What are the key experiences and advice for applying for the DTV visa in Taipei?

# Taipei DTV Application Experience and Advice

1. E-Visa Application Online - Don't Apply In Person

I got my Certificate of Entry and Exit from the National Immigration Agency (NIA) on Monday and went to the Thailand Trade and Economic Office on Tuesday to apply in person.

The lady there just told me to apply online at [[members only]/)

Afterwards, I did see some people on here mentioned that, but since I did my research on here and overlooked that I think it is worth mentioning again.

2. "City of birth" on the application should match "Place of birth" on your passport.

A few days after I applied I received an email saying I needed to go to the Thailand Trade and Economic Office for an interview.

The lady who interviewed me complained that the information I provided didn't match my passport. I had no idea what she was talking about at first, but then she told me it is because my passport "place of birth", which is a state in the USA, did not match my application form, which asks for "city of birth" and that's what I provided.

Apparently, I need to hand write and sign a letter clarifying that the city in my application is located within the state on my passport.

3. For Workcation DTV - Business Registration / License Certificate Is Required

This shocked me. I work for one of the most visited websites in the world. Not only did I provide my employment verification letter and bank statements, but I provided 6 months of payslips since I saw some recent posts of people mentioning they provided those as well.

Regardless, the interviewer told me I needed to provide a business registration certificate or a copy of the business license.

The lady interviewing me was treating me as if I was defrauding them. I asked her why this wasn't just asked for in the first place as part of the application requirements if they were going to ask for it anyways. She said something like "we don't know what we will need until you apply". 🙄

4. Accused That Employment Verification Didn't Indicate "Remote Work" Status Even Though It Does

As aforementioned the lady interviewing me was extremely rude and treated me skeptically from the moment the interview started.

After the aforementioned complaints, she said "also your employment letter doesn't state that you work remotely" and when I said yes it does and pointed right at the line on the document in her hand she just said "oh".

Extra Content - Venting

I have dealt with "less than kind people" when applying for visas for other countries, but I am still astounded by how bad this experience was. This lady was extremely rude and skeptical towards me from the very beginning.

If they needed a business registration document then they should just ask for that when you apply.

They shouldn't ask for the city of birth on the E-Visa application and then treat you like you're committing fraud because it doesn't match place of birth in your passport.

They shouldn't fold their arms and tell me my employment verification letter doesn't say I can work remotely when it does.

Also, in the very beginning when she was asking about my work I said "it is one of the most visited websites in the world", but couldn't remember which exact number so I pulled out my phone to check and she said "well you should know this since this is your line of work" as if I was lying about my employment.

I've never seen somebody unnecessarily power trip like this so hard in my whole life. It seems like they are just inventing excuses to "interview you" for approval, when I already submitted everything they asked for and filled out everything correctly.

Final Words

I went to Taipei because somebody else I know who got the DTV said it was easiest and fastest there.

I went out of my way to come to Taipei just to apply for this visa.

I think it is clear that it is no longer the easiest or the fastest option. I would recommend to anybody else considering this that they should just apply from the country they spend most of their time in. I am now wishing I would have.