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How successful is Thailand's Digital Nomad Visa based on the number of issued visas?
Digital Nomad Visa (DTV)Visa NumbersThailand ImmigrationForeigners in ThailandLong-Term StayExpat CommunityVisa Types
Jul 14, 2025
10 months ago
Wannikea *********
ORIGINAL POSTERAccording to this article 35,000 DTV visas issued so far. Average of 100 per day since inception.
[members only]?
[members only]?
TLDR : Answer Summary
As of now, approximately 35,000 Digital Nomad Visas (DTV) have been issued in Thailand, averaging about 100 per day since the launch. While some commenters see this as a successful niche visa, others are disappointed by the lower-than-expected numbers. Approval criteria have become stricter, leading to speculation about the reasons behind the figures. Participants in the discussion are divided, with some expressing enjoyment of the DTV experience while others reflect on broader sentiments regarding expats in Thailand.
DTV VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
- Take the basic DTV Qualification Test to see if you're eligible for the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV).
- For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
- Explore recent discussions by using the DTV Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
- Join the Thai Visa Advice Facebook Group to ask your questions, and get advice from others.
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Anonymous ******************
While that number makes it their most sucessfull new visa in over a decade (for comparison SMART was less than 50 per month on average in first year) numbers are actually far less than thought, which is good sign against any over the top crackdowns
Interesting same amount issued as members of this group, even accounting for those waiting to apply/in process maybe good indication that majority of applicants are members here
Interesting same amount issued as members of this group, even accounting for those waiting to apply/in process maybe good indication that majority of applicants are members here
Manfred **********
So all it takes are 3 immi agents to handle the entire project?
Wannikea *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Manfred *********
probably only 3 have done extensions.Reply to
Wannikea *********
Reply
Tony ******
I think the visa is a success as the DTV crowd are staying for long periods. I’d normally spend one month a year in Thailand, in 2025 with the DTV I’ll spend about 6 months here, I live it up a bit and will easily spend over a million baht here, way more than I would in a normal year.
Wayne *******
Some people could literally start an argument in a mirror!
David ********
And for all you nay sayers. The DTV is not ending you idiots it is getting more popular and the Thai government is loving it.
Wannikea *********
ORIGINAL POSTERNumbers are a bit lower than I expected as well. But approval scrutiny has been tightened. Also funds seasoning might be delaying submissions.
Greg ********
@Wannikea ********
I wonder how it compares with Digital Nomad Visas elsewhere. Not exactly like for like though with Soft Power included here.Reply to
Greg ********
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Tommy ********
Actually I’ve just been told it’s a lot higher than 35,000. Waiting for specific figure now
Wannikea *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Tommy *******
Seriously, I can believe this, who knows how old or well researched the article numbers are.Tommy ********
@Wannikea ********
there’s a new person in charge managing the DTV campaign. The number of applications exceeds 50,000. Just got a message earlier today.Reply to
Tommy ********
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Shandy ********
Just a drop in the bucket, tourism-wise. Strange that they would bother focusing on stamping out visa "fraud" with extra border checks, like people are reporting. Haven't heard of someone being denied entry on the visa yet though.
Anonymous ******************
Alot less than I expected.
Bobby *********
Yea it’s pretty cool to have unless your nation faces a lot of scrutiny then they pull you out of line as though you did something wrong 😂 saw it happen
Greg ********
@Bobby ********
That is not just the DTV though. Many countries in this region similar. Vietnam and Singapore to name 2.Reply to
Greg ********
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Greg ********
There are 35k members of this group. Not all have DTV though :-)
Bian ****
Definitely a reason to move on to other destinations now
Tommy ********
@Bian ***
there are expert people leaving because Thailand does feel like anyone can stay here long term now. There’s more trouble, more unruly visitors, prices increasing, and for the first time I’ve ever seen in 14 years, Thai people are actually getting tired of expats now. Prior, you knew only legitimate people would be working and living in Thailand. This made the community more unique and likely more charming to an extent.
That said it makes sense for Thailand to launch this visa. It was needed to stay with the times.
Andi ***********
@Bian ***
Why?Dany ********
@Bian ***
*****
DTV holders is literaly nothing. not even a noticable number compared to tourists or people on marriage and retirement visa in this country.Julien ****
@Bian ***
sure if you go to Bangkok, Krabi and Phuket. I find the foreigners to be quite respectful in Thailand. Especially considering the ethnic diversity.Andi ***********
@Bian ***
Where are you located? there are plenty of spots still where few foreigners are found but yeah there some who act badly and give a negative image of the foreign community.Reply to
Andi ***********
Reply
Anonymous ******************
It’s a money grab for them. I’ll probably just only use it this time and never again anyways.
Wannikea *********
ORIGINAL POSTERAnonymous participant 661 what absolute crap. 5 years of multiple entry permits alone would cost 19,000 baht.
Julien ****
@Wannikea ********
probably a lot more than *****
Greg ********
@Julien ***
5 * 3800 = *****
Julien ****
@Greg *******
where do you pull that cost from ?Greg ********
@Julien ***
Multi-Re-entry permit is 3800 and aligns with your visa. Most visas are 1 year so for 5 years the cost is 19k. Do you really not know the basics about visas in Thailand?Reply to
Greg ********
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Anonymous ******************
@Wannikea ********
sure whatever you want like justify it with you know multiple reentry permits into the joyous place of Thailand the only place in the world with a 90 day report with a fine is ridiculous anyway anyways. Most places you get a visa you go a tourist and you can leave and come back. Yeah this is the only place that wants to make money off of every little single thing that they can. I want to squeeze everything that they can, but I’m sure you’re one of those lifers that lived here a long time and you love this horrible place so that’s fine. I totally is. I tried it out. I gave it a chance I’m allowed to have my opinion about it Though I try different parts of the country. You know it’s not like I am you know, saying this without having the visa or having experienced myself you know when the Bangkok hospital like threatened my mother that they wouldn’t treat my brain injury that was life-threatening unless you gave them a credit card on the spot and then they extorted her Afterwards and like kept me locked in the attention room yeah it’s a wonderful country. It really is. I can’t wait to leave again. And the thing is, it’s not even legal for them to do that but they make you think so because they just wanna get as much money as they can out of you and it was illegal for them to recharge our credit card the way they did, but you know laws don’t apply to foreigners here, so I think people who moved here fools to be honest that’s my opinionbut most people probably haven’t had to go to the hospital for traumatic brain, injury or face or anything like that so they wouldn’t understand
Wannikea *********
ORIGINAL POSTERAnonymous participant 661 okay you, like everyone has issues and experiences, some good some bad. Some call it paradise, some call it hell. Most places on this sh!t system planet are hell, starvation, war, eco collapse, prices, disease, ultra rich filthy poor. I am lucky and thankful just to be able to have insight, an opinion, and options. You obviously haven't come to terms with your fate and lash out at a country that is no better or no worse than others, just because whatever happened to you happened here. Don't let your bitterness eat away at the little joy we have. I'll take a 90 day report over a bunch of roided out ICE agents, crumbling unfunded social safety nets abandoned for the war machine, me me me capitalism, abject poverty next to Olympic stadiums in the desert, and all the rest of the insane f#ckery this planet has to offer. Everyone is dealt a hand in life, deal with yours with grace.
Reply to
Wannikea *********
Reply
Martino *******
Anonymous participant 661 money grab? Was incredibly cheap and easy to obtain, very low requirements. I consider it a GIFT!
Anonymous ******************
@Martino ******
multiply by the number of allocations and remember tons of rejections they keep that.Reply to
Anonymous ******************
Reply
Julien ****
Anonymous participant 661 it is a great visa for both sides. Thailand ensures that visa holders have sufficient funds to limit illegal work and cheap options for people who do not want to spend 1m thb for visa privilege, want to reduce borders runs and paperwork applications.
Anonymous ******************
@Julien ***
ok. I don’t like Thailand. I wish I would’ve never got it. I am seriously tired of being overbilled for everything here. you know when I first came to visit. It was kind of cool and everything, but it just seems like in the last couple years, almost every place I’ve gone they will try to overcharge or they will overcharge you, especially at the hospitals, and yes, they’re cheaper than back home even still, but it’s the principal, or when I order a bunch of steak and I get ripped off by the vendor, and then the delivery service won’t do a refund because it doesn’t even look like the picture. You can keep this place.
Julien ****
Anonymous participant 661 Thailand is expensive now. Especially Phuket. Definitely not a cheap destination if you stay in the hot spots. Everything is made for us to burn money and hard to resist all the temptations.
Greg ********
@Julien ***
You need to choose your lifestyle. When I was working in Bangkok I was spending well north of 200k THB a month easily. Not working and not partying or going to "Hot spots" regularly costs are much lower.Anonymous ******************
@Greg *******
I only spend 40,000 a month unless there’s a surprise charge which has been happening more and more recently. IDany ********
@Julien ***
thailand is as cheap as ever. why would you even compare a massive tourist hotspot?Anonymous ******************
@Dany *******
no it’s not. It’s more expensive than when I was here the year before last.Alan ******
@Dany *******
deffo cheaper then the 🇬🇧, moaning about a few baht lol , yes the whole world is going up in prices , better people and better food, climate the lot 😉Anonymous ******************
@Alan *****
the climate here has not actually better than anywhere else. It’s hot all the time and humid. But it rains and floods and then there’s the pollution season.Julien ****
@Alan *****
not moaning buddy. Foreign food restaurant cost the same as Canada for quality equivalence (mind you they cook better in Thailand, Canada can't cook shit haha). I consider this high proportionally to the average cost of living. Many fancy hotels are the same price as Canada too, in the hot spots....I don't have any issue with money and not many people burn as much as I do in Thailand. Was just making a statement that Thailand can be surprisingly expensive.Anonymous ******************
@Julien ***
I think that people just don’t wanna admit that that’s true. Like I ordered Chinese food, which was really barely decent and it was the same price as in the USA. A good hotel here is the same price pretty much as in Western countries. But in western countries like Canada, we don’t have the massive air pollution, we don’t have all these road accidents, I can’t say that the government is more honest, but you know bribery at the lower level is not really common, you have consumer rights if someone rips you off, you have none here absolutely nothing you can do about it. You just have to chalk it up. The weather is pure it is hot and humid all the time and then there’s the pollution which we don’t have there either. So once you tally this up and it comes close to living back home it’s not really worth it anymore, so I think Thailand’s gonna face the crossroads of trying to be this posh expensive place for rich people that will never come here and they wanna kick out all of the kind of lower in tourist or retirees that kind of really made this place famous And I think that’s gonna be big problem for them and people just go to Vietnam in this place will lose a lot of money.
I learned from living here that there were certain things I took for granted like consumer protection, food, inspection, product, inspection, and things like that you know that you don’t really think about that when it happens here there’s nothing you can do about it. You wasted your money.
Julien ****
@Dany *******
go eat good foreign food, party in hotspots, go to nice hotel and it is expensive.Dany ********
@Julien ***
why do i need to eat foreign food in thailand? why would that even be a criteria? lol… i can eat a thai beef noodle soup for 50 baht here and get a thai iced tea for 25 baht. in ao nang, krabi… i am on a DTV and not a „i need to party hard in all thai hotspots“ visa. why would i stay in a hotel when i can get a fully furnished house for 200-500 €$£ per month???Anonymous ******************
@Dany *******
it comes with lovely food poisoning possibility for that price too. I’ve had it twice.Dany ********
Anonymer Teilnehmer 661 why would cheap food give you food poisoning? the most cases of food poisoning that i hear about come from the „quality“ hotel restaurants or fancy restaurants… you think the locals get food poisoning weekly from eating 60 baht pad thais? no, lol… i live here for 2,5 yeads and never had it once and i eat from cheap local places to some middle class restaurants daily.
Julien ****
@Dany *******
I actually agree with you about poisoning. When I eat cheap spicy food, I am all good. The only time I got a bit sick was after eating foreign food but you get to know the places where you can eat foreign food that is handled properly.Julien ****
@Dany *******
your choice. Not everyone is like you. The whole world does not revolve around your choice. Proportionally to the level of development of this country, the services and goods I mentioned above can have a surprisingly high cost. I have a house in Northern Thailand, a Thai girlfriend and a Thai baby so I know how to live like a local but I regularily go to Phuket or other hotspots where I stay in fancy hotel, party in VIP lounges and eat foreign food and the cost is high proportionally to the average income.Javier ******
@Julien ***
why would you go to Thailand to live like in Europe, for that you stay in Europe.Julien ****
@Javier *****
why do you exist 😂. Just read what I wrote dummy.Reply to
Julien ****
Reply
Greg ********
Anonymous participant 661 A money grab? Do you think there is a high profit in the visa fee of 10k THB?
Anonymous ******************
@Greg *******
it’s approx US$20-30 million. and the fee that I paid was higher than that.Greg ********
Anonymous participant 661 Closer to 10 million. Hope you did not apply as a remote accountant.
Wannikea *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Greg *******
35,000x10,000=350,000,000 baht or 10 million USDAnonymous ******************
@Wannikea ********
10.78 million 😂Greg ********
Anonymous participant 583 My OCD made me calculate it too :-)
Reply to
Greg ********
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Ryan ********
I think that's a good number. Popular, but not too popular/being abused. A good sign for the longevity of the visa.
Tommy ********
Sounds about right. Government told me earlier this year it was around 20,000 then.
Definitely got more popular and essentially more long term tourists
Definitely got more popular and essentially more long term tourists
Andi ***********
Big surprise.i would have thought around double
Dom ********
They’ll be disappointed with that
Greg ********
My guess was more than that to be honest. There were 12k by November.
Andi ***********
@Greg *******
did you get numbers when you attended the recent digital nomad events in CM?Greg ********
@Andi **********
No - I actually asked right out in front of them. The guy presenting did not know. Turned to the TAT representative and they did not know. If I was presenting I would have had numbers at my fingertips - just saying :-)Andi ***********
@Greg *******
No one knew Jack. explains a lot. The numbers a key aspect of any new project and those in charge should have them to hand.Greg ********
@Andi **********
Exactly. I would have been embarrassed if I did not have numbers to hand. I was once grilled by Viet Drs for 30 minutes on number and processes. Luckily I used to be like Sheldon Copper with my memory. Still came off stage in a sweat. Still gives me chills today.Andi ***********
@Greg *******
Yeah, you would think they expected to be grilled on numbers and came prepped. The article says it has attracted more than 35,000 applicants. That does not mean approvals, some of those applicants are rejected. Still 35K applications is lower than expected.Greg ********
@Andi **********
Agree - I think those numbers are low. I would have expected a rush first quarter but still steady numbers since November.Andi ***********
@Greg *******
Yeah steady numbers will continue as more are having to season their 500k for 3 months.Reply to
Andi ***********
Reply
Anonymous ******************
@Greg *******
I think they are making it tougher to get. And seem to be especially particular about certain nations that come to Thailand in large numbers.Greg ********
Anonymous participant 360 That could be true about making it slightly tougher. Certain passports were always given more scrutiny right from the start. My guess was 40 to 50k but when I asked a TAT person pushing the DTV they could not give me numbers
Reply to
Greg ********
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Dany ********
less than i thaught. and many not stay all the time / simultaneously… just shows that this is still an absolute niche visa.
Reply to
Dany ********
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