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How long does it take to get a Thai DTV visa through the Ankara embassy, and what application details should I include?

Jul 7, 2025
7 days ago
Andrew *******
ORIGINAL POSTER
Ankara/Turkey/Türkiye embassy DTV approval! Just posting this for anyone else that might be searching the group for info about the DTV via Ankara.

tl;dr:

I applied with a U.S passport from Tbilisi, Georgia, on June 7 for a July 4 arrival date. I sent one Facebook message that received no reply but seemed to trigger a status change. Visa approved on July 4, but I'd already pushed back my travel plans given the Ankara embassy's long processing times.

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My application was for the "workcation" version, and, for the work section, I provided a cover letter describing my work in detail (along with a list of links to my sites/projects) and plans to stay in Thailand, a screenshot of my professional website, and a few recent invoices from different clients.

For the financial section, I provided 3 months of bank statements. My bank lets you download a statement of all your accounts smushed into one, so I had 1 checking and about 3 different savings accounts included in the statements, but one of the accounts was over the required 500k THB for 2 out of the 3 months, and 2 of them added together were always over the requirement, so not sure if this is useful as a data point for number of accounts your money can be spread across.

For supporting residence, I provided a clear shot of my most recent entry stamp into Georgia, along with the lease agreement for my current place in Tbilisi.

I waited about 3 weeks, then sent them a message on Facebook asking about my application status. They didn't get back to me, but the next day my application changed from "Pending document check" to "Pending approval" so I didn't contact them again, assuming I was almost there. I'd already decided I was going to stay longer in Tbilisi, anyway, so if it took a little longer that wasn't a problem.

Ultimately, my visa was approved on July 4, which was my intended arrival date. That would have been a little tight for my taste if I hadn't ended up booking a later flight.

Given that it took me a month to get approved and that the approval came in super last-minute, I'd definitely recommend keeping your travel plans flexible.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
A U.S. passport holder shares their experience applying for the Thai DTV (Digital Nomad Visa) at the Ankara embassy. They applied on June 7 for a July 4 arrival and emphasized the importance of flexibility in travel plans due to potentially long processing times. The applicant provided comprehensive documentation, including a cover letter, work details, financial statements, and supporting residence proof. After sending a follow-up message via Facebook, their status changed, leading to approval on July 4. The applicant advises others to keep travel plans adaptable, given the last-minute approval.
DTV VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
Dca *****
Congratulations on your new Thai DTV E–Visa (Workcation DTV Category) from the Thai Embassy in Ankara!

Unrelated, but, how does the the free visa exemption for 365 days work in Georgia? is that 365 days extendable?
Andrew *******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Dca ****
I happen to be the admin of Tbilisi Digital Nomads so I am uniquely qualified to answer this question 😃

And the answer is yes! You basically come in visa-free, leave at any point before the 365 is up, then come back in. You can turn around at the Armenian border if you want. I even know someone who technically never crossed that border--the person who drove them had a border guard buddy and my friend got their passport stamped out and in without ever leaving the Georgian side haha

That said, your mileage may vary. Politics are turbulent here at the moment, and there are a lot of much more restrictive laws coming down the pike right now. The visa-free year hasn't been touched yet, but they did recently propose a new bill that regulates foreign workers in Georgia, potentially including self-employed freelancers.

Should also mention that your nationality/skin color are absolutely considerations. People from lower-income countries, people from countries that Georgians don't like, or brown-skinned people with weaker passports are fairly routinely denied entry. Some countries are definitely targeted more than others, and having the visa-free year makes you a lot more likely to get through regardless of passport/color, but it's good to remember that a racist border guard can turn you around for no reason at all.

Overall, I'd say the "free lunch" period of Georgia seems to be wrapping up for the moment, but from a purely functional perspective it looks like it'll remain a reasonably easy/cheap place to live and work--just not as easy as it was before.

They're also done 180s on a few of their previous liberal policies, like weed decriminalization and rights for queer people, so be aware that it's becoming a conservative state legally as well as culturally. I know some people who moved here specifically because they were hoping to live in a theocracy, though, so if you're that type of person, you'll love it here 😃

As bleak a picture as I might paint, though, it's a beautiful country and so many things about it are amazing. I absolutely encourage everyone who can to visit Georgia. Building a life here is a bit of a risky proposition, but you certainly won't regret staying for a while.
Natalie **********
@Andrew ******
Thank you for touching on the "skin color" point. I'm in quite a few travel abroad groups, but the topic of skin color, race, ethnicity (no matter the nationality) doesn't seem to be mentioned much. I'm guessing if it doesn't apply personally to an individual, it's just never thought of how that can impact digital nomads of color, especially when it comes to safety and well-being issues.
Andrew *******
ORIGINAL POSTER
Given the forum, maybe I should add that Thai people seem to get through pretty easily--they're on the visa-free list and there are more Thai restaurants here than almost any other type of international food except Italian 😃
Andrew *******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Natalie *********
It wasn't something I thought about much either until I started running this group--then I noticed it coming up all the time because Georgian immigration specifically has a big problem with discrimination against darker-skinned people with weaker passports.
Natalie **********
@Andrew ******
-ironically, FB/Meta sent me a "Memory" this morning (of one that I posted on this very date - July 7th, a few years ago). It was a post in which I happily announced the arrival of my Passport in the mail. A flyer that came with the mailing said, "With Your U.S. Passport, The World Is Yours". Although I am disheartened by some present-day events, I love the idea that I am just one global citizen among billions of others. And I sincerely believe that traveling around the world has the power to dismantle the barriers of distrust and racial injustice, hopefully building deeper connections with others. #keeptraveling
Dca *****
@Andrew ******
Thank you very much for such detailed perspectives and synopsis of Georgian visa and entry policies!
Andi ***********
Congrats! Very useful info for those planning on applying in Turkey, A long wait but you have the DTV!!!