What is the process and timeline for applying for a DTV visa in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam?

DTV APPROVED IN HO CHI MINH CITY – MY EXPERIENCE

Thought I'd share my experience with applying in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

I applied for the DTV through the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City under the Muay Thai/activity category, using a Norwegian passport.

I used a 3-month Muay Thai course, which was accepted. Many people believe the course must be 6 or 12 months, but this is proof that 3 months is still acceptable (my brother also used 3 months, and was accepted a day earlier).

Timeline:

• 5 June 2026 – Application submitted

• 18 June – First request for additional documents

• 19 June – Second request for employment documents

• 22 June – Approved

Total processing time: 17 calendar days.

Initial documents for the application included:

• Passport bio page and recent selfie (taken with mobile phone)

• Boarding pass and Airbnb confirmation in Vietnam

• Three months of bank statements showing over THB 500,000

• Bank confirmation proving account ownership

• Full document package from the Muay Thai gym

The first additional request asked for:

• Full passport, including blank pages

• Timestamped selfie at a tourist attraction

• Six months of bank statements and payslips

• Salary deposits highlighted

• Direct email confirmation from the Muay Thai school

• CV, company profile, income documents and work examples

I also included a professional cover letter explaining:

• How my two bank accounts were used

• Which account met the THB 500,000 requirement

• Why June was included as a partial transaction period

• How my salary and holiday-pay deposits matched the payslips

• That the funds were personal, liquid and immediately accessible

The second additional request asked for:

• Employment contract

• CV

• Tax certificate

• Company profile

• Work samples

• Certified English translations

For this, I submitted one organized PDF containing translated employment documents, my CV, tax records, employer wage summary, company registration, professional licence and work examples from a ERP-software.

I included a second cover letter with a document index and explanations linking the employment contract, income records, tax assessment, professional licence, company registration and work samples together.

My main takeaway is that the initial checklist may only be the starting point. Additional-document requests are not necessarily bad news—I received two and was still approved.

Be transparent, organize everything clearly and use cover letters to explain anything that may not be obvious to the reviewing officer.