Hi everyone!

I’m planning to apply for the Soft Power DTV visa from the Thailand consulate in Chennai and I had a few questions. I’d really appreciate any help from people who have applied recently:

1. What documents did you submit?

2. How many working days did it take to receive the visa?

3. For the bank statement requirement, do they expect to see personal savings history, or is it okay as long as the account reflects the required balance at the time of submission?

Thanks so much in advance for any guidance or tips!

## DTV Application Experience from the UK

*(Submitted from UK, visa approved in 4 days)*

Sharing my full timeline and supporting documents for anyone applying for the DTV visa from the UK. I noticed some differences compared to other people's experiences so I hope this helps.

Location: UK

Returned to UK from Bangkok: 20 April 2025

Flying back to Bangkok: 3 May 2025

Timeline:

* Submitted application: Sunday 27 April at 20:52

* Request for further documents (1st round): Tuesday, 29 April at 12:50

* Request for further documents (2nd round): Tuesday, 29 April at 17:05

* Visa approved: Thursday, 1 May at 12:01

(Approved within 4 days, including 2 rounds of additional document requests)

Documents I originally submitted:

1. Passport biodata page

2. Photo (taken within the last 3 months)

3. Proof of current UK location:

• Immigration stamp from London Gatwick

• Lloyds bank statement printed at branch (note: no stamp or signature, but says printed at branch and shows my full name and registered address)

4. Financial evidence:

• £12,000 transferred into my account on 25 April

• £2.5K salary payment on the same day

• 3 months of payslips

• P60

5. Proof I can work remotely:

• Letter from HR (wet signature and company stamp)

• Employment contract (it doesn't say I must work in the UK, but doesn't explicitly mention remote work either)

Additional documents requested on 29 April at 12:50:

* Proof of UK residence:

*• I submitted 3 months of Sky broadband bills (my gas/electric bills are addressed to “current occupier” and water only comes annually)*

* Visa proof for non-UK nationals:

*• Submitted Skilled Worker visa letter using the gov.uk share code*

* E-ticket showing name, departure date, and flight details:

*• Submitted booking confirmation from Booking.com*

* Hotel booking showing name and address:

*• My hotel booking was under my company’s name, so I submitted my current letting agreement instead*

* Payslips:

*• Re-submitted 3 months of payslips*

* UK bank statement:

*• Re-submitted 3-month bank statement showing income and address*

Further request on 29 April at 17:05:

* Boarding pass and Thai immigration exit stamp:

*• Submitted my boarding pass (BKK to London) and the Thai exit stamp page from my passport*

* E-ticket invoice or payment proof:

*• I didn’t have the e-ticket or invoice, so I submitted my payment confirmation from Booking.com and my PayPal Credit statement showing the ticket purchase, with matching reference*

Waited through Wednesday and got the approval email on *Thursday 1 May at 12:01*.

Summary:

If you're applying from the UK, be prepared for multiple rounds of document requests. Even if you've submitted certain documents already, they may ask again. Strong financial evidence, proof of UK presence, and quick response times seem to make a difference.

Let me know if you have any questions or want more details.

Hope this helps someone!

Longest time it took to get approved? Shortest time? Slowest/fastest consulate in the US? Chicago is the one I had to pick, I submitted my DTV app on 3/4 and I'm still waiting. Haven't had any request for add'l documents, just shows "pending document check"Edit: Guess I spoke too soon, just got an email they want a copy of my resume' - I'm nervous

Success story (finally). First of all, thank you to the members of this group who had the patience to respond to my questions. This is a great community. I'll try to pay it forward and help other members as well.

It got approved in a little over 30 *working* days since application. It was high season and both my embassy and the Thai one had some holidays. You can consult this on your embassy's website. Still, after seeing so many people getting their visas in just a few days it was pretty discouraging. Makes me think some countries / passports have higher priority than others. But now it's here so here's how I applied and the docs I provided:

Applied for "Workcation (Digital Nomad / Remote Workers)". I had two previous entries in Thailand one on VOA and one on tourism visa.

It's great that you don't need to have flight tickets purchased, you can just fill in your expected flight no.

For accommodation - I booked a hotel for 1 month after my expected arrival. I made sure it had free cancellation up until 2-3 days before my expected arrival in case I wouldn't get the visa in time. But other than that I had no long term rent or anything.

Proof of current location - photo of my ID card (not even both sides, just the front). This one is always strange, but it worked for me with my previous visa as well.

The docs - I could not upload the full contract with my employer because of upload size limitations. So I uploaded just the first page with the title and the signing parties and the last page with the signatures. I also uploaded the registration certificate of my freelancing business. Combined all these pages into a single pdf. The contract actually doesn’t explicitly mention that I work remotely. I guess it’s implied since my client is in a different country.

Because it was taking rather long, I sent them an email yesterday asking to estimate how much longer it would take and if I can leave the country while I'm waiting. They never replied but today I got approved WITHOUT any further request for documents. I don't know if me emailing them was related to this or not.

So let me know if you have other questions.

As a small side note - I happened to stumble upon the google reviews of my embassy and it had a ton of 1-star reviews from people that were upset that their visas were not getting processed in time for their arrival. Maybe some of them didn't consult the timelines (they are longer for the high season), but I'm sure a lot of them did. Anyway, if you see something similar for your embassy, maybe consider going to a country where you can apply in person and maybe you'll get your visa faster, if you have the means and if time is an issue. Just a thought.

does anyone know if it’s ok to enter thailand while i wait for DTV approval? i’m applying this week but need to travel jan 20th. i will enter visa exempt then leave the country to re enter on the DTV once it’s approved. i will be in australia when i submit application.

So.. first time they asked for 3 month bank statement, employment certificate, and resume. I submitted all of those with an cover letter explaining all the docs.

Now second time, they ask for 3 month bank statement again? Any idea what to do? I submitted statements from the past 3 months and a Balance statement from a few days ago of over 15k… do I submit the same thing again?

For booking record, do I send a hotel booking record of a future stay in thailand? Or in the country I applied in?

For the certificate of income issued by national tax service, do you think 2023 tax return for IRS is okay? I started a new company and got seed investment mid 2024 so this seems pretty tricky.

Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone, I need your advice!

I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I'm currently in Brazil, in a city far from the Thai Embassy, so I plan to apply for the DTV online and choose "The Royal Thai Embassy in Brazil" as my location.

Here's my question: should I submit my documents in Portuguese (the official language of Brazil) or translate them to English?

I would really appreciate your opinions and experiences on this matter. Thank you in advance! 🙏

Visa update.

Applied Hanoi Sunday 10th, medical soft power (dentistry). Approved 6.30pm Friday 15th.

Supplied:

1. Bank statements

2. Medical plan for 4 - 6 months plus

2 appointments (dentistry)

3. Cover letter explaining a couple of complicated issues.

4. Accommodation details in Hanoi.

4. Passport pages showing existing visas & several blank pages past the visas.

The only thing I was concerned about was the accomodation details I supplied was different as my original booking was cancelled after I lodged my application.

Any queries pm me- if I can help I will.

Good luck guys

Anyone applying from Phnom Penh recently? I’ve applied since 21st, and it’s still pending. I’m getting anxious and running out of places to go visit 🤣

Just want to know if anyone else is on the same boat.

Very happy, I finally applied for DTV visa. In Jakarta