I got approved for a 5 year DTV (workcation) at HCMC. I'm leaving this info to help anyone.
First off a big thanks to all the helpful people who gave me advice here!
I applied on March 6th, got approved on Mar 24th. I do freelance tutoring for international students looking to study in the USA/UK and have a different set up than other teachers here. I had to provide...
A demonstration on Zoom how I teach (screenshots of how I set up my lessons)
Two different bank accounts (3 months worth), one of them highlighted showing the cash in USD (foreign and my USA account)
My schedule, Zoom logs, correspondence with students/clients
My freelance profiles
My bank only releases a statement once a month, which I was worried about since I need to leave Vietnam by April 4th, but they accepted a web print off for March. The statement still hasn't been published for March by my bank and probably won't be till the 30th.
They came back to me twice asking for documents. The first time was the one which required a whole afternoon to assemble. The second time was just asking for corrections with my highlights (probably so it was clearer and easier to read since there was some overlaps in data) of my US bank statements.
This is a big relief for me since I thought I may not get it in time.
The consulate site says 4-5 business days for processing but it takes longer. I would budget minimum a month for this if you consider yourself clever enough to assemble all the documents (you merge them on ilovepdf).
There isn't really any reason to pay anyone to do this since you would be doing 85% of the work yourself gathering documents. The only reason to hire an agent is if you are so loaded that you care about the afternoon of work it will save you and concentration you need to give to it.
I used Claude AI to organize everything and assist me which was great, just check for typos and errors.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The user shares their experience applying for a 5-year DTV (workcation) visa in Vietnam, detailing the application process, documentation needed, and processing times. They highlight the importance of timely document submission, the need for thorough preparation, and the use of AI tools for organization. The user emphasizes that applicants should expect delays beyond the consulate's stated processing time of 4-5 business days and offers advice on document requirements for freelance workers. Community comments reflect on visa application nuances and suggest further research on consular requirements.
People dont hire agents to do paperwork for them, they hire DTV agents to make up stuff and show that they are doing something genuinely when they arent.
You may have to show PROOF of your DTV Visa to airline staff on check-in for your flight ✈️ to Thailand...even to the connecting airline staff. Or to the land border crossing entry Thai Immigration Officer.
Upon arrival into Thailand, show the DTV visa to the Thai Immigration Officer and look at the STAMP placed in your passport to be sure you are STAMPED in for 180 days.
You have to apply to the embassy/consulate that has jurisdiction over where you physically are so if you’re in Cambodia you’d have to apply through the Embassy in Phnom Penh or if you’re in the UK you’d apply through the Embassy in London.
I’m not sure. I think it depends on the exact country you apply from and your status there. They let people on a Vietnam tourist evisa apply in Vietnam. But I don’t know if that applies to all nationals/passports. You have to search for posts here made by people who were in the same situation you are in. They requests different documents around work as well depending on what you do.
I never saw it say pending approval. They asked me twice for stuff like I said after my initial application. I submitted the new highlighted statements at 2:30am today this afternoon I got the approval email. I emailed them questions twice and they not once wrote me back. They don’t answer DTV questions at the hcmc consulate via email.
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