TLDR: Vientiane is fine for DTV. Just do what they want, give them enough to be persuaded, even if your case is multifaceted and complex, and don’t try to buck the system.
Successfully received my DTV yesterday from Vientiane. Very relieved and grateful and happy. Heartfelt thanks to my fellow DTVers I met in Vientiane, who are awesome (you know who you are) for providing much needed support and encouragement, and for the invaluable input of very many contributors across several dedicated Facebook and WhatsApp groups that I passively scoured for information. I’ll copy this post to those groups in the hope that I can contribute a little in return.
Embassy: Vientiane, Laos. Make sure you go to the address at: 316 Rue Bourichane, Phonsinuan Village, Vientiane, Lao PDR
Nationality: British (UK)
Application: online booking then attended appointment in person during morning session - opening time is 09:00
Visa: DTV workcation (digital nomad, freelance writer / editor, landlord, e-commerce and trader)
Companies: based in UK (it’s complicated: see below).
Waiting time: submitted 05/09/24. Received 09/09/24 (3 days including date of submission and excluding the weekend). Collected passport with DTV during afternoon session beginning 13:30.
Process: I left it late to apply for an appointment via the bookings website [members only]. There was a 3-week waiting list, and my Thai tourist visa was running out, so I ended up in Vientiane 2 weeks early, but that just gave me a chance to collect my documents and mooch around the place.
When the big day arrived, I went to the embassy before it opened and stood in line waiting and chatting. I don’t think I was the only one suffering from nervous exhaustion/excitement.
Upon entering the main gate in turn, there is a makeshift gate desk (temporary table) where passport and visa stamps are checked against photocopies, and your application form checked for completion. I had left it until then to stick my photos to the form (I came prepared with pritt-stick) and to sign the form (pen at the ready). Otherwise I had completed the form in a PDF editor because my handwriting is horribly illegible.
Once waved through, there is a small window to a back office within the embassy complex, where the other documents are looked over and payment taken.
I had compiled a lovingly collated and comprehensively annotated, plastic pockets folder of documents towards presenting my case (perhaps 100+ sheets of A4), which I then had to remove and hand over in a single block. The irony was that I then had to stand there explaining what everything was whilst post-it notes were added, essentially reproducing the system that had been in the folder! But at least it meant that the official got to look at it all.
I think that the 3 essential requirements they were looking for were,
1) evidence of activity as a remote worker,
2) with sufficient funds for self-support, and
3) a reasonable and consistent monthly income.
My CV was returned (I tried not to take it personally) along with a few excess photocopies from my passport. The official also discarded a flowchart included to help explain various sources of income and tax flow: however, after seeing that I was presenting quite a lot of information, they eventually took it back!
As far as required Documents for this DTV, I simply adhered to the embassy checklist:
- The original passport (Must be valid within 6 months from the travel date)
- 2 x Photographs of the applicant, taken within the past six months (I got these whilst sheltering from a storm in a corner photography shop, but there are plenty of pop-up stalls outside the embassy from early morning, for photos and photocopying and printing).
- A completed visa application form. I downloaded this from the Vientiane embassy website, from a link in the main menu
[members only]
It is also available via the appointments booking website homepage
[members only]
- A copy of the passport
- biodata page (photocopied in colour)
- Thailand visa (photocopied in colour)
- Thailand visa extension (photocopied in colour).
These Thailand visas had run out a couple weeks previously but I included them for completeness.
- Lao visa (photocopied in colour). I omitted to include this initially, so was sent away from the gate desk, back out onto the street to get a photocopy at one of the several stalls; very cheaply, 10,000 Kip. I then rudely barged my way through the queue, back to the gate desk for approval. Apologies to all the tutters.
- A copy of the bank statement for the last 3 months with an ending balance of no less than 500,000 THB or (65,000 MYR).
- I actually gave 6 months because of conflicting reports from other applicants, even printing out the current month the night before.
- A second 6-month statement from another bank account showing movement of funds for expenditure in Thailand.
- Proof of salary slip/monthly income for the last 6 months.
- This was simply the first bank statement filtered for monthly payments received from an agency that handles some of my income.
- Tax
- Tax payments to UK HMRC. Again just a filtered list from the bank statement showing those payments.
- Tax return for all income in UK - Tax return for e-commerce business that I own.
- Tax return for income from property letting in the UK.
- These tax returns are easily obtained via the UK HMRC website.
For my case I did NOT need to provide:
- Proof of prolonged residence in Thailand for at least 6 months, such as a condominium rental agreement, lease agreement etc.
- A foreign employment contract or employment certificate authenticated by the embassy of the country where the company is located.
- A copy of the company's registration/business license authenticated by the embassy of the country where the company is located.
-I think that tax returns itemised for each business concern (all income, e-commerce and property, along with my flowchart, probably sufficed in lieu of business registration and authentication).
- There then followed a professional portfolio showcasing all remote work as a digital nomad, freelance writer / editor, landlord and trader.
I opened with a formal explanatory letter addressed to the Vientiane embassy. It listed my professional activities as:
1. freelance researcher
2. freelance writer and ghostwriter
3. freelance editor
4. Blogger including travel social media content
5. landlord
6. self-employed businessman (e-commerce)
7. cryptocurrency trader
It also explained that I have several income streams handled by my named agents, and that other investments and assets are held in online trading exchanges (wallets).
It also invited them to please see proof of income from consistent monthly payments on bank statements and the correct UK tax paid. It ensured that their attention was drawn to the bank statements always showing a balance of no less than 500,000 THB (~£11,150).
1. freelance researcher
- Signed contract from recent project
- Sample output with my name on from that project
- Invoice of payment from that project
2. freelance writer and ghostwriter
- Contractual letter for current project
- List of publications
- Amazon Screenshot of books published
3. freelance editor
- Contractual letter for current project
- Affidavit email from publisher confirming remote working capacity
4. blogger + social media content
- Screenshots of 2 sample articles from Personal / Travel Blog with 99,470 followers,
- 2 sample articles from global corporate website to which I had contributed
5. landlord
- Landlord Agreement with letting agency
- Landlord Registration (an official status for which one must qualify in the UK).
6. self-employed businessman (e-commerce)
- Letter from me to the embassy on headed notepaper confirming myself as sole owner of e-commerce business, partnerships, activities and my role. (This is an odd concept, but I learnt that it works from the various online groups).
- Screenshot of website homepage
7. cryptocurrency trader
- Lists of assets
- List of transactions
- I was preparing myself to have to obtain a letter from the Vientiane UK embassy confirming that they do not authenticate documents (bank statements, business registration, etc.). This is typical for UK embassies worldwide, however, the one in Vientiane does actually offer this service, so I had this link stored if the eventuality arose.
[members only]
- I also didn’t bother providing screenshots from other social media (Twitter/X, Instagram, FaceBook) as while they were included on the flowchart as indirect promoters of other writer/editor-based sources of income, they do not directly qualify as income streams.
I hazard it’s likely that the trading, blogging, social media and maybe even landlord elements may have been ignored to some extent, but the active remote working contracts and perhaps the e-commerce parts were sufficient persuasion. Either way, I felt better throwing everything at the proverbial paper-obsessed bureaucratic wall, in the hope that something would stick.
Hoping this helps and gives encouragement to those in particular who do not recognise themselves as established digital nomads/bloggers/YouTubers/TikTokkers, etc.
I’ll try to answer queries as they arise, and good luck to everyone seeking this amazing opportunity in the Kingdom of Smiles.
[Photo of sunset over the mighty Mekong, from Vientiane, with Thailand almost within reach just across the water].
