What are the requirements and processes for applying for the Thai Soft Power DTV at the Thai Embassy in HCMC?

Hi everyone,

I plan to apply for the Thai Soft Power DTV at the Thai Embassy in HCMC, Vietnam. I have a French passport.

I read through many answers/experiences and looked up in the search but could not find definite answers, hence my questions below.

1. Bank statements

How recent do the bank statements need to be? Is it ok if they are 2-3 weeks old? I am on a Mac but my bank’s online banking only works on Windows. I would download the bank statements from a friend’s laptop these days but will travel to HCMC only in few weeks.

2. Translation of documents

From the different experiences I read, most people have translated their documents themselves, while it says “Official translation issued by certified translation offices is highly recommended” on the website of the Thai Embassy in HCMC.

I would be curious to hear from people who applied at the Thai embassy in HCMC, if they translated their docs/bank statements themselves.

If you used an interpreter officially recognized by the Thai embassy in HCMC, could you please share the list of recommended agencies and would you know how much it roughly costs? I could not find the list on the embassy website.

How much needs to be translated? Every single transaction or does the balance at the end of each month suffice?

3. Scan of passport

Quite a few persons had been required to hand in the scan of all pages, incl. the blank ones, fews days after their application.

Is it better to provide the scan of the complete passport directly when applying or to wait for the embassy’s request?

4. Passport issuance place

This has been a subject that divides opinions I found. Folks on one hand say that the issuance place should be the country of origin, while other say that it should be the embassy that delivered the passport.

On the French passport, there is no “issuance place” but instead “authority”, in my case the “French Consulate of Shanghai". I know that the passport is issued/produced in France and not the French Consulate. It is delivered from France to the French Consulate in Shanghai.

I have always put France whenever asked for the issuance place and had no issue. There are however opposing views on what to put on the application for the DTV. What are the experiences of people who got accepted and of people who got rejected? What did you put?

5. Flight confirmation

Do I need a confirmation of flight to Thailand when applying online on [[members only]/?) I read from a person that there is only a field to enter the flight information and no option to upload the booking confirmation.

If I do need a booking confirmation, does it need to be a return ticket or is a single trip enough?

6. Location

Do I need to be in HCMC or even Vietnam while waiting for the approval of the Thai embassy? I.e. could I travel to Europe for example?

7. Interview

In case one is requested for an interview, do we need to be physically present at the embassy or is it an online interview?

Which questions are usually asked? I read for example that for Thai Soft Power DTV, one may be asked what plans or intentions we have after the 6 months Muay Thai training.

8. Misc

Do I need to provide a cover letter when applying for Thai Soft Power DTV? If yes, could someone share a sample?

Thanks in advance for the support!