DTV WORKACTION APPROVED - SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP LLC GUIDE - VISUAL MEDIA FREELANCERS
I would like to thank everyone in this group for contributing in my DTV visa process. This was an invaluable source of quality information and I would not have been able to do it right without you.
Special thanks to Dragiša Dobić, Johan De Reiziger and Benjie Thomas from this group for giving me very specific information I needed to make this successful on the first attempt.
I would like to contribute by making this specific guide for all people applying with sole proprietor LLC route. The information publicly available in this group regarding this specific route was not clear enough to me, and left me with many questions (yes, I am probably stupid). I hope that this post will address these gaps for everyone interested.
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Embassy: Hanoi
DTV type: Workation
Nationality: USA
Company's field of work: Video and Film production
Personal Bank Statements: 3 months (most recent)
Date applied: October 22, 2025
Status changed to "Pending Approval": October 24, 2025
Date approved: October 29, 2025
Total - 1 week
NO ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS REQUESTED
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In the attached images you will find:
1. Content page, listing the exact organization of the supporting PDF document. This is usually your Field 5 in the application.
2. Proof of location setup + an ADDITIONAL TIP about this section will be provided below. This is usually your Field 4 in the application.
3. Cover page with a table for the personal bank statements section (proof of funds). This is usually your Field 3 in the application.
4. Cover page which explains the relationship between your business account and your personal account. This was inside the supporting PDF document of Field 5 (page 42 of my Content page attached).
5. Portfolio page. I work with videos, so I provided links to each of these listed projects.
You can mimic the structure of the Content page for your application and edit sections as you see fit. However, I highly suggest that you keep Cover Letter, Employment Contract and No Objection Letter at the top of the document, right after your content page.
For these 3, you can get some assistance from chatGPT.
Example of the prompt would be: "Please write me a No Objection letter for DTV Thailand visa application, addressed to the embassy, which states clearly that I am allowed to work remotely". Done.
As a sole proprietor, you will be writing letters addressed FROM YOUR COMPANY TO YOURSELF, even though you are the only member of the company. This was a confusing part for me, but it is the correct way to do it. Do not overthink it. It might make no sense, but they just need paperwork confirming that you can take care of yourself.
Sign them all please.
All the other sections, tailor as you see fit.
For example, I included my IMDb page, instead you can include your LinkedIN, Instragram page, Facebook page, or similar.
Make sure that you SCREENSHOT everything and include the screen grabs in the application. They will not bother visiting your links. Make it easy for the embassy staff.
Portfolio - see attached. Make your links clickable, and double check all the links before submitting. If your work is images or some similar creative field, attach as many as you can in your application. The stronger your portfolio is the better. Again, do not assume that they will visit your links.
Business section - You can see the breakdown of the documents I submitted for my LLC in the Content Page. The summary is:
* Articles of Organization *(if your company is U.S. based, you can download this online from the STATE where you incorporated. Most states have these available online for free).*
* Business Bank Statements - 3 months
* 2024 Tax Filing - Schedule C only (hide your SSN)
* Highlighted Statements proving relationship between business and personal bank accounts - I made a landscape oriented image, placed 1 page of my business statement on the left side and 1 page of my personal statement on the right side. I highlighted the salary transaction on both and connected them with an arrow. Whatever you do, make it simple to understand. Also, I included a cover page for this section, explaining exactly how this transaction happens. I have attached this cover page in this post
* Invoices Sent out for the past month (1 month)
* Screenshots of my company's Web Page, with a clickable link to my webpage. Please make the screenshots.
The last page of this document was my flight ticket to Thailand. It was a return ticket within 180 days.
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PROOF OF LOCATION
See the attached cover letter for this section and use it as a template.
* IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL TIP: *
Initially, I tried to include ALL my passport pages in the main supporting PDF document (Field 5 of your application).
I quickly realized that after compressing over 70 pages to under 3MB that most JPEGS were completely unreadable. In order to mitigate this issue, I INCLUDED THE SCANS OF ALL MY PASSPORT PAGES IN THE PROOF OF LOCATION SECTION. I just appended them at the end of my Proof of Location document, with a cover page explaining that this is what I'm including.
It worked, and most importantly it made a DRASTIC DIFFERENCE in the readability and clarity of my heavily compressed supporting PDF file.
The embassy never requested me to attach my passport pages again. You can save yourself a lot of headache by doing so. And if you are feeling lazy - Yes, you need to include ALL your passport pages!
PDF COMPRESSION TOOLS
This has been discussed many times before in this group, but let's be thorough. I recommend 2 options:
smallpdf.com
ilovepdf.com
Both will give you good results, but in my case the readability of the final document was much better with SMALLPDF.
DESIGN TOOLS
You can use Canva to make your documents look more professional. They offer free trials, and it will vastly improve the overall look of your application.
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Feel free to DM me with specific questions that are not covered in this guide.
Yes, the process is stressful, but my advice is to include as much as possible in your application so that you don't get additional request for documents.
It will move your application quicker and give you less stress in the long run.
Good luck to you all!
TLDR : Answer Summary
This post provides a detailed guide for obtaining a DTV Workation visa in Thailand as a sole proprietor LLC, particularly for freelancers in the visual media field. It includes a timeline of the application process, necessary documentation such as bank statements, proof of residence, and advice on structuring the application effectively. The author shares personal insights and additional tips to simplify the process, including the importance of ensuring all documentation is clear and readable, as well as methods for compressing PDF files. The post concludes with encouragement for fellow applicants and offers to assist with further questions.
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