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Is it safe to use the DTV visa service advertised for Muay Thai training?
Muay ThaiDigital Nomad VisaDTVVisa ServicesExpats in ThailandScamsTraining for BeginnersImmigration Issues
Nov 6, 2024
a year ago
Derry *********
ORIGINAL POSTERMy Muay Thai gym is being advertised on another website as DTV available.
I'm not sure who these guys are or weather it's just an information website, visa service or scam. But for sure if you want to go the Muay Thai route contact the gym website direct. Will definitely be cheaper and more legit
I'm not sure who these guys are or weather it's just an information website, visa service or scam. But for sure if you want to go the Muay Thai route contact the gym website direct. Will definitely be cheaper and more legit
TLDR : Answer Summary
A Muay Thai gym is being advertised on a potentially misleading website as a part of the Digital Nomad Visa (DTV) program. Some commenters have labeled this website a scam based on previous experiences with it. Users are debating the legitimacy of registering for short-term training while living outside the gym's city. There are concerns about immigration checks and extensions linked to the DTV program, with suggestions that living near a gym is crucial for genuine participation in the course.
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.
Pelle Eriksson★★★★★
Absolutely Bangkok's best service I highly...recently on Facebook
Luca G.★★★★★
I used this agency for my DTV Visa...recently on Google
Trusted DTV Visa Agent
OVER 100,000 EXPATS SERVED
#1 VISA AGENT IN THAILAND
Tee **********
Are they good for beginners?
Stephen ********
We don’t charge anything man at least not for now. Is still not where I want it to be performance/detajls wise, but once it is will contact the agencies to confirm prices/services etc. to have then verifed and to make sure we got everything right. Have a VA adding them in. If you want me to remove your business more than happy to. Is no skin off my back. Our goal is to find all digital nomad visas globally, not do visa services. I mean we may but is not the goal. I’m just searching for my options and creating the software to filter them all.
Am starting with whatever referral fee you want to do, obviously the higher it is the more likely we will refer. But if you want me to delete it, totally fine.
Am starting with whatever referral fee you want to do, obviously the higher it is the more likely we will refer. But if you want me to delete it, totally fine.
Imran ***************
Most of that technical stuff is a little over my head so I have to rely on just judging someone's integrity and competence face-to-face, which is probably why I can be a bit skeptical, lol, and why I probably make a few mistakes.
Anyway, I think you and the guys at the gym (& most of the other gyms, too) probably have overlapping goals wrt preventing fraud and promoting integrity.
Something tells me you'd all get on really well. Good luck with your idea 💡 👍😊, Stephen.
Anyway, I think you and the guys at the gym (& most of the other gyms, too) probably have overlapping goals wrt preventing fraud and promoting integrity.
Something tells me you'd all get on really well. Good luck with your idea 💡 👍😊, Stephen.
Imran ***************
@Stephen *******
But you said that you charge the businesses to be listed there or for upsells/recommendations to potential customers. So, it's not based on how good the visa agency/muay thai gym is but on the commission they give you? Is that right? That's what it says in your first post here. That can't be right can it? Surely you would want to recommend the gym's based on their merit and not the commission they will give you. Seems kind of extortionate to me.Feel free to correct me, if I'm wrong.
Stephen ********
@Imran **************
Dude, how else can we run a business? Just run a free site and charge nothing? Also, we would be advising whether the DTV is even relevant for you. You think a muay thai gym will do that? They just want you to sign up. This is about as impartial as it gets. You’re also an adult, you know what you want.
Plus, this is a software. We don’t ‘talk’ to anyone unless later on they ask when we have live chat setup. You can simply browse the visa options and decide yourself.
I want to charge for yearly listings so we don’t have to keep their details up to date ourselves. Is a lot of work, have a VA doing it full time now and am hiring a second. This way if they’re no longer running the business, they will not pay, the listing can be taken down automatically and it’s automated.
Secondly for referrals, then it’s totally free for the nomad. Having the site free for individuals and the agents simply give a referral. Is automated for me, free for you and the agent gets a customer. Win/win/win.
My point and goal is to make my research public though and help others save time doing so.
I do want yo have clear/set commissions at some point, but for now just let agents set their own and over time see what is reasonable.
Imran ***************
@Stephen *******
I'm more inclined towards your goal now that you've explained it a bit more, though I reserve the right to still be a bit skeptical. Concerning the Muay Thai Gym in question, the people there have only shown me a super positive attitude. They've also got excellent trainers and very good equipment.
I've been to quite a few gyms in Chiangmai.
I'm really just as impartial an observer as you're likely to get in this matter and my initial thoughts were that your business model came across as a bit extortionate. Now that I know what you're trying to do I can appreciate your perspective a bit more.
I would imagine that the people in the gym were trying to guard potential customers against any fraud or agencies trying to charge extra. Afterall, there are visa agencies out there who, rather than just point potential customers to the gym in question, charge a hefty sum for minimal haphazardly done paperwork.
You also didn't introduce yourself to them before, for the reasons you've now outlined. You can see where and how misunderstandings can occur.
Anyway, I suggest that you pop over to the gym and just have a chat over a cuppa. Great guys and great atmosphere there and you'll have more in-person knowledge of the place. Good luck with your efforts, sincerely.
Stephen ********
@Imran **************
Appreciate your input though, thanks man. anything which improves the performance of the site is my goal. I want it to be ‘cool’. Like lighting fast, top security, fraud and performance protocols. Our key metrics currently are site speed, search performance and accuracy of listing data. Was just thinking totally different. Need to take others points of view and concerns into account too though. So thanks.Stephen ********
@Imran **************
I can appreciate the concern a bit more now. Seems like an understanding guy.Will action next week to try to understand the issues service providers are facing not just from the nomad’s point of view as I have been doing.
But it is one of the core goals of the site and me personally, to help and highlight legitimate services and empower them. While filtering out and detecting fraud. So the goal’s are aligned.
Need to somehow make that more clear and articulate though.
Imran ***************
@Stephen *******
Empowering legitimate services and filtering out fraud sounds like a commendable mission statement for a useful service 👍.Stephen ********
And for commissions will of course be a balance, based on how much they refer for and how good they are. But on a basis of reputation, there is absolutely no incentive to refer bad agents. For example, if you want to lower tax I would be recommending Get Started HK, can find them on the site along with multiple others in HK. They give us no commission, but if we refer enough, I’m sure they will be happy to over time.
This Muay Thai gym, for now. I don’t like, just purely based on their attitude. But if they’re the best in Chiang Mai, need to put my personal opinions aside and refer.
But you can see above where they recommend someone to get a membership when they live in Chiang Rai and I wouldn’t support that.
So is personal integrity at the end of the day. What is important to me is truth above all irrespective of if it offends, just personally. Will not be selling out my principles for 100 baht. No way.
This Muay Thai gym, for now. I don’t like, just purely based on their attitude. But if they’re the best in Chiang Mai, need to put my personal opinions aside and refer.
But you can see above where they recommend someone to get a membership when they live in Chiang Rai and I wouldn’t support that.
So is personal integrity at the end of the day. What is important to me is truth above all irrespective of if it offends, just personally. Will not be selling out my principles for 100 baht. No way.
Reply to
Stephen ********
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Stephen ********
@CH *******
Okay, have deactivated the listing. If you would like to be listed again in future can go through the normal signup and listing creation & verification procedure. Best of luck with it.Reply to
Stephen ********
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Wannikea *********
The, Air Host Assist PTY Ltd. watermark is on every page of the website, registration of the fulltimedigitalnomads.com domain was in May of this year. Seems as if it's located in Australia.
Derry *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Wannikea ********
thank you .. my IT guy is seeking to communicate with themReply to
Derry *********
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Chris ******
Can I register for only 1 month of muay thai or have to be 3 months to get the DTV?
Stephen ********
@Chris *****
I wouldn’t recommend it personally. From the youtube video with the guy explaining how it worked (Thai government official), he implied you need to prove at each extension you are still doing the activity (from memory he mentioned needing to show details of the work). No one has said this concretely. But that’s probably the best anyone has clarified as far as I’ve heard. If you do it that way (one month course) and gets approved, I would still personally be a little cautiaus coming back in or extendjng at immigration if you’ve totally stopled the courses. Am expecting in say 12-24 months that to become an issue, not immediately.Keith ************
@Stephen *******
that's the way it works for other visas. When you extend at immigration, you must again meet the requirements. Leaving the country though, I don't think you'll need to prove you're still attending a class.Stephen ********
@Keith ***********
I would plan for immigration at the airport eventually asking.Keith ************
@Stephen *******
it's possible. But do they check to see if you're still enrolled for an ED visa? Do they check your bank balance for a 'retirement' or 'marriage' visa? I think it's beyond their capabilities at the airports and border crossings.Reply to
Keith ************
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Derry *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Chris *****
some people had success with short courses but more recently embassys are issuing tourist visa instead of DTV for short courses.Ourselves,we only do 6 month course as this matches the length of stay, 180 days.
We don't want to have any failures so just stick to the 6 month plan which has worked for over 80 applications so far. At 15k I don't think it's too expensive
Stephen ********
@Derry ********
And the site is mine. 🙂 Is not where I want it to be yet, once it looks a littler ‘better’, i.e. all the details are correct like addresses, visa fees etc. and it’s a bit more clear with the functionality am planning to contact you as well as the other service providers listed to verify prices/details etc. From memory I think we’ve found over 20+ digital nomad visas. 6 places to become tax free and dozens of service providers. Have a VA researching and adding them in. I haven’t gone through and verified it all yet though.
For you, we would just pass on people interested in getting a DTV if we think you’re both a good fit. What referral fee you want to give is up to you. Is fine if it’s nothing, just less likely we will refer. And also possibly upsell you to a paid featured listing or to run your ad campaigns, build you a website etc. Probably unlikely in your case, but that’s find.
And like I said below; if you want me to remove your listing, is totally fine. But! am only making it free to list on the site until 30th June next year (which I might make that sooner once it is finished), past then we are planning to do $99 per year. I am doing this so listings are then self-managed and if the business is no longer running will simply self-delete. Is far preferrable that people are managing their own details so we don’t have to.
What the ‘point’ of the site is I haven’t 100% solidified, for now it is simply me sharing my visa research and all the criteria I am taking jnto account like tax rates, visa fees plus like 50 other things.
I can confirm though, I am concerend with helping people move where they are happy not sell DTV visas. I want to remove and monitor fraud. Make the whole process of researching way more clear and upfront and help people see their full range of options, first customer being myself.
James ********
@Derry ********
wise advice ✅Reply to
James ********
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Alessandro *********
This is the same scam website that posted about another seminar and was taken down by the admin, don't trust that website
Stephen ********
@Alessandro ********
I saw them advertised on instagram. As far as I can see it’s legit (the webinar course). Any experiences with them would love to hear though. It should take you to their website if you click ‘book now’. Should do the same if you click on this listing. Will amend when I have time if it doesn’t. We don’t have a booking system setup yet and would only be with verified listings so right now ‘contact’ just emails them directly and ‘book now’ takes you to their website.I am not making this site for the DTV I am researching digital nomad visas globally to assess all the options. And a VA is adding them in, am checking details when I can. When it is a bit more polished will contact the visa agencies to see what referral fees they’re happy to give.
From a pure ‘user’ point of view is totally free, at least for now. How me spending thousands of dollars to give something away entirely for free is a scam I mean okay, just don’t use it. It js literally just a free directory of all the digital nomad visas and agencies who offer them globally. Well what we can find so far.
Alessandro *********
The issue that you add these companies WITHOUT asking them to be there, they have no idea who you are, what you do with their info and so on.
Good business practice would be YOU contact them BEFORE adding to your website explaining the terms of the collaboration.
Instead you are farming around without asking and then, if they ever find out, you talk to them.
Great business practice.
It's like Airbnb starts to randomly add accommodations on their portal for free then if the owner ever finds out they talk for a collaboration, and you are nto Airbnb but a unknow portal, so it's even worst.
Good business practice would be YOU contact them BEFORE adding to your website explaining the terms of the collaboration.
Instead you are farming around without asking and then, if they ever find out, you talk to them.
Great business practice.
It's like Airbnb starts to randomly add accommodations on their portal for free then if the owner ever finds out they talk for a collaboration, and you are nto Airbnb but a unknow portal, so it's even worst.
Stephen ********
@Alessandro ********
Yeah, but airbnb had to start somewhere. My goal is not to promote visa agencies. It is to prevent fraud and collate all the visa options globally. And I am not competition for them or passing their services off as my own as least not attempting to. If that’s not clear is a design flaw which will be addressed. I am giving them a free service by making the listing and of course then plan to contact them as to whether they want to use it or not.
I don’t see any down side for them, the listing directs straight to their website and they pay nothing, so is purely just free advertising (for now as that is obviously unsustainable).
But if I have nothing to show, they’re just simply going to say: “why? what’s the point” more effectively to just show: “here it is”. Not the cheapest/fastest way, but at least they can see exactly the point immediately and decide.
Airbnb used to offer something similar and actually took your photos for you and help you make the listing, then stopped as they got bigger and didn’t need to.
There is of course a tipping point where people find you as opposed to you finding them.
So I mean, yeah, could take your timid: “ask and beg” approach. But I just don’t really care. They’re not going to see value until they have had a few referrals anyway and I clearly say: “unverified, if you own this, send us a message” so we are not and not attempting to pass of like we own listings that have not confirmed their details.
Dude, this is a huge project and even how much time to allocate to each visa agency when we have hundreds, soon probably thousands and dozens of countries will need to be figured out. Especially as we are pre revenue.
But I appreciate the feedback. Have actioned making sure all unverified listings are linking to the owners website as a current top priority.
And ch om pu is no longer listed so we no longer recommend her services as she is unverified and we can’t confirm if they are a legitimate business which is totally fine. We will stick to the normal verification process moving forward.
CH ********
@Alessandro ********
This comment is completely correct 👍, and there is no link on his website that leads people to the legitimate (real) website. Additionally, as you mentioned, the "Book Now" button also does not lead me to the real website. 😄Reply to
CH ********
Reply
Stephen ********
Up until now was a huge spread sheet of all the visa fees, tax rates etc on google docs I’ve put together over a good 3-5 years of researching where I can move. If that’s not of interest to you, don’t use it. Totally fine.
Reply to
Stephen ********
Reply
Max ********
They did the same to a seminar yestersay
Stephen ********
@Max *******
They have been removed and we will stick to the regular verification process moving forward.Stephen ********
@Max *******
I thought that was a cool find 🤷♂️ I mean $150 a month or something and if’s all remote. I would love to hear anyone’s experience doing it. I also think it’s clever use of the setup for DTV from the company who made it. I can’f confirm it’s it legit though, no, hence asking people on here.
Max ********
Stephen Irving Discover Thai Nature is definitely legit! I think currently it‘s like 250 USD. We also used it to successfully apply for a DTV for our client in Switzerland. Can highly recommend!
Reply to
Max ********
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Raihan ********
is it possible if i applied to your gym, but live outside your gym’s city?
Stephen ********
@Raihan *******
I wouldn’t recommend it. They’ve said in information on the youtube video that they will be checking on extensions (and I would assume at immigration at the airport too at some point, at least I think willl become an issue at some stage). I would envison this starting to happen like mid next year. Just my guess. You have other options. I’ve found an online webinar which offers it for $150 per month. I can’t confirm how legit it is (everyones crying scam) but I at least think it’s a cool idea. Is just as risky getting it for a muay thai course you no longer do in a town you don’t live in. So maybe think about moving to Chiang mai and actually do the classes or look for one in chiang rai, I’m sure one will start offering soon. Would be my advice if you gebuinely want it for five years not just 6 months to a year.
Derry *********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Raihan *******
yea possible mateJamie ********
@Raihan *******
I live in Chiang Rai and train with Derry so no issue !Great guys there you won’t regret it 🥊
Reply to
Jamie ********
Reply
Josh ********
I think that’s about the price
Stephen ********
Josh Harris Most agents don’t want to list their prices. Is a big part of the goal of the project to have more clear pricing and transparency of visas but also the agents fees, so can be filtered. Am still considering how to go about this but feel like it’s: “they will because they have to” not because they want to. They can remain more unfair and charge timid people more, dominant people less, which I don’t like if prices are not advertised. Should be uniform and fair in my opinion. But is up to them if they make it public. By adding a filter element to the search, they will just not be included if they don’t add prices. I think that’s good enough.
Reply to
Stephen ********
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