DTV done in Korea (6 weeks!) - UPDATED

*Update as of Feb 2025. Apparently, they now ask for full alien card, no longer a stamp. Please, email the embassy for clarification beforehand.

Some people here thought it was impossible to do in Korea as a tourist but it was not true. I've emailed them before applying and a tourist stamp is good enough for them.

Applied online as digital nomad. They asked:

* Only 3 months of bank statements

* Full employment contract

* CV

* Tourist Stamp in Passport

* Certificate of Employment (letter from a manager)

* Proof of accommodation (Airbnb in my case)

Big con - the amount of time it took to process the application the whole 6 weeks. And 4 weeks is the minimum, no special cases. I also did an email follow up every week just in case. It was a hassle in the end and I'd rather have done it in Laos or Vietnam in a much shorter time.

But if you want to experience Korea and also do a DTV just make sure you go there for 2 months for the lengthy visa processing.

Call me old-fashioned & old-school and the fact that, previously, in-person Thai visa application submission + issuance of a physical Thai Visa Sticker in the passport = processing times seem to be quicker than current Thai e-Visa processing times; but, don't think anyone waiting for a Thai Visa Sticker ever exited the country and then re-entered the country to go to a Thai Embassy/Consulate during the wait for their Thai visa sticker issuance

So, the same concept/principle should apply for Thai e-Visa issuance = just stay physically in the country until the Thai e-Visa PDF is issued, even if it is a long processing time....

Also, this whole thing about being too lazy or cheap to physically print out the Thai E-Visa PDF:

Things happen in life, even in a fully digital world and humanity should be conserving paper and not wasting paper, but relying on showing something on a smartphone where some technical glitch could possibly happen and the smartphone becomes inoperable or one accidentally drops their smartphone, anyone would be wiser and more prepared with a simple sheet of paper with their Thai E-Visa printed on it....

When applying for a soft power DTV would a statement from a brokerage account (JP Morgan) work or does it need to be a savings account or checking account?

Hello,

I entered Thailand in September with the free 60-day visa, then I did the 1-month extension and my extension ends on December 23.

I plan to go to Laos for 2 nights and then return to Thailand and I would like to know when I return to Thailand if it is possible to have a tourist visa or would I have a free 60-day visa?

Has the ETA started in Thailand yet as I'm heading over in February and want to check before I fly back

I must admit that the most disturbing thread I recently read on here, relates to the ban on a farang doing any form of work (other than English teaching with a work permit). I have no intention to work for income, or labour in my future wife's rice fields. It is however central to my physical and mental wellbeing to be able to do little bits of maintenance in and around our home, and some gardening. The gist of the comments concluded that I can only do that at the risk of deportation.

Is there a resource anyone can recommend to get more clarity? Something substantial...the Immigration office itself, or a solicitor?

And no... it is not my thing to sit on a couch and drink beer. Enjoy that for yourself, but that does not fit in with the way I wish to live my retired life with my wife.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Can I arrive in Vietnam and then depart after a few days to Singapore?

I know there is a low chance I’d be called in for an interview

But haven’t seen any posts yet saying Vietnam embassy had called them in?

Just wondering when I should book the onward flight for

Hi - does anyone know if you can obtain DTV visa for cookery classes whilst in Thailand or do you have to be out of the country? Thank you

Hi, I would appreciate recommendations on a Muay Thai institute in Phuket, from people who have successfully issued a DTV visa through them😎

Q for Muay Thai/soft power applicants:

- Can you provide a list of the documents your gym gave you to assist with your application?

- does the gym need specific accreditation?

I am already a member at a gym, but they haven’t done DTV. I don’t want to train at another gym for 6 months so I want to see if I can get my gym to provide me with the necessary paperwork. It is a big, reputable gym in a major city with a foreign owner.