Why was my wife's DTV application canceled due to an incorrect passport expiry date?

Thai Visa eVisa Visa Application Process Passport Information Immigration Issues Expat Life in Thailand

Oct 12, 2024

4 days ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

DTV application "canceled" (denied) because of incorrect passport expiry date. This was my wife's (dependant) application, evisa done in Shanghai. Already paid so we lost those 2400cny, about $340. Ive seen others been denied because of wrong name spelling, but keep in mind also other details need to be correct.

And if you upload your passport after you've entered these details then the form details are overwritten with what it reads from the passport, and this can be wrong. I don't know what happened in our case. Maybe the day/month was swapped or something like that. We didn't notice it when looking over the application before submitting. It feels a bit unfair that these small details makes you lose the whole visa fee. I'm glad we didn't pay 2M bath for the elite visa! (I know that's not handled like evisa)

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TLDR : Answer Summary

A user's wife's eVisa application for Thailand was canceled due to an incorrect passport expiry date, leading to a loss of 2400 CNY (approximately $340). The user expressed frustration over the strictness of the rules, noting that others have also faced denials due to minor errors like name misspellings. Many comments echoed the sentiment that accuracy in the application process is crucial, emphasizing the importance of verification before submission. They discussed the role of technology in the application process, debating whether it simplifies or complicates the submission experience. Some suggested capturing screenshots during the application process to track potential errors. Overall, the conversation highlighted the significant financial and emotional impact of seemingly minor mistakes in visa applications.

DTV VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES

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Angelo ***********

The visa procession fee is for a reason. Someone has to WORK to figure if everything is oki. And then he decides: Yes/No. The work is the same, does not matter what the decision is.

Of course, you paid for some cake, but now you have no cake, that feels harsh.

However: month vs. day mistake is an extraordinary good hint!! As most countries use DD/MM/YYYY notation with either "/" or "." as separator, but some countries reverse it in many variations.

a day ago

Gautam *********

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3 days ago

Jj ****

Good reminder !

3 days ago

Wang ******

那你们后面签证通过了么

3 days ago

Sahil ********

@Nick **

Sorry to hear that 🙁

I do have a few questions though...

1) How long did it take to cancel/reject your wife's visa application? Was this directly from 'Pending Document Check' or did it move to 'Pending Approval' before the cancellation.

2) Did you get your Visa approved from Shanghai? If so, what was the processing timeline like?

3 days ago

Nick ***

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Sahil *******

it took about a week, it went to pending approval. I applied in Europe.

3 days ago

Reply to

Nick ***

Anita ********

I guess something can be said for getting the very cheapest visa that you can, at first, just to see if you pass that test. Maybe just go into the country and get the “free” entrance. At least then your passport will be checked. Then I wonder if you can see how your passport got recorded into their system.

4 days ago

Shandy ********

Yeah, I had a similar experience with the image software generating an error on my application. I mean, it is partly due to the image quality of your docs ,but It really is unfair that a technology in the evisa system is creating errors in the application. This problem might even be avoided by eliminating this automatic application prefilling and having the applicant fill out the form manually.

4 days ago

Luit *****************

@Shandy *******

it is not the imperfect technology making the visa rejected, but the applicant not checking the results, so you cannot speak about unfair.

Technology never is 100 percent perfect, and there is a warming on the site.

Why should they stop using technology which saves a lot of people typing in everything, which also generate mistakes, because some people are too lazy checking the results of machine reading?

3 days ago

Shandy ********

@Luit ****************

There actually is no warning on the site, at least when I filled it out. It should be very clear on the information page that any minor error can result in having the whole application cancelled. I'm not sure about "lazy." Maybe some of us have some cultural expectations that consequences should be commensurate with the mistake, so the idea that typing 2 letters wrong results in hundreds of dollars lost is a culture shock.

a day ago

Luit *****************

@Shandy *******

I don't know in which country you applied, but most embassies I have seen have instructions and warnings on their site.

In my opinion, the more expensive something is, the more carefull you should be.

Typing a digit wrong in a financial transaction could also cost you a lot of money.

a day ago

Ivan ************

@Luit ****************

it's that you can type it right and it then changes it to wrong if it misreads your passport. It's not a great design, it should take the passport image first and then ask you to check the data. Not have you enter the data and then overwrite it. I can understand people missing this and this is not the first case, others have been caught like this as well, they entered data right but the system overwrote it wrong.

20 hours ago

Luit *****************

@Ivan ***********

I am IT professional, and I have an opinion about the IT systems of Thai government instances, but I shall not mention it here.

I agree with you that they should force you to scan first and only afterward make it possible to correct.

I also do not understand why all Thai embassies have the visa information in a different format, but that is the same in Thailand where every immigration office is different too.

But with all the warnings it should alert people to check and doublecheck.

Some embassies even have complete guides with common made mistakes.

Personally I would have spend that effort in optimizing the system.

19 hours ago

Reply to

Luit *****************

Neil ********

@Shandy *******

to be honest the OCR auto filling fields for people prob prevents more user error overall.

4 days ago

Jonas *************

@Neil *******

in the other hand why are we are we filling it in and then they are comparing it instead of they just take the it from there if the first place...

Tech is supposed to make things more easy....

4 days ago

Neil ********

@Jonas ************

it does for 99.9% of people, but most people are simply stupid

a day ago

Luit *****************

@Jonas ************

In most cases tech makes this more easy, but it is not 100 percent, mainly because in this case the image is made with a phone by a user.

Not all phones are equally good, and not all users get the best result possible with their phone.

When the take it prom the picture, they are responsible, and the applicant should be responsible for his own application.

3 days ago

Angelo ***********

@Luit ****************

Yeah, for example the plastic on the front page of your passport has some light reflections, the human can abstract that away, and the machine says: I start reading the name at the corner of the reflection.

a day ago

Reply to

Angelo ***********

Henrik *****

Always take a screenshot of every page of the application, before go to the next page.

Many embassies clearly state on their website that you have to fill in the application excactly like the machine readable field at the bottom of the photopage of the passport, or the application will be rejected, since the staff can’t change those data.

“IMPORTANT

Simple mistake(s) could lead to rejection of your application. The visa fees will NOT be refunded in all cases.

The Embassy CAN NOT edit your personal details for you.

With a wrong full name, even if the Embassy had granted you a visa, you may encounter difficulties at the immigration checkpoints when you enter Thailand.”

4 days ago

Nick ***

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Henrik ****

The passport expiry date is not part of the machine readable fields at the bottom.

4 days ago

Ivan ************

@Nick **

it's there, check again. AFAIK it's an obligatory field and should be there on any passport. Second row, position 22-27. Possibly you had entered it right but then it misread from the MRV.

20 hours ago

Irvin ******

@Nick **

really? Mine has it.

3 days ago

Reply to

Irvin ******

Stephan ***********

Sorry to hear that, but that all personal data have to be correct it's not really new. About the fee... the fee is not really for the visa (that's actually free of charge... well... kind of...)... you pay them for check your application. It's also clearly stated everywhere that the fee is to pay, wether you'll get the visa or not. Not nice, but that are the rules... in every country.

Sorry again, better luck next time... 🤞

4 days ago

Luit *****************

@Stephan **********

Part of what you pay is for the visa, for more expensive visa, there is not always more checking needed, but it might be because of milti entry and longer valid.

3 days ago

Nick ***

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Stephan **********

yes I know all that. But the tourist visa used to be cheaper so it didn't cost them that much to check the passport data for that visa. Anyway, just a reminder for everyone to be very nervous and double and triple check everything many times. And if you change anything (new upload etc) then you have to triple check everything again.

4 days ago

Stephan ***********

@Nick **

Double, triple and on top "4 eyes principle"... ;-)

4 days ago

Reply to

Stephan ***********

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