Detailed report of DTV process in Vientiane, Laos
Outcome: Approved within 10 days including weekend
Used soft power, Thai cooking class
Firstly I want to mention that this report is based on my personal experience, I suggest nobody takes that as a bullet proof general guide as every case is a little different.
Submitting application and pay:
Flew to Udon and crossed the border on Sunday 18-05 and submitted application the very same night. I prepared the application form and all attachments before the trip except for the evidence of current location which I obviously received after having crossed the border. Took a photo of visa and entry stamp, also confirmation of hotel booking, put it into my PC, converted to pdf, attached it to the prepared application and submitted. Paid visa fee early Monday morning 19-05, arrived before gates of embassy opened and had already a queue of around 20 people before me. I would mention that there could pop up 2 places when you put Thai embassy Vientiane into Google Maps. I went to the wrong place in the morning, make sure you go to “consular section” of Thai embassy, Rue Bourichane. Took around 40 minutes to complete payment process due to the queue, got the receipt and back to hotel.
Documents:
I had several “requests for additional documents”. Firstly, the photo was not clear so they needed a new one and they wanted a 3 month statement of my bank account. At first I put in my term deposit acct, took photos of bank book cover with my name and every page plus I attached a confirmation letter of the bank dated on the very day of application which I obtained online and that confirmed my current balance. This did the job for every yearly extension of stay that I obtained within Thailand (and I had many of them) but at that embassy, they obviously don’t fancy that. Hence they asked for a 3 month statement even my bank book contains almost 2 years of transactions and is basically the same as a statement. However, I recommend to use only transactional bank accounts, that is easier to handle for them and for the applicant. I didn’t know that. I then created statements for both term deposit account and transactional acct (which I luckily filled with money for standby a month ago) whereas the amount in the transactional acct was not 500k all the time during the 3 month period but at the end and it did the job. But I also had the term deposit account statement sent and I can’t say which one they preferred. I put both just to make sure. I have to mention that the application form doesn’t mention a 3 month statement but it only sais “proof of funds”. So I thought what’s good for the IO in Thailand would be acceptable for the embassy as well. But it’s not.
Then the story with the photos: application form doesn’t specify the requirements of the photo, so the first photo was too blurred for them, the second one didn’t have a white background and the third one, I was wearing my glasses. So it came to the fourth photo which was finally accepted. Remark: I would have very much appreciated if they specified what resolution, what size, what background and clothing, glasses or other details that matter. Basically it must be a digital passport photo as they use it to put it into the EVisa and it serves as identification at the border. I didn’t know that. Almost lost my nerves on it as the photos kept being rejected…
Appointment:
I got the appointment 1 day after my last document upload and they asked me to come to interview 2 days after that notification. It took them 2 days for every document upload to check them and to update the status. Altogether it took 8 days from Monday 19-05 until Tuesday 27-05 to schedule the interview including mentioned various document requests.
Interview:
I arrived 30 minutes prior to my appointment, had 3 guys waiting before me and I got in exactly as scheduled, 10 am. I would mention that you need to show the invitation e-mail, whether as a print out or in your phone. Based only on passport or name, security will not let you in. My email acct was on my other device not the one I carried so I had to improvise and set up the email acct on the device I carried and I didn’t have my password in mind. Was able to manage but made me pretty shaky. I then was kind of nervous and I think almost everyone is if I read faces and body language correctly.
The officer was of middle age with good English, not particularly unfriendly but also not extra friendly. Asked me to confirm my name.
Questions:
What would you like to do in Thailand
Where is the school you applied at
How long lasts the course that you enrolled at
Check of original documents + banking app:
Check of original bank book, cross check of number and name with online submitted statements.
Check of original house registration booklet and cross check with address mentioned in my application. I put in “own property” so I offered to show copies of title deed and purchase contract of property by land office. He gladly took that.
Check of banking app, scrolled through the last transactions to see if strange money income would appear. They don’t want applicants to work illegally means in the Thai market so very careful with incoming transfers, applicant should be able to explain/proof what kind of income that is.
Questions about previous history in Thailand which he could see from my previous visas/extensions of stay. In my case NON O based on marriage, based on Thai child and NON ED.
Have you been married before, do you have kids, do you speak Thai or similar can be expected according to applicant’s visa history. Beware of leaving the country during application, this will most likely be detected when check passport history.
He then right away confirmed that I was good and he was satisfied with the interview and documents. Confirmed that I would receive email soon, within today. In 10.00 am, out 10.05 am, received email when walking down the stairs in the building, 10.06 am.
All in all I would say that he was fair, not very strict or bullied around as from my passport it was easy to see that I have been living in Thailand for many years and permanently. And I don’t know if that’s the “clientele” they are looking for under that visa.
Costs of the trip:
Application is obviously 10.000 Baht in cash. Visa on arrival in Laos 1.700 Baht. You can easily count on 500 Baht up per day only for meals. That’s pretty much the minimum, on top comes beer, nightlife or purchases which I didn’t do at all. I pretty much only worked out in a gym that was nice and rest and relax the rest of the time. Costs of living are higher than in Thailand, around 30% I would say. But food and cafes are good, at least in the tourist area of Vientiane. Then costs of accommodation, in my case took a nice tidy hotel, roughly 900 Baht/night including breakfast. But it was a little away from town so walking was the task of the day. Additional are costs of transport. In my case taxi to Bkk, flight to Udon, minivan to the border, taxi from border to town. Back: international bus to Udon from morning market Vientiane, tuk tuk from bus station Udon to airport, flight to bkk, taxi back home. Almost everywhere in Vientiane they take Thai Baht but I would recommend to change like 5k on the first day or use the ATM. Exchange rate is better and it makes it easier as they always change in Lao Kip. The ATM costs was roughly 70 Baht for a 3.000 Baht withdrawal in Lao Kip.
The whole “project” costed me like 32k which I find not expensive. I had an offer from a well known agent in bkk of 60k, but that would be a visa with guarantee means no hassle or stress, they would arrange everything for the applicant. But I cannot recommend that as the guy seemed unreliable, he didn’t answer the phone or gave me a call back. And with a service price of 60k (plus costs of living during the time of the wait) I would say it’s appropriate to answer some detail questions of the customer.
Summary:
Anyways, it was stressful due to the uncertainty of the outcome of the whole thing and the length of stay in Laos. If I would have known the details regarding photo and statement/type of bank account, that would have saved me some hassle. Hence this report, hope it helps others out. I had a guy who fed me lots of info regarding the whole application process, interview, application form, attachments. Regarding the trip he gave me details of transport, costs, schedules even food and cafes in Vientiane. Hence I want to pass this help further on. Martin, thanks a lot Mate. Can’t appreciate it enough.
Anybody has details he is curious about, feel free to text me.
Cheers and good luck to everyone.
