DTV approved in Ho Chi Minh!

I meant to post this earlier, but I’ve been traveling by bus and things got hectic—sorry for the delay!

Application submitted: Late night on March 11

I submitted documents including a Vietnamese investment account (not a stock trading account but a foreign investment account) with approx. 700,000 THB.

I included a bank balance certificate and 6 months of transaction history, showing an average of 350,000 –400,000 BHT and topped up to 700,000 THB a week before applying.

I also submitted Airbnb booking documents in Vietnam and my passport stamp showing entry into Vietnam.

March 13 (morning): I was asked to submit additional documents

They wanted to know about my income or how I plan to sustain myself in Thailand, and requested a full copy of my passport.

I responded within 3 hours with another bank account holding over 500,000 THB (balance certificate only),

and mentioned my YouTube channel with around 2,000 subscribers to show how I could sustain myself.

I also had a lot of travel stamps in my passport from a bus trip across Southeast Asia last year, so I explained each one just in case they got suspicious.

March 18: Visa approved!

April 1: I entered Thailand via Mukdahan from Savannakhet and received a 180-day stamp without any questions.

I applied with Muay Thai Fever in Chiang Mai under the "soft power" category.

I actually visited them in person back in February, checked out their facilities, and talked with the manager. They were super helpful and quick with paperwork. I highly recommend them!

Bonus tip:

If you fail in hcmc, don’t go to Hanoi.

Instead, take a 3,4-hour bus to Can Tho—weirdly, it's still under Hanoi’s jurisdiction, but many people have better luck there.

Good luck everyone!

So here's the situation, I live in Samut Prakan and have used the TM.30 aligned with my condo for doing extensions and using it to report to immigration every time I re-enter Thailand. Recenlty I hit a snag where I mistook a 1 for a 7 and overstayed by three days. I immediately realised my error and went to the nearest immigration office to avoid paying higher fines. But we were on holiday at the time and had to create a new TM.30 from the hotel booking we had in the other province in order for me to get the extension.

Next month, I’ll be traveling to my home country. When I return to Thailand, will I be able to use the original TM.30 receipt of notification from my Samut Prakan address at the Samut Prakan Immigration Office? Or did the TM.30 from the other province automatically void the old one, meaning I’ll need to submit a new one?

Hello,

Does anyone know offhand if a 13 yr old can enter Thailand unaccompanied? He is a US citizen flying from NYC. I can get the flight from AA, and I presume they will help with immigration, but if anyone knows anything or has some recent experience with this.

Many thanks,

Ali

Hi to everyone

Is there a limit on how many times a year I can enter Thailand by plane?

I had problems entering the country the last two times (December 2024 and February 2025). They said that I already had too many Thai stamps from different years in my passport. Am I violating the law here?

I fly to Taiwan on Friday and come back to Thailand 10 days later. Now I'm worried that there could be problems with immigration again. what is the legal situation?

I am traveling with a German passport. never had an overstay either. And always travel to Thailand with a return ticket.

Going to Thailand next week....tried ringing Thai embassy London but no answer....any update on the visa excempt ETA ..?

If you are wondering about the rules for bringing medication into Thailand, they are in this link below: [members only]

Hello , are there any Americans in Thailand and do people from Thai like black women ?

Is there any Americans traveling to Thai (Bangkok )during the week of the 14th ?

Hello I work at a traveling agency, we have a Mexican couple traveling from late November to early December, I've been reading that Thailand will be asking for an ETA in December but can't find anywhere to apply... Any suggestions?

I’ve applied for the visa and it’s pending approval. However my flight to Thailand from Vietnam is tomorrow morning at 8am.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do if it hasn’t come through before my flight at 8am tomorrow.

If anyone has an email, so I can contact them to check the progress, please let me know 🥰