What's the best place to get a E visa, that you don't have to pay

Everyone was so helpful in this group, I wanted to share my experience getting approval on my workcation/freelance DTV in Vientiane, Laos. It’s long, but hopefully helpful!

In advance of my arrival, I prepared all my documents.

Here’s everything I submitted, and I also submitted a cover page for each, explaining what I was including.

Financial Documents

1/ Bank Statement Summaries for three months (includes ending balance).

(I also offered them full bank statements (17 pages!) with all transactions, but they didn’t request them)

2/ Payments from clients (past three months)

3/ Client letters confirming self-employment status and that none of them were based in Thailand or had any offices there, along with 1099s (independent contractor tax form)

4/ Tax Return from 2024 (to show business income)

Professional Portfolio

1/ Cover letter explaining why I wanted to be in Thailand. Again, I mentioned I had no clients with business in Thailand, that I would be working remotely. I also mentioned wanting to immerse myself in the culture.

2/ Portfolio (I’m a freelance copywriter, so it was samples of client work, and an explanation of my role in the project)

3/ Resume

Proof that I was in Laos:

1/ Photo of plane ticket with arrival in Laos

2/ Photo of passport page with Laos entry stamp

3/ Hotel receipt

Tuesday, 11/11, arrived in Laos and submitted all documents online. PRINT OUT the payment voucher.

Wednesday 11/12, I went to the Embassy of Thailand (15 Rue Bourichane) to pay the $10,000 baht.

They open at 9am, but get there early! I was there at 8:45am and there were already 5 people in front of me. Go to the bank window, present your payment voucher and baht. They’ll stamp your voucher, but you don’t get any receipt.

Thursday, 11/13, they asked for a clearer passport page, and the full page of the passport page with entry stamp (I’d only sent the entry stamp). Respond quickly to any requests for additional information.

Friday, 11/14. I received my request for interview for Monday, 11/17! Just to be on the safe side, I printed out all my bank statements, and everything else I’d submitted.

Monday, 11/17. Interview at 10am. Again, go EARLY. They give the same time slot to multiple people.

The interview was 10 minutes at most: What are your plans while you’re in Thailand, wanted to see online bank balance, and again see client payments. I showed my website, explained my business, and where I’d be living in Thailand. I was told if I’d been approved, I’d hear by 2pm, and the answer was yes!

So amazingly, the whole process took less than a week!

I should mention that I applied before in August (Washington, DC Embassy) and was denied because my 500,000 baht had only been in my account for 2, not 3 months. I was offered the Multiple Entry Visa, which I declined. Having applied and been rejected before had no impact on this application in Laos.

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to apply for the DTV visa soon, and I have a question regarding the bank statement requirement.

For the “minimum 500,000 THB / 15,000 EUR balance for the last 3 months,” does the embassy check only the current ending balance shown on each monthly statement, or do they also verify the previous balance listed on the same document?

For example: on my November statement, the new ending balance is above 500,000 THB, but the previous balance (the balance listed on 07 October at the start of the statement) was below 500,000 THB.

Does the Thai Embassy in France (or any other embassy) evaluate the ending balance of each month only, or do they consider the previous/starting balance as well?

If anyone has experience or confirmation from an embassy, it would help a lot.

Thank you!

I'm currently way over 500,000 baht in bank account, but 2 months ago I was very slightly under. When I show my last 3 months bank statements, one of them is under. Has anyone been rejected for that? Should I just wait another month before I apply?

I received my visa from the Embassy in Manila yesterday.

Is anyone interested in applying for a visa there?

Perhaps I can write an article to share my experience.

Can anyone recommend a good long-term health insurance for the multi Thai DTV Visa?

Also, can people please tell me roughly how much they pay because I’ve got quotes that are super super high and just wasn’t expecting it to be that much money

I do also need to be covered for obviously the Muay Thai and also diving

Thank you !

A few visa run agencies have stopped border runs (even for dtv holders) from koh phangan koh samui and koh tao. Anyone else experience anything similar?

I just had my DTV approved today from Canberra after waiting a month, just wanted to share for anyone applying in the future that they seem to approve them based on the date you say you intend to go to Thailand. I can see from this group that people had applied at the Canberra embassy after me and been approved before me, I had put Dec 1 as my intended date just to allow time for the visa to be approved, whereas I should have said earlier. Hopefully this helps someone that's wanting a quicker approval

Siam Legal or Issa Compass?

Or would you recommend any other agents? Thanks!

I have a question regarding changing my visa-exempt stamp to Non O based on marriage. Has anyone had experience doing this within Thailand?

I have read mixed reviews on this, but it seems like this can be done at Chaeng Wattana.

I meet the requirements on documentation, but have also read that it’s not as plain sailing as it seems and can just be down to officer desecration on the day 🤔