What steps can I take to increase my chances of getting a soft power DTV visa approved from Hanoi?

My soft power DTV was approved this week. I applied from Hanoi about 9 days ago.

I did not use an agent and did everything myself. Although the 3 months of banking statements was not a requirement, I still attached 3 months because it seems like they may be weighing the strength of each application against one another and going with the ones that hold more weight, also factoring in nationality and one's ability to support themselves.

Included within the application was a page at the beginning of each section, notifying the consular officer exactly what they would see.

I also split the PDF into several of the relevant sections and uploaded it to the applicable attachment area in the website. It might not mean anything, but if you want to leave no stone unturned, this is a way to show you put in extra effort.

I included a cover letter, explaining a little about myself as well as why I was interested in the soft power course I was applying to. I directly wrote that I did not intend to work for any Thai companies or compete with Thai nationals during the duration of the DTV. Also, I included how I make money to support myself, as well as what my plans were after the 12 month course ended. To put in more detail, I stated that I would continue to sign up for more soft power courses to honor the intention of the DTV. One of their main issues seems to be what people are doing after their 6-12 month course is over. This is just a way to assure the officer that you will continue to contribute to the Thai tourist economy.

Lastly, I included all airline tickets into Vietnam and Hanoi, confirming my location was in Hanoi. I included date-timestamped selfies of myself at designated areas in Hanoi. Additionally, I included receipt of accommodations in Hanoi as well as the accommodation and arrival flight I booked in Thailand.

Sidenote here, I was a bit worried due to news of what the US has done in adding Thailand on a restrictive list of 75 countries where their citizens' long-term visas would no longer be processed. The situation is volatile and unpredictable. I don't trust the US to act rationally and the ones most affected in the end may be American expats, unfortunately.

If you have any questions, please let me know. I debated posting this but I figured it would help some who were on the fence. There are way too many 'soft power rejection' posts regarding Hanoi but my experience was totally different than what's been posted online.

1.27.2026 update - I left Vietnam for Bangkok BKK Airport. Following the advice of some on this forum, I made sure to print out my Visa on an A4 size paper. Showed it to the IO and was promptly stamped in. The line was long and high season is definitely causing some backups. Now I need to figure out how to do a Certificate of Residence. I'll be going to Lak Si tomorrow to try and do that. Likely my last update on this forum. Big thank you to those who posted valuable information on the DTV Visa.