What is the process for applying for a Digital Nomad Visa (DTV) in Thailand from India?

Successful DTV application

Embassy: The Royal Thai Embassy, Delhi, India.

Citizen: India

Route: Soft Power - Cooking classes (6 months)

Applied in: November 2025

My Background:

* On a long term sabbatical since Early 2023

* In terms of DTV online form, classified as unemployed

* Out of the last 12 months, I have spent ~ 7 months in Thailand. In my last entry, I was flagged by the immigration officer and escorted to a questioning cell. In the line of duty, they checked all my reservations, return ticket, finances and after the due diligence and before they approved my entry, one Senior Immigration Officer politely yet diligently guided me that I should be applying for a long term/stay visa and that started my DTV journey.

* Sources of income:

1. Stock trading and investing (which I understood, post making a research before applying for the DTV, is difficult to explain under the Digital Nomad category).

2. Other Passive income sources such as Rent, Bonds, Term Deposits etc

Documents provided:

Set 1 (Pdf)

* Cover letter explaining:

1. Sabbatical Status

2. Income summary

3. Proof of sufficient funds ie > 500,000 THB

4. Reasons why I travelled to Thailand often- not working in Thailand and only for Tourism

* 3 months Bank Statement with consistent deposit > 500,000 THB

* Income and Income Tax Statement for FY25

* Explanation of incomes in the Tax Statement by breaking-down incomes with proofs such as:

5. Trading/ demat accounts P&L statement screenshots. Since I have multiple trading accounts, I attached multiple statements for FY25.

6. Rental income proof by attaching the Rent agreement and explained the same

7. Term Deposits - Consolidated amount screenshot with Account Details mentioned

8. Bonds - Consolidated amount screenshot with Account Details mentioned

Note:

* All the incomes and numbers were originally in INR but I inserted text boxes and mentioned the THB conversion alongside each of the incomes.

* Summary of incomes in a tabular format before proofs were attached

While it might look like oversharing, I understood while preparing/ researching for my application that it is immensely important to assure and project financial stability specially when under unemployed category/ classification.

Documents Provided:

Set 2

Proof of location

1. Aadhaar Card (National ID)

2. Phone bill with address same as ID

3. Entry into India FTI-TTP (fast track immigration gates). Screenshot with explanation. This can be seen as an equal of immigration stamp.

Documents Provided:

Set 3

1. Invitation letter and related documents from Soft Power - Cooking school

Now the Journey in Terms of Working Days:

Day 1:

* Applied and and paid on the same day

* Mailed the proof of payment to the Embassy which was promptly acknowledged

Day 2:

System status: Pending Payment

* Mailed the Embassy to check if I had missed something as the status was still Pending Payment

* Status Promptly changed to Document Check to Pending Approval

Day 14:

System status: Pending Approval

* Checked with the Embassy over a call and mail

Day 15:

System status: Document check

Day 16:

System status: Additional documents requested

* Embassy asked additional questions regarding Proof of Employment and Sources of income.

* I replied with a cover letter explaining sabbatical status and sources of income. Supported this letter one more time with all income proofs and bank statements while attaching the Soft Power invitation again.

* Almost instantly and promptly the status was changed by the Embassy to Pending Approval

Day 22:

System status: Pending Approval

* Shared the status with Embassy over mail and requested for guidance

Day 22:

DTV Approved

Other learning/ points noticed:

* The Royal Thai Embassy, Delhi is extremely efficient and responsive

* November to say till February/ March is high season and applications will take time due to work-load

* Before applying for this visa, prepare documents based on how you want to present your case

* ilovepdf website is useful for editing, compressing and preparing PDF files

I'm extremely thankful to the Royal Thai Embassy, Delhi and also grateful to this group 🙏🏻.

Also, I hope this explanation helps other aspirants.