This is NOT an official government website. We are an independent resource providing information and assistance to travelers.
Should the Thai embassy refund visa application fees if a shorter visa is issued instead of a longer one?
Sep 12, 2025
8 months ago
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTERIf the embassy decides to give a 6 month visa instead of 5 year DTV cuz they seem it's a better fit for the person, shouldn't they basically refund the rest of the fees cuz that's what they will tag it as in the government portal?
TLDR : Answer Summary
The discussion revolves around whether the embassy should refund a portion of the visa application fee if a shorter visa (6 months) is granted instead of a longer one (5 years DTV). Many comments clarify that the fees paid are for the application process, which is non-refundable regardless of the outcome. Participants argue that a thorough review is conducted before issuing any visa, and that cost considerations should not dominate the conversation, emphasizing that it is the applicants' responsibility to meet the criteria.
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
Jimmy *********
Cuz
Anonymous ******************
Is this the same indian guy thats been making like 5 posts already crying about his visa outcome?
Brian ****
It's an application fee, not a visa fee.
DTV_Be*******
Unfortunately, that isn’t how it works. It is an application fee and they had to review more extensive paperwork than needed for the METV. After doing that review, they determined you don’t meet the DTV requirements and gave the METV. However, they still had to review for DTV. Your argument that they are trying to steal money is ridiculous and not based on any facts. It is an attempt to blame someone other than yourself for the rejection, when 95% of applicants are successful.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTERDTV_BegPecker Do you even know why METV visas are issued? Hint: It's not for not meeting requirements. Different embassies make up their different rules. So no i can't be blamed if some embassy thinks different than others. This is not embassy shopping where I have to roll the dice and wait for my luck to charm
DTV_Be*******
Anonymous participant - you meet the METV requirements for short time stay. Didn’t you get rejected twice now? 98% of people are not having issues like you, so it is not about “luck”, it is something wrong with you or your applications.
Reply to
DTV_Be*******
Reply
Brandon ************
So do you feel the same way about all the Thais who apply for and pay for visas to other countries, walk into the interview, and are denied without barely a word and no reason given?
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Brandon ***********
Yes.Reply to
Anonymous *************
Reply
AllSabaai ******
They can also completely reject your file without issue you any reason of rejecting and also not offer you a METV.
So you may feel thankful not to lose the whole fee and that will be also completely legal as it is mentioned in the Website and application when you apply ka 😃
One more thing ka ..
You are not here to work as an audit the thai government and the embassies fee.
The money is going to the government and each payment slip has a code related to the embassy where the Application has been applied at .
The website you apply at is @ .go.th
Means it is a government website and under the ministry of foreign affairs of Thailand
It is not a street food vendor website ka
Try to operate your mind little more
So you may feel thankful not to lose the whole fee and that will be also completely legal as it is mentioned in the Website and application when you apply ka 😃
One more thing ka ..
You are not here to work as an audit the thai government and the embassies fee.
The money is going to the government and each payment slip has a code related to the embassy where the Application has been applied at .
The website you apply at is @ .go.th
Means it is a government website and under the ministry of foreign affairs of Thailand
It is not a street food vendor website ka
Try to operate your mind little more
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@AllSabaai *****
I'm not sure if you are aware but not all embassies have an online payment system. Some are offline. We are all aware that regardless of website, unfair decisions, malpractices do part take in DTV. I'm just asking a question if there is a possibility for one here.Threatening me for rejection or no right to ask questions cuz I don't 'audit' for them is not a good face value attitude.
But anyways thanks for the input
Luit *****************
Anonieme deelnemer This must be your first visa then. I had visa in different countries and they all are the same: no refund and no reason for rejection given.
You can like this or not, but it is the way it works.
You act like a customer, but in this case you are not a customer, but just somebody who has to pay a government for processing a request.
You can like this or not, but it is the way it works.
You act like a customer, but in this case you are not a customer, but just somebody who has to pay a government for processing a request.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Luit ****************
The point was never about rejection. There was not even a mention about it. A 6 month visa is only given when they think the person only requires so much period to complete their activity and that too specifically under soft power. Not because the person doesn't fulfill requirements or rejected. But that isn't the case all the time, even under workcation, people are receiving a metv without any disqualification. Which had my intrigue
Luit *****************
Anonieme deelnemer I understand you are intrigued, but visa approvals are always decided by embassies and it just is not exact science. They will not give any insight in how they decide and have a lot of freedom.
It can be quite difficult for them to decide, especially when it is about visa tourism and not people who apply from the country where they are resident.
Applying for a visa in a country where you are only a tourist to apply for a visa, just might be a red flag, which might influence the rest of the process.
It can be quite difficult for them to decide, especially when it is about visa tourism and not people who apply from the country where they are resident.
Applying for a visa in a country where you are only a tourist to apply for a visa, just might be a red flag, which might influence the rest of the process.
Reply to
Luit *****************
Reply
Adnan ********
or they should just simply reject you and you get nothing, no money and no visa......
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTERAdnan Khairi is that a threat to reject? a metv visa is only issued if the person is qualified but only on the pretext that one won't need a 5 year visa and assume that 6 month should suffice. That is not a rejection or act of generosity.
Adnan ********
Anonymous participant agreed they should have rejected you instead.....
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTERAdnan Khairi wow look at people threatening. Such a entitled attitude
Reply to
Anonymous *************
Reply
Anonymous ******************
Havent you been talking about this visa for weeks now
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTERAnonymous participant 949 what?
Anonymous ******************
Anonym deltagare just seen this discussion 20 times the latest couple of days.
Reply to
Anonymous ******************
Reply
Anonymous ******************
Everyone thinks he's fully qualified and deserves a 5-year visa… Yet the reality is that the vast majority are approved after certain checks but you didn't. The fees are for the application process, not for the visa itself. Instead of dwelling on money you will never recover, focus on what you may have done wrong. You've 6 months...
John *******
Anonymous participant 860 DTV's have been granted for a few dental appointments. Not five years worth. In those cases, clear grounds for only issuing a 6 months METV.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTERAnonymous participant 860 One can't even define what's 'wrong' with the applications. There is no concrete set of rules they follow. Some embassies don't even follow the official government rules and make up their own. So despite fulfilling all the criteria there is no way to tell that.
It's like a roll dice where you have to go embassy shopping and see where they accept your case.
After personal experience and how the people at the embassy behave, I just started questioning if they can even issue a 6 month visa just to keep the remainder as profit.
It's like a roll dice where you have to go embassy shopping and see where they accept your case.
After personal experience and how the people at the embassy behave, I just started questioning if they can even issue a 6 month visa just to keep the remainder as profit.
Anonymous ******************
Anonymous participant Right. Better stay in your country where everything is clear. Good luck.
Reply to
Anonymous ******************
Reply
Pete *******
It’s an application fee not a success fee. You applied therefore regardless of the result you pay the fee.
Pete *******
Lucky the Embassy didn’t just outright reject the application as is the case with many others. Getting a METV is a bonus and shows that some Embassies are customer oriented.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Pete ******
lol METV is NOT a bonus. Despite all qualification if the embassy thinks he can complete his activity in 6 months doesn't need 5 year. They can issue it without notice.Pete *******
Anonymous participant correct, or just reject the application entirely. I would call getting a METV instead of a complete rejection a bonus….
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Pete ******
rejection on what basis? Is this a way of threatening people? Don't question or we will reject you? I recommend you should market the visa that way too.Pete *******
Anonymous participant rejection due to not meeting the qualifying criteria….
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Pete ******
and what exactly is the criteria? Turns out people at the embassy make their own. The rules are clearly stated on the website. And some embassies don't follow it themselves.Pete *******
Anonymous participant every Embassy have their own criteria , that is what you accept to fulfill when you apply…
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Pete ******
are those criterias public? So I go embassy shopping and see where they accept my 'criteria'? You don't even have a basis to refute thisPete *******
Anonymous participant you apply via the e-visa website, based on your location each Embassy will then have their own requirements. Yes those requirements are public, it’s on the e-visa website. What are you not understanding?
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Pete ******
no all requirements are not on the e visa website. Most embassy criterias are unspoken rules. do you read about the peoples experience post here?Pete *******
Anonymous participant give an example where a requirement is an unspoken rule and not on the evisa website...
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Pete ******
some embassies don't consider just soft power as a criteria. You might have 500k, book a year long course. And they still reject you cuz one won't have a regular income source. Which beats the whole point of soft power. Plenty of other weird rejection cases in this group.Pete *******
Anonymous participant they want to see that you are able to support yourself on a daily basis for the full 5 years, nothing unusual about that.
Reply to
Pete *******
Reply
John *******
@Pete ******
With accepting payment to provide an advertised product goes an expectation of customer service. Government departments can write whatever they wish on their websites. However, if they fail to deliver their product, the customer is entitled to his money back. Fortunately, in such instances, our banks/credit card companies decide what is reasonable and therefore acceptable.Pete *******
@John ******
what don’t you understand about the concept of a service fee to apply?John *******
@Pete ******
What don't you understand about an organisation advertising a service and accepting payment to provide that service? They have a duty of customer care and must be able to justify their actions. If they can't/won't the customer is entitled to get his money back. Perhaps you should now be asking what it is that the banks/credit card companies don't understand about consumer protection?Pete *******
@John ******
the service was provided….John *******
@Pete ******
No it wasn't. The customer didn't get what he paid for.Pete *******
@John ******
the customer was unable to submit an application?John *******
@Pete ******
Now you are trolling. The amount paid was for a DTV. Embassy issued a 6 months METV.Reply to
John *******
Reply
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Pete ******
and if the embassy labels it as a 6 month visa fee. Do they still declare it as DTV fees to the government? What if people at the embassy start doing it on purpose for the profit?Amornrat **********
Anonymous participant are you German?
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Amornrat *********
why?James ********
Anonymous participant it helps us to know what's your passport nation.
Reply to
James ********
Reply
Pete *******
Anonymous participant if you think that visa fees go into the pocket of Embassy staff you truly are mistaken.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Pete ******
How do you know? Do you work at the embassy? I'm not talking about the METV fee but the remainderElías ********
Participante anónimo have you actually applied? When I paid for my application, trhu a credit card, the payment was towards the Thai Government in Thailand, maybe the Ministry of Foreing Affairs? Can't remember now. But, the embassies don't see or get any of that money, at least not directly from us.
Luit *****************
@Elías *******
When I paid with creditcard for the embassy in the Netherlands the money was earned through a HK organisation, so certainly not direct by embassy, but at some embassies you still have to pay locally I understood.And indeed since everybody applies through the same website, there will be a central administration which should make it difficult for embassies to withold money for themselves.
Pete *******
Anonymous participant no I don’t work at an Embassy, but I do have a working brain that employs logic that sees the stupidity in your question. What do you not understand about paying an application fee?
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTERReply to
Anonymous *************
Reply
Elías ********
No as it is written in advance that no matter what, no refunds will be given. Only if you click on "I understand and fully agree", then you can lodge your application.
John *******
@Elías *******
Nobody would pay up to $400 USD to a private company who advertised; 'we reserve the right not to supply your product and not tell you why'. Only a government dept would do this because they have no competition. That doesn't make it correct.Billy *********
@John ******
Wrong. College applications are like this. You pay and many people still get rejected. No refunds. Frankly if youre this entitled and complain about $400 you probably DO NOT meet DTV financial requirements.John *******
@Billy ********
Wrong. Buying advertised goods/services. Not a test of academic ability. You mention DTV financial requirements. Do you know what is the requirement? Embassy doesn't publish them. Someone else commented that there is no minimum income requirement.Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Billy ********
400$ is still money. What is this way of making someone feel guiltyReply to
Anonymous *************
Reply
Elías ********
@John ******
nobody is saying whether it is correct or not, and so nobody is forcing you to apply. You either accept the terms and apply or don't accept them and don't apply. If you willingly accept, then don't complaint later. BTW, it works like that for all visas of all countries, not only Thailand's. The US is specially notorious for having a tremendous rate of visa rejection (including tourist visa, for those from the many countries that need a visa to get in the US as a tourist, including Thailand). Also note that you don't pay for the visa itself, rather the processing. Even to get a rejection, they need to do all the same vetting process, hence the service (the visa vetting service) is indeed always "delivered".John *******
@Elías *******
When my Thai sister-in-law received her rejection letter from Australia, it contained four pages explaining the reason, stating the weighting that had been applied to each reason and asking for her to verify if everything they stated was correct? She was invited to contact the writer if anything was wrong or hadn't been covered. In Thailand, a missing hyphen (misread by their OCR) can (and has recently) caused cancellation. That is not processing by any stretch of the imagination. Government departments have a monopoly on issuing visas so it isn't a case of choosing to accept their rules.Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Elías *******
wow such an entitled attitudeReply to
Anonymous *************
Reply
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Elías *******
sure that's not an issue. But I better hope the government has some regulations so embassies don't just start issuing 6 month visas and keep the remainder to themselves.Elías ********
Participante anónimo I mean, if you handle in an application stating that you'll be taking a soft power course for 6 months, and after that they issue a visa good for those six months, what's the problem then? Either show them you'll be taking classes for at least one year, or apply as a remote worker in order to assure you'll get a regular DTV.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Elías *******
even under remote worker people are issued 6 months in many post I saw. Especially JapanElías ********
Participante anónimo that's odd, then. I just read about somebody else getting issued only 6 months for remote worker, in India.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Elías *******
I saw in Tokyo JapanReply to
Anonymous *************
Reply
Anonymous ******************
Anonymous participant What is it that you don’t understand? The fees you paid are service fees… You could have ended up with nothing. 😕 Would that have made you happier? You'll definitely struggle here in Thailand with such an attitude.
Reply to
Anonymous ******************
Reply
Lg *******
The fee is nonrefundable. It is clearly stated when you apply. They make the rules, and we must comply. It's their country, their rules.
John *******
@Lg ******
The OP didn't get what he paid for. The only reason for not delivering the correct product should be if the embassy could prove the applicant had submitted false documents (for example).James ********
@Lg ******
correct ✅Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Lg ******
I'm not questioning the country, I'm questioning the embassy. What if they do it on purpose to keep the profits.You guys are too much up ur a*s. I'm only asking these questions as a customer and contributor to their economy. They aren't doing some charity work. Only asking qts for transparency
Jack ********
Anonymous participant keep the profits? lol. They don’t save money by rejecting and not mailing you the PDF. People with your attitude struggle in Thailand
Oleg ***********
Anonymous participant nobody here doing charity also
If you talk not good nobody will help you
Treat people how you want to be treated
What’s with your mouth
If you talk not good nobody will help you
Treat people how you want to be treated
What’s with your mouth
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Oleg **********
That's just my blunt of saying: Don't keep spamming the 'check website before you apply' comments. We all know that. As a customer, I'm just questioning how they are regulating in case of malpractices which I'm sure happens.There is no 'help' coming from such comments.Oleg ***********
Anonymous participant why are you anonymous
Lg *******
Anonymous participant you are not a customer. You are an applicant that didn't get what he wanted. You are not paying for a visa, you are applying for a visa. There's a difference.
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTER@Lg ******
Play the semantics but as an applicant for which I pay fee and fulfill expensive requirements, I have a right to know that there is a regulation in place for malpractices and I'm not dependent to apply on a roll dice.Luit *****************
Anonieme deelnemer You not fulfill expensive requirements, you only pay a fee.
The 500K on the bank is not something you pay, it just should be on your account, and stays on your account.
The 500K on the bank is not something you pay, it just should be on your account, and stays on your account.
Reply to
Luit *****************
Reply
DTV_Be*******
Other option is to just reject the DTV, give no other visa, and keep the fee. You are not paying for a service, but it is an application fee.
John *******
DTV_BegPecker Incorrect. The embassy advertises a service and accepts payment to provide that service. If the applicant is in accordance with the requirements they must issue the product paid for. Only government depts and certain strange people believe otherwise.
DTV_Be*******
@John ******
- it is an application fee, just like a university application fee. Like all countries and visas, there are additional things looked at that are not listed as paperwork. We have no idea if this applicant is fully in accordance and having been rejected twice by two different embassies, I would assume he isn’t. You can believe however you want but this is the reality, been the reality for decades.John *******
DTV_BegPecker If the embassy can't/won't justify their decision the reality is that the applicant can get his money back via chargeback from his bank/credit card company. Doesn't matter what a government dept writes upon their website or for how many decades they've been taking and keeping money without providing the service. Payment via western credit cards thankfully includes consumer protection.
Reply to
John *******
Reply
Anonymous *************
ORIGINAL POSTERDTV_BegPecker usually a 6 month visa is given simply cuz they might think I won't need a 5 year visa even though I happen to qualify for the visa on all criteria.
So it's not a simple rejection for not meeting requirements, but they assuming that I don't need this long of a visa.
Also I'm curious if the whole fees are registered with the government or they might just do this to pull out profits
So it's not a simple rejection for not meeting requirements, but they assuming that I don't need this long of a visa.
Also I'm curious if the whole fees are registered with the government or they might just do this to pull out profits
DTV_Be*******
Anonymous participant literally most people on here got the visa they wanted. Instead of realizing your application was weak, again, you want to say they are specifically going after you for your money.
Brandon ************
Anonymous participant You think a fee paid through the website the MFA runs isn't registered with the government? Okay.
Amornrat **********
Anonymous participant most Embassies have a Facebook page, send them your question. From my own experience some Embassies reply directly to you
Reply to
Amornrat **********
Reply
15 comments
8 months ago
6 comments
9 months ago
14 comments
10 months ago
71 comments
a year ago
51 comments
a year ago
116 comments
a year ago
42 comments
a year ago
19 comments
a year ago
2 comments
a year ago
41 comments
a year ago
15 comments
a year ago
22 comments
a year ago
24 comments
a year ago
15 comments
a year ago
5 comments
a year ago
10 comments
a year ago
12 comments
a year ago
50 comments
a year ago
77 comments
2 years ago
19 comments
2 years ago
7 comments
2 years ago
19 comments
2 years ago
24 comments
2 years ago
111 comments
2 years ago
7 comments
a month ago
9 comments
a month ago
21 comments
a month ago
16 comments
a month ago
8 comments
a month ago
The ask:thailand community, consisting of multiple Q/A groups with over 100,000 members, powers this platform. It is not an official government resource. Our members actively contribute to this resource, and while we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee its complete reliability. Assistance to travelers is provided as a community service.