Little information immigration and visa exemption.

A friend of mine was taken to the infamous room at BKK airport because he was entered on visa exemption quite often this year. Immigration gave him the warning and told him it is ok for then if he stays no longer than 5 MONTHS and 2 WEEKS in each calendar year on visa exemption.

Edit: he entered on the 27th october 2025 and they demanded he has to buy a return ticket to Italy on 7th april 2026. He actually wanted to leave 10th of april 2026 but thy insisted it has to be the 7th. And they also insisted it needs to be a return ticket to Italy and not an onward ticket.

Hello, following up something I read another member post, I am planning to go into Laos and apply for the DTV, but I only get 14 days of visa exemption. What if I never get my DTV approved by then, would it be okay to travel to Thailand with visa exemption for 14 days, and wait for the DTV there? And I just go back to Laos if it’s approved and back into Thailand with DTV.

If not may I get some suggestions on what I should do about this? Am I able to extend my visa exemption in Laos? Thank you very much for your time.

I booked a rt flight to Kuala Lumpur to activate a new Dtv entry. My flight back to Bangkok is 3 Hours after I land in KL. Does anyone know the process: will I have to go out of the arrival terminal and to the departures gate for the in/out stamps? Or can I just stay in the terminal and go to my “connecting“ flight?

Hi there, I would like to ask how other people have proceeded when after being granted their DTV visa, they have had to change their passport -for whatever the reason- and re-enter Thailand with the new one while their DTV visa is linked/granted to the older one. No theories or suggestions -just real scenarios of people that had actually done this, please. Cheers!

Hey, I’ve had recurring issues with my passport number because it contains a zero (0), and some authorities or offices mistakenly treat it as the letter O.

Do you think it makes sense to include a note about this when applying for the DTV? I don’t want my application to be rejected because the passport number doesn’t match or something like that.

I was thinking of adding an extra page into the passport upload, since I’m not sure where else I could mention it. What do you think?

Hello! I have 3 bank statements. For my August and October bank statements I have over 500,000 baht but for my September bank statement I have 465,000baht. I’ll also have over 500,000 baht the day I apply do you know if that will qualify? Or will I need to wait 2 more months to apply so I’ll have 500,000 baht for October, November, and December? I’m applying for the soft power dtv. I already got my letter from the cooking class. I’m wanting to apply through Vietnam. Was planning flying into Vietnam on the 17th of November to apply. I’m open to apply in another country not far from Thailand if that embassy will be okay with the bank statements I currently have. Thank you!

Does the money required for a thai retirement visa have to be in a thai account or is uk bank ok?

They asking for confirmed accomodation for the duration of intended stay.

During the application i selected 165 days of stay.

Do i need to book a hotel now for 165 days ?

Another question:

At the application process they asking for flight ticket. I booked a 'ticket' via onwardticket website.

Now they asking me for confirmed airline ticket. Can i now book a different flight ? Or do i need to book the flight i provided (onwardticket).

Has anyone entered Thailand on a tourist visa while waiting for their DTV visa to be granted, and then come back to the country where they submitted the application from when they receive it and then enter Thailand again on the DTV?

If you have done this, please let me know if you had any problems or if all was okay.

I’ve waited a long time for my DTV an it’s still pending approval. I need to get back to Thailand now.

Many thanks..

Hey everyone!

I had a quick question about travel patterns and Thai immigration.

I’m a U.S.-based flight attendant, so I want to spend about 14 days in Thailand each month for rest and leisure between my work rotations. I fly back to the U.S. regularly and always have return tickets, plus I stay in hotels or Airbnbs during my visits.

I actually contacted the immigration office in Thailand about the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) and was told I’m not eligible since I’m considered flight crew, not a remote worker.

So I’m just wondering — for those who’ve been in and out of Thailand frequently, how would a pattern like mine (14 days every month) look to immigration officers? Would that seem fine as frequent travel, or could it eventually raise flags?

I’d love to hear from anyone who’s done something similar or has experience with multiple short stays throughout the year.

Thanks in advance for any insight!