Another success story from Hanoi - after 2 years on ED visa I was a bit worried, but I got my DTV and entered succesfully through DMK in Bangkok - no question asked. This group helped me a lot applying for my DTV visa, so I too want to contribute. Below are all the details:
Embassy: Hanoi
Category: Workcation (sorry, I forgot which subcategory I picked, not sure if freelancer or company - but my company is registered in my country as Sole proprietorship = 1 person "company")
Time: 7 days = 5 working days
Timeline:
20th April (late night): Applied & paid
21st April: Pending document check
22nd April: Pending Approval
27th April (evening): Approved
> NOTE: I got approved on Sunday, and since there were numerous similar reports (some even mentioned they received visas on official holidays), it seems like the embassy is working also on weekends, and probably also during holidays in some limited mode. So don’t lose hope, you really can receive your visa anytime.
Documents:
1. Proof of current location: 3-page PDF:
- booking of hotel in Vietnam (for 5 nights)
- stamp from Viet immigration
- my Viet e-visa
2. Financial evidence: 10-page PDF:
- last 6 months of bank statements
- also added a screenshot from the current (unfinished) month of April, as I've applied ~ 20th
> NOTE1: I had ~ 600k on my bank account for around 3 months, not 6
> NOTE2: I did not translate stataments to English, as that would be an enormous amount of work (translating 20+ pages of PDF, without breaking layout is not fun…), but it didn’t matter. All I did was highlight the ENDING monthly balance + my monthly paycheck.
3. Portfolio: 16-page PDF:
- Portfolio: 3 pages, just screenshots from my (web) portfolio
- Payslips for the last 6 months: 6 pages
- Proof of my company/business registration: 2 pages
> NOTE: I did translate this one, as it’s quite important, and attached BOTH the original and translated versions.
- Letter to allow myself to work remotely from TH: 1 page
> NOTE: Since my company is a Sole proprietorship, I wrote myself a generic letter that I allow myself to work remotely, my role is this and that, and that if there are more questions, you can contact me any time at a@b.c. There are many examples, so just search this group
- CV: 2 pages
- Screenshots from LinkedIn: 2 pages
Summary:
I made sure all the documents looks nice + I also added a little table of content at the beginning of each document - I think it's quite useful, if you have 10+ pages. I didn’t want to leave anything to chance. It was quite exhausting, and I’m glad it’s over, but it paid off ;)
Useful tools: Use smallpdf.com for merging and editing PDFs. It's not perfect, but I didn't find anything better.
IMPORTANT: Double, triple, quadruple-check your application with fresh eyes before submitting! It’s a lot of documents, a lot of work, mistakes can happen. For instance, I discovered a tiny mistake on my 3rd and final check, so just to be sure, I made a 4th one again lol.
FOR NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS: Looks like you don’t need to translate everything to English. I only translated my business license, and that was enough. I’d go crazy if I had to translate, let alone notarize, all 30+ pages of financial evidence and portfolio!
Good luck to everybody!
TLDR : Answer Summary
This post shares a successful experience applying for a DTV visa after holding an ED visa for two years. The author provides detailed documentation requirements and a timeline for the application process through the Vietnamese embassy in Hanoi. Key insights include the necessity of various documents such as proof of location, financial evidence, and portfolio samples, as well as tips on document preparation and verification. The author emphasizes that non-English documents may not need to be fully translated and offers encouragement to others preparing for their visa applications.
DTV VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
