Success story from Hanoi. Figured I should write one of these because I found it helpful reading others' accounts when I was planning things out. (Thanks!)

I applied for a Workation visa. I'm a freelancer with a sole-proprietorship from the US. Previously, I've stayed in Thailand for over five years on Tourist visas and Education visas.

I supplied all the required information and put "Freelancer" for occupation instead of "Business Owner". The tricky part is the PDFs it asks you to upload to prove everything. I suggest getting AS MUCH information as possible. Err on the side of providing TOO MUCH rather than too little. I was never asked for any additional documents or for an interview.

For documents indicating current location (merge all into a single PDF, plenty of tools to do this online):

1. Photo of entry slip to Vietnam

2. Hotel reservation PDF

3. Plane ticket PDF

4. Photo of Vietnam visa stamp in passport

5. Vietnam e-visa PDF

6. Photo of hotel key with the name of the hotel in my reservation

Financial documents:

1. Balance letter from my bank indicating current balance (created on the day I applied)

2. Screenshot of bank app from the day I applied (from the web as my phone app did not allow screenshots)

3. 6 months of bank statements (reverse chronological order, I had the 500,000 baht in my checking account for only the past 3 months)

4. Screenshot of exchange rate from the day I applied (Google or any other exchange rate website are fine, put 500,000 baht in so they can see how much it's worth in your currency)

Employment contract or proof showing I'm a remote worker or freelancer:

1. Proof of employment document (I'm self-employed, so I wrote a letter explaining that I'm a freelancer, have a sole-proprietorship, the work I do, how I do it, and that I will not take any Thai clients. Put my name and contact info, signed and dated with a PDF signing service)

2. Contracts with two of my clients (I had no formal contracts with them, so I drafted up a simple, two-page document for each explaining the work I do, how long I've been working with them, how I am paid, explaining that I can work from anywhere remotely, including Thailand, and sent it to them with Dropbox Sign for their signature and date, and sent them a polite email explaining it's for a visa)

3. 5 invoices from recent months sent with my invoicing software

4. Screenshot of Stripe's transactions page, which I use to accept payments, showing the last few months of transactions

I stayed in Hanoi the entire time as I knew I could be called for an interview any time. I arrived on April 17th, applied on the 18th, got my status changed to "Pending Approval" on the 21st, sent an email to the embassy on the 29th asking for a status update, and got approved on May 1st. It was a bit longer than most stories here (9 working days), but patience is a virtue, I guess. My stay in Vietnam is until May 14th, which may or may not have had an effect on the processing speed.

Hope this helps anyone else planning a trip to Vietnam. All in all, it was a pretty easy process, but it was a bit nerve-racking with it taking so long. I would recommend quadruple-checking all of your info before you submit it. I spent nearly an entire day just filling out the application (about 6 hours of work compiling and checking all the info as well as formatting PDFs). Good luck!

Do freelancers have to pay tax if they stay with DTV visa ? I will leave before 180 days to visa extend. I am worried that I will be asked again if I return after 2 weeks after leaving the country. If you know the rates to pay, please let me know 🙏

If I come back with DTV for the second time, do I have to show the show money 500,000 baht again? How much should I show 🙏 I don't have a Thai bank account because it's difficult to open a Thai bank with DTV.

Hey everyone! Just sharing for freelancers who are unsure of what to submit for the financial supporting documents. Besides the normal requirements along with my portfolio (PDF with tearsheets/photos), I submitted:

1. A few bank statements showing over the 500k (or more! As much as you can, I guess) sitting in the account for more than 3 months -- I highlighted the amount and the months to prove that.

2. Invoices to clients with screenshots of the bank showing the money being paid.

Applied online from Cambodia on Oct 28th, received approval this morning (Nov 11).

Took a while, but it all went through.

Good luck and thanks for the support!

Have any freelancers successfully gotten the DTV visa with just their portfolio and not current contracts with clients?

Provided they meet all the other requirements.

Edit: I plan to apply in Taipei in the next two weeks

Hello, I am a self-employed freelancer - will showing my online portfolio of work be sufficient to fulfill the employment part of the DTV application?

A question about DTV for a business owner. Let's say that you are the sole owner of a private company.

So you own all the money from this company but you send every month the money on your personal bank account that only have the money from the month expenses.

In these cases, what you can do? They say that the money should be in your personal bank account for 3 months in some embassies, did somebody manage to have accepted the money in the company bank account or that the money was sended in the personal bank account before the request of DTV?

I'd like to try to ask in Jakarta or in Phnom Penh soon about the DTV for freelancers, wondering if somebody had the same issue and resolved it.

Are you an Entrepreneur, Freelancer or Remote Employee working in DIGITAL/TECH, looking to stay and work longer term in Thailand? Or are you looking for talented developers and designers to work on your projects? IGLU can help!

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💻WORK FOR US [members only]

We hire top talent every day. If you are a software / web developer looking for work, please apply directly through our website’s Jobs page using the above link. Before applying, please see the applicable criteria for all our employees below.

✅BENEFITS for all our employees:

✓ Non-Immigrant B visa 12 months, renewable contract

✓ Work permit

✓ All local taxes are organized and paid for by us including income tax

✓ Social Security with Government Health Insurance

✓ Office space from our fully-connected offices, with a monitor, 250Mbps fibre optic broadband and meeting rooms perfect for Skype calls and presentations.

✓ 90-day reports handled by our staff

✓ Social events, company trips and access to peer networks

❗CRITERIA for eligibility:

-You must work in something Digital, Tech or IT-related

-Relevant university degree + at least 2 years work experience, OR a total of at least 5 years work experience.

-Income at least $2,500 USD per month

📱CONTACT

For more information, please contact us through our website, or you can e-mail at santtu@iglu.net, or add on Skype Santtu115, or send a PM on Facebook.

*Each application is individually processed, subject to approval by Iglu and the relevant authorities.

**For job applications, only applications made directly through our website will be reviewed.

Are you an Entrepreneur, Freelancer or Remote Employee working in DIGITAL/TECH, looking to stay and work longer term in Thailand? Or are you looking for talented developers and designers to work on your projects? IGLU can help!

Iglu is a digital remote staffing / outsourcing company employing over 175 employees from 27 different nationalities. We have offices in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, and we assist with Relocation, Outsourcing and Employment.

🌎RELOCATE [members only]

You can easily relocate yourself to Thailand and do your business through Iglu. Iglu invoices your clients, company or employer and pays you or your team’s salaries including all taxes and social benefits. Through this arrangement you will be an employee at Iglu and since we take care of all expenses and handle your accounting, it will be easy for you to monitor your net income with no surprises at the end of the month. Iglu charges 30% of the invoice amount and pays the remaining 70% as a net salary to your Thai bank account. All our employees get an all-inclusive package to make working from Thailand as smooth as possible see BENEFITS further below.

👨‍💻OUTSOURCE [members only]

You can recruit an entire team or a single employee to cater for your project needs, whether it’s for developing a full application, building a small web team or just finding a designer to create your new logo. No project is too big or too small - we have the resources. We are able to provide developers and designers with great expertise from across the globe at highly competitive rates.

💻WORK FOR US [members only]

We hire top talent every day. If you are a software / web developer looking for work, please apply directly through our website’s Jobs page using the above link. Before applying, please see the applicable criteria for all our employees below.

✅BENEFITS for all our employees:

✓ Non-Immigrant B visa 12 months, renewable contract

✓ Work permit

✓ All local taxes are organized and paid for by us including income tax

✓ Social Security with Government Health Insurance

✓ Office space from our fully-connected offices, with a monitor, 250Mbps fibre optic broadband and meeting rooms perfect for Skype calls and presentations.

✓ 90-day reports handled by our staff

✓ Social events, company trips and access to peer networks

❗CRITERIA for eligibility:

-You must work in something Digital, Tech or IT-related

-Relevant university degree + at least 2 years work experience, OR a total of at least 5 years work experience.

-Income at least $2,500 USD per month

📱CONTACT

For more information, please contact us through our website, or you can e-mail at santtu@iglu.net, or add on Skype Santtu115, or send a PM on Facebook.

*Each application is individually processed, subject to approval by Iglu and the relevant authorities.

**For job applications, only applications made directly through our website will be reviewed.

Are you an Entrepreneur, Freelancer or Remote Employee working in DIGITAL/TECH, looking to stay and work longer term in Thailand? Or are you looking for talented developers and designers to work on your projects? IGLU can help!

Iglu is a digital remote staffing / outsourcing company employing over 175 employees from 27 different nationalities. We have offices in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, and we assist with Relocation, Outsourcing and Employment.

🌎RELOCATE [members only]

You can easily relocate yourself to Thailand and do your business through Iglu. Iglu invoices your clients, company or employer and pays you or your team’s salaries including all taxes and social benefits. Through this arrangement you will be an employee at Iglu and since we take care of all expenses and handle your accounting, it will be easy for you to monitor your net income with no surprises at the end of the month. Iglu charges 30% of the invoice amount and pays the remaining 70% as a net salary to your Thai bank account. All our employees get an all-inclusive package to make working from Thailand as smooth as possible see BENEFITS further below.

👨‍💻OUTSOURCE [members only]

You can recruit an entire team or a single employee to cater for your project needs, whether it’s for developing a full application, building a small web team or just finding a designer to create your new logo. No project is too big or too small - we have the resources. We are able to provide developers and designers with great expertise from across the globe at highly competitive rates.

💻WORK FOR US [members only]

We hire top talent every day. If you are a software / web developer looking for work, please apply directly through our website’s Jobs page using the above link. Before applying, please see the applicable criteria for all our employees below.

✅BENEFITS for all our employees:

✓ Non-Immigrant B visa 12 months, renewable contract

✓ Work permit

✓ All local taxes are organized and paid for by us including income tax

✓ Social Security with Government Health Insurance

✓ Office space from our fully-connected offices, with a monitor, 250Mbps fibre optic broadband and meeting rooms perfect for Skype calls and presentations.

✓ 90-day reports handled by our staff

✓ Social events, company trips and access to peer networks

❗CRITERIA for eligibility:

-You must work in something Digital, Tech or IT-related

-Relevant university degree + at least 2 years work experience, OR a total of at least 5 years work experience.

-Income at least $2,500 USD per month

📱CONTACT

For more information, please contact us through our website, or you can e-mail at santtu@iglu.net, or add on Skype Santtu115, or send a PM on Facebook.

*Each application is individually processed, subject to approval by Iglu and the relevant authorities.

**For job applications, only applications made directly through our website will be reviewed.

Are you an Entrepreneur, Freelancer or Remote Employee working in DIGITAL/TECH, looking to stay and work longer term in Thailand? Or are you looking for talented developers and designers to work on your projects? IGLU can help!

Iglu is a digital remote staffing / outsourcing company employing over 160 employees from 25 different nationalities. We have offices in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, and we assist with Relocation, Outsourcing and Employment.

🌎RELOCATE [members only]

You can easily relocate yourself to Thailand and do your business through Iglu. Iglu invoices your clients, company or employer and pays you or your team’s salaries including all taxes and social benefits. Through this arrangement you will be an employee at Iglu and since we take care of all expenses and handle your accounting, it will be easy for you to monitor your net income with no surprises at the end of the month. Iglu charges 30% of the invoice amount and pays the remaining 70% as a net salary to your Thai bank account. All our employees get an all-inclusive package to make working from Thailand as smooth as possible see BENEFITS further below.

👨‍💻OUTSOURCE [members only]

You can recruit an entire team or a single employee to cater for your project needs, whether it’s for developing a full application, building a small web team or just finding a designer to create your new logo. No project is too big or too small - we have the resources. We are able to provide developers and designers with great expertise from across the globe at highly competitive rates.

💻WORK FOR US [members only]

We hire top talent every day. If you are a software / web developer looking for work, please apply directly through our website’s Jobs page using the above link. Before applying, please see the applicable criteria for all our employees below.

✅BENEFITS for all our employees:

✓ Non-Immigrant B visa 12 months, renewable contract

✓ Work permit

✓ All local taxes are organized and paid for by us including income tax

✓ Social Security with Government Health Insurance

✓ Office space from our fully-connected offices, with a monitor, 250Mbps fibre optic broadband and meeting rooms perfect for Skype calls and presentations.

✓ 90-day reports handled by our staff

✓ Social events, company trips and access to peer networks

❗CRITERIA for eligibility:

-You must work in something Digital, Tech or IT-related

-Relevant university degree + at least 2 years work experience, OR a total of at least 5 years work experience.

-Income at least $2,500 USD per month

📱CONTACT

For more information, please contact us through our website, or you can e-mail at santtu@iglu.net, or add on Skype Santtu115, or send a PM on Facebook.

*Each application is individually processed, subject to approval by Iglu and the relevant authorities.

**For job applications, only applications made directly through our website will be reviewed.