What should I do if denied entry to Thailand on a DTV visa due to insufficient documentation?

This post contains only factual information regarding an incident that occurred on March 28, 2026.

Please understand that the text is long, as I have tried to describe the situation objectively and in detail in chronological order.

We are a married couple who have been living in Thailand for about 1 year and 6 months on a DTV visa.

We have no history of overstaying, and this incident occurred during our fourth re-entry into Thailand.

(We arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport on the night of March 28.)

Except for one land crossing through Laos, we had always traveled back and forth to Korea by air, and we had never been asked to provide any documents before.

This time, we went to Korea for 4 days and returned by plane, but we were denied entry at immigration.

We had completed the TDAC in advance and had printed copies of our DTV visa documents.

The immigration officer looked at our documents, pressed a yellow button, and stopped both me and my husband.

We were told to wait briefly on the side, and after a short while, a female staff member approached us and guided us elsewhere.

We were taken to an interview table, where we were asked what type of DTV visa we were using.

We answered that we were visiting as REMOTE WORKERS (working from home).

She then asked us to provide proof that we were still working for our company.

I immediately showed my employment contract from when I first joined the company in 2023.

(The contract had no fixed end date, which is common in Korea, so the contract period section was left blank.)

However, she sighed and said the contract was too old, and requested a more recent document from 2026.

I explained that my company does not renew contracts periodically, but she shook her head.

I then showed her my work history through a messaging app, demonstrating that I have been continuously working for several years.

Despite this, she asked, “How can we confirm that you are still earning money?” and requested my payslips.

I do have those documents, but I did not know they were required at immigration, so they were stored on my computer at my home in Thailand.

I explained that I could show them if I were allowed to go home, but she replied, “You can’t.”

She then handed us two documents titled “Passenger Statement Form” and told us to fill them out.

After completing the forms,the female officer conducted another interview.

(It seemed like she was recording us with her phone camera, which was placed in front of us without explanation.)

She again requested proof of income, and I said I did not have it with me at the moment.

I showed her my company’s business registration document from my phone and explained that I didn’t know these documents were required for entry since I already had a visa.

She responded that having a visa does not mean you can enter without supporting documents.

I then asked if I could call my company immediately to request my contract and payslips and asked her to wait.

She then asked about my husband’s occupation.

My husband is a programmer and is currently planning a business, but he is not the main source of income.

We explained that he currently does not have income as he is preparing to establish a company in Korea, but she did not accept this explanation and shook her head.

While I was calling my company, I again asked her to wait, and she then sent us to a waiting area next to the interview desk without any explanation.

I assumed this meant we should find the documents, so I searched my phone extensively and managed to locate my mobile banking records, showing that I had been receiving a salary from the same company for the past 3 years.

She nodded slightly upon seeing this, but then suddenly requested my husband’s payslips as well.

However, my husband is on a dependent visa as the spouse of a DTV visa holder, so he was not required to prove income during the visa application process.

We had submitted our marriage certificate and my financial proof only.

As explained earlier, he had no income documents to show.

When he said he could not provide payslips, she showed visible frustration and gestured for us to return to the waiting area.

I did not understand why my husband’s income was required, so I asked why we needed to submit this.

At that moment, another female staff member (who had initially guided us to the interview table) came over and asked what was going on.

I told her that I had found the income records they requested and showed them to her.

She nodded and gestured for us to sit.

Soon after, another person came, confirmed that the passports belonged to us, and took photos of our faces.

We were then asked to follow a man.

We took an elevator and were led through a narrow, dark corridor into an office area.

There, our faces were photographed again, and we were made to wait outside the office on chairs.

Again, no explanation was given.

After waiting for a long time, two flight attendants approached us and suddenly informed us about purchasing return tickets to Korea.

I asked why we had to return to Korea, and they responded, “Weren’t you given any explanation?”

They said they would check and come back.

When they returned, they explained that the reason was “insufficient documentation.”

I said that I could now provide proof of income and that I could obtain a new employment contract shortly if given time.

However, they said, “It’s too late. You have only one choice — go back to Korea.”

When I tried to ask further questions, they said they were not immigration officers and could not help.

I was extremely frustrated and said that although I wasn’t blaming them, it was hard to understand how we could be denied entry simply because we were late in providing documents that were requested suddenly.

They said they were not certain but suggested two possible reasons:

First, frequent visa runs — especially returning to Thailand after very short stays (1–3 days) in another country.

(However, I hold a DTV visa, which is described as allowing unlimited entries. How can this be considered a visa run?)

Second, insufficient documentation.

I then asked, “Even if all documents are prepared, can I still be denied entry if I return to Thailand too soon (e.g., after 1–3 days in Korea)?”

They replied that they could not be sure, but it was probably possible.

I then asked, “We have pets at home. If we stay away for more than a week, they could die. From how many days is it no longer considered a visa run? Would one week be enough?”

They said they did not know.

We were then told to pay approximately 33,000 THB for return flight tickets for two people.

We were informed that we had to take a flight at 11:30 PM on March 29, as it was the cheapest and fastest option.

Additionally, we were required to pay a SECURITY FEE of about 3,800 THB (for two people) while waiting for the flight.

We had no choice but to purchase the tickets, and we are currently waiting in the holding area as I write this.

This is the first time we have ever been denied entry due to insufficient documents, and we are extremely confused.

We were able to contact someone through an acquaintance to help refill the automatic feeder and water dispenser for our pets (one cat and one dog), but we have no idea how long we need to stay in Korea before returning, whether we will be able to enter next time even with all documents prepared, or what we should do next.

Should we hire an agency?

If anyone has experienced a similar situation, we sincerely ask for your advice or shared experiences.