Hello, I’ve just been approved for the Thai DTV visa today. I really appreciate all the help from this community—I’ll share my experience below.

Before that, I have a quick question:

Is there any time limit for entering Thailand after the visa is approved? I’m not planning to go immediately—I’ll likely stay in Vietnam for about a month before entering Thailand. Would that be okay?

Also, is there anything I should prepare before entering? I’m a bit concerned about the immigration check at the airport, even after getting the visa.

Thank you very much!

My Experience : Thailand DTV Visa Approval (Self-Application, No Agency)

I recently got my DTV visa approved in Hanoi, and since I applied without using an agency, I wanted to share my experience in case it helps others. (Submitted on April 3, additional documents requested on April 7, approved on April 9)

1. 💰 Bank Balance Proof (Minimum 500,000 THB)

I cannot generalize the embassy’s exact standards, but in my case:

* I submitted bank statements (in English, PDF) for the past 4 months (Dec 2025–Mar 2026)

* Each statement showed the ending balance of the month

* The balance was consistently above 500,000 THB

* There were no large fluctuations, and the funds were relatively stable

2. 💻 Freelance / Portfolio Proof

As a freelancer without a formal employer, proving my work was crucial.

I submitted:

* A description of the platform(s) I work on

* Freelance contract(s)

* Income verification documents

* Records of payments via PayPal, Payoneer, Wise, etc.

* Screenshots covering the past 6 months

Additionally, I included:

* A written explanation of why I am applying for the DTV visa (reason for staying in Thailand)

* A description of my job

* Links to my YouTube channel or other relevant online presence

3. 📄 Additional Request: Business Registration

* 3 days after submission, I was asked to provide business registration

* Since I don’t belong to a company, I submitted:

* A screenshot of the platform’s business registration number (found online, official government website)

* A screenshot of the website footer showing company info

* A screenshot of the platform introduction/about page

* After submitting these, I received final approval within 2 days

4. ✈️ Proof of Current Location

I submitted:

* A full screenshot of my passport page with the Vietnam entry stamp

* My flight booking details / mobile boarding pass

i arrived in hanoi a few days back and need some advice regarding my tax situation before I apply for the DTV. I stayed in thailand for 2+ years on ED visa and started working remotely as freelancer in early 2025. My tax residence during that time was in thailand and not in my home country because i stayed over 183 days in thailand. I don't have any residence in my home country anymore so i'm not obligated to pay tax there. The thing is I never applied for a TIN in thailand because it just wasn't possible in this constellation. How to request a TIN if you technically are not even allwed to work? I can provide old tax filings a few years back if thats requested, but its not even closely related to my freelancing work that i'm doing now as I had a normal 9-5 job back then. So what should I do? Should I now try to get a TIN here somehow retrospectively by contacting a tax lawyer etc? Besides that I have all requirements for the DTV (500k for 3 months, portfolio, client invoices, client contract, bank statements, etc). I don't want to apply for soft power because i actually need to WORK and don't have time for muay thai or cooking. Would appreciate any help.

[Is it possible to get a DTV again after converting to non-B work permit and lose DTV once?]

Hi guys, I own a DTV visa. But it is likely I will get a job in Thailand down the road, and if so I will have to lose DTV. However in the future if I quit the job and wanna be a freelancer again, as long as DTV still exists I might want it again.

So I am wondering if it is possible to get a DTV again.

Thanks in advance!

Work visa

Hi everyone, i hope someone can help, i want to go work in thailand as a scuba instructor, none of the diving centers will sponsor me with a working visa because they say they only use freelancers, im just wondering what visa i can get that will allow me to work as a freelancing scuba instructor.

thanx

Hi all asking on behalf of my partner who isn't in the group.

She is from Taiwan and wants to apply in Taipei. She has the savings, but works online teaching English and other freelance bits and pieces (a few hours a week for two companies), but the majority of her income is from the English teaching. She makes about 40-60k THB per month depending on the month.

The English teaching is through one of those freelance platforms where you post your profile and rate and students can find you. I think they're classed as freelancers rather than employees.

I know they ask for an interview in Taipei and apparantly also a motivation letter, and I assume one question will be why do you want to go to Thailand to work? Any tips on how to answer this? Or any other general tips for applying in Taipei?

We're a little worried as her income isn't as high as lots of the people who apply but I know they don't have a specific rule for income and it's still above the Thai average so should be OK?

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate some advice from those who’ve been through the DTV process 🙏

I’ve been asked by the Thai Embassy (Jakarta) to provide the following:

>

*Employment contract or employment certificate or professional portfolio showcasing digital nomad / remote worker / freelancer status, plus proof of monthly income***.

Here’s my situation:

* I recently started a new remote/freelance collaboration in January

* I do have an agreement / contract in English

* I have already issued my first invoices, which I can upload

* However, I have not yet received the payments, as the first payment cycle is still pending (normal timing)

So at the moment I can only show:

* Contract / agreement (already sent)

* Issued invoices (already sent)

---> But not yet incoming payments on my bank account

Has anyone been approved in a similar situation by:

* uploading contract + issued invoices (without received income yet)?

* or adding an explanation letter for the first payment timing?

Any real experiences with Jakarta (or other embassies) would be extremely helpful.

Thanks a lot in advance 🙏

*DTV VISA EXTENSION - UDON THANI*

Hey folks, here's the lowdown on my successful DTV extension and how it worked. (And yes, this was way less time and stress than leaving the country and coming back).

Chapter 1 - Preparation

Bureaucrats love papers, right? As such, I painstakingly prepared a portfolio of 48 pages. It included:

-A table of contents

-An explanation of my work/income sources as a freelancer and my situation working from Thailand

-Screenshots of recent payouts and invoices

-My Upwork profile page for content writing + teaching profile from two platforms I teach on

-A freelance contract with one of the companies I work with

-3 months of bank statements

-An invitation letter from my accommodation

-My accommodation owner's ID copy and house book copy

-Published writing samples (as more evidence of freelance work)

After carefully preparing the portfolio, making the long journey from the countryside to the city, printing the portfolio, and running across the city to the immigration, I marched in, sure that imminent victory was mine.

"Passport please", requested the smiling officer at the info desk.

Guess who was so caught up in preparing the portfolio that she didn't even think of bringing her passport? Yep, that's right.

So, two days later, I came back, portfolio AND passport in hand. First at the info desk, the staff called over some other colleagues to talk with, probably because DTV is not a common visa class around here.

One of the staff members asked me why I don't just leave the country and then come back and get another 180 days. I briefly explained why it's much more convenient for me to extend. That seemed to satisfy her.

The staff at the info desk looked through my portfolio, but they were only interested in:

-The bank statements

-The accommodation docs (invitation letter, owner ID, house book)

After awhile, they sent me to sit down and wait. I waited for around an hour or an hour and a half, then they called me up to a.) sign my name on every single page of my portfolio, plus a few other documents (wow, I haven't practiced my signature this much since about first grade) and b.) pay. And that was that! They granted me a 6-month extension of DTV.

I'm sharing this here because lots of people who try to extend in Chiang Mai are denied, and I'm not sure how the situation is in other cities. So, if your city makes it more difficult, maybe Udon Thani can be an alternative for those who don't fancy a trip to Laos.

Hello, I am planning on living in Thailand and interested in DTV process and wanted to know if you are a free lancer do they make you show just 3 months of bank statements or bank statements and invoices that were paid by your clients/customers? Thank you

EDIT: Thanks for the clarity on Thai language not qualifying as soft power. Got conflicting information there. Have adjusted the post accordingly.

I could use some advice from this group as I gear up to apply for my DTV at the beginning of March.

I am looking at Workcation, and could qualify for either Track A or B.

I keep hearing conflicting stories that one/the other are getting harder to obtain, and don’t know what to trust, so I’d like to have plans for both, in case one is denied and I need to reapply.

I’m providing likely more information than is necessary in the hopes of getting high quality responses. I’m posting anonymously because of the depth of this information provided.

I am a French/American citizen, was intending to apply on my French passport, as that’s what I’ve consistently used to travel to Thailand.

I am an independent consultant, facilitator, and speaker in the social impact sector operating out of a US LLC. The business has been operational since 2018.

Most of my work is project based and ad hoc. I do have one longstanding client that pays my business 4,200 euro monthly.

I can show a years work of consistent member draw of $5,500-$6,000 USD per month.

I have the pre-requisite 500k baht in an available personal savings account which I can demonstrate for the last 3 months.

I will be updating my website to show as more of a professional photo - with logos of clients, case studies, and some photos of me facilitating/speaking. There’s ample evidence online (LinkedIn, speaking reels, etc.)

I am currently in Chiang Mai on standard tourist visa, and intend to go to Hanoi beginnning of March before it expires, and apply from there. I have flexibility on location I go, would prefer its relatively close, affordable flights, and needs to have accomodation with reliable internet for video calls. I wanted to do Hanoi because I have a friend there I would like to visit.

Please note I’ve researched requirements at length - with the embassies, online research, AI, and through this group.

Here's the remaining questions that are coming up for me:

1. Based on the above information, for Workcation, is it better to go the Remote Worker (Track A) or Business Owner (Track B) route? I’ve heard advise both ways - including the suggestion to go the Remote Worker track of my own company and write a letter authorizing myself to work from Thailand.

2. Does the intended date of arrival to Thailand that I put on the application have an impact? I’d ideally book a one way ticket to Hanoi, and then book my return as soon as the visa was approved, so unsure what to put.

Thank you in advance for your constructive responses and support!

Hi everyone ☺️ I am currently preparing my DTV application from France. I am a freelancer only recently starting, and my revenues are quite low for now. Because of that, do you think I should apply for a DTV visa on thai soft power instead of digital nomad? Have people been in the same situation?

Also, is it enough to get classes for 6 months when applying or do you need to prove you will be attending classes for 5 years? If not, no difficulty for re-entry?

Thank you so much 😇