What are the benefits of using a visa service for obtaining a DTV in Thailand?

I'm approved, got a few tips to counteract all the negative nancies in here lol.

Mainly, I'd really recommend using a visa service to obtain the DTV, a few hundred bucks to have professionals check your documents, submit and advise on what to do is worth the peace of mind.

It's also likely that they have connections within the embassy to get you through if you encounter problems, I've seen this with my ED visa as well - I assume - because I did this last time, that on my previous ED visa, the 90 day reports had some staff that seemed directly associated with the school I attended at the government complex in BKK you have to go to.

Also a side note, the officer that interviewed me in Laos seemed to like the fact that I was applying to the same school I already trained with to do train Muay Thai. You also have to show proof you've paid for the course for 6m to 1 year, I intend on training for atleast another year and got the full 5 year DTV.

Other tips if applying from Laos (Vientiane)

* Very few banks/exchanges have 10000 baht which you need to pay the embassy with after you get a QR code. I went to about 4 different banks/exchanges before giving up and going all the way back to the airport just to change KIP over.

* If you use an agency, make sure they send the interview confirmation as an image or forward to your own email address. Normally agencies use a custom email address to complete the application on your behalf. This almost caused a problem a few days ago when the guy at the embassy wanted to see it and it wasn't an expected document/proof requested anywhere.

* Get a Unitel Laos sim card at the airport and top it up at shops when it expires, sometimes they have a sign outside showing unitel data/days of service and the price. This is to make sure your internet is working if they ask to see your banking app for money proof (and for staying connected out and about). Plus most esims don't even work in Laos or have ridiculous 1st world roaming charges there... haven't done this mobile credit top up stuff for atleast 20 years, so this was a blast from the past 😹

* My sim card expired while I was there and it was annoyingly difficult to buy one from a convenience store (most of them don't have it). However, there is a lady selling sim cards by the Vientiane Center mall from a tiny stall lol... I searched the entire fking mall to find a phone shop that also has sim cards, and a random street seller had exactly what I needed 🤦‍♂️.