credit history for whoever signs as borrower or guarantor.
Practical takeaway
Treat กยศ as a tool for study inside Thailand, and treat a bank loan such as Krungthai's overseas product, alongside university and government scholarships, as your route for a foreign degree. Compare more than one bank before committing, since collateral requirements and rates shift the real cost of borrowing substantially between a guarantor-backed loan and a property-backed one.
Other Thai banks with overseas study services
Bangkok Bank runs a dedicated study abroad service page covering foreign currency remittance, wire transfers to foreign universities and loan consultation for students headed overseas, listed on the bank's study abroad page . Ask the bank directly for its current interest rate and collateral terms, since exact figures sit behind a branch consultation rather than a published rate card.
Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank also market general-purpose personal loans that families use toward overseas tuition, though neither runs a dedicated, publicly compared overseas education product the way Krungthai does. Compare offers from at least two or three banks before signing, since collateral requirements change your effective borrowing cost significantly.
Applying for a Krungthai overseas study loan
Confirm your university acceptance and request an itemized cost breakdown covering tuition, housing and living costs for the full program.
Decide who applies as the named borrower, a parent, guardian or relative, since this affects which income documents the bank asks for.
Choose your security type, guarantor, deposit or property, before your first branch visit, since this determines your quoted rate.
Submit identity documents, income proof, the acceptance letter and the cost estimate together, since an incomplete application delays approval past your enrollment deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use กยศ for a Thai institution and a bank loan for a semester abroad in the same program? If your Thai school keeps you formally enrolled during an exchange semester, กยศ can keep covering the domestic portion while a bank loan or savings cover the semester abroad, confirmed directly with your registrar and with the fund.
Does age affect eligibility for an overseas study loan? Krungthai's rule ties the loan term to age 65 for a parent borrower or 60 for a student borrower, so older applicants get a shorter maximum repayment period.