DTV Approved HANOI - BUSINESS OWNER- AMERICAN

Hello! This group has been super helpful and I wanted to share my experience. I applied in Hanoi and before i came to Vietnam I read multiple posts to make sure i would not make any mistakes

Was going to Apply June 1st but there were still some issues on my application when i checked all the documents. PLEASE BEFORE YOU APPLY MAKE SURE YOU FILL ALL THE INFO OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SAID IS NEEDED OR REQUESTED. Because of this delay i applied next day Monday June the 2nd. What is requested varies by embassy so always check before you submit . They might be requiring something now that maybe was not needed last month

Timeline

06/01. Ready to applied but postponed due to document check was missing info

06/02 applied late at night around 9 pm Hanoi time

06/04 received an email to resubmit my picture as it was blurry per their standards

06/05 sent a nice email asking for an update ( later the email came back undelivered ) emails do not work at Hanoi tried 2 emails none work

06/08 visa approval ( Monday and tuesday embassy was closed ) so 3 working days it took for me the fastest i have seen in this forum . If you are thinking about applying HANOI is your best best as i write this post

Couple of reminders.

The DTV is so broad that there are many ways to have a succesful application. Find the easiest one “ the one you have more documentation and you will be fine.

I went with the Business owner route and on the last page before submitting i had 3 folders or pdf files

Please find a website to lower the resolution of the docs . I had like 26 mb at some point and you can only do 3 MB per file ( REALLY LIMITED)

1) Location file . Here i included my ticket out of thailand. my vietnam visa and my arrival stamp . I also included a copy of the reservation of my airbnb showing the dates and the address and my long term contract in bangkok . YOU HAVE TO APPLY OUTSIDE OF THAILAND FOR THIS VISA. Do not go back to thailand while you are waiting and do not travel outside . Thechnically you can but i would not risk it in case they call you for an interview

2) personal file. Here i did an index with all the info i thought would help me in the application.

*cover later ( why i thought the dtv was a good fit for me i reinforce tha idea MY INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT WERE OUTSIDE OF THAILAND

* CV put emphasis on what you do Digital Nomad etc

* contract ( since this was my own company i have been with this format since i left the us in 2020 i hired myself this is good for us taxes )

* paystubs 6 months

*bank statements ( BIG ONE SHOW 500k bath and they want to see continous flow) I read some people deposit money right before they apply . Some were fine but i would not apply in such terms . They want to see you can support yourself.

* wise bank statements for local usage. Here i told them i was aware that i would not qualify for a normal bank account in thailand as this was a tourist visa after all so they could see i was already used to having this restrictions

3) business file

* letter of recomendation ( yes i recomend it myself and specifically stated that as an employee of this company i was authorized to work from abroad and i would not seek local employment . Company must have a seal and make it professional . They really care about formality in asian countries

* company registration ( my company is registered in florida so took a screenshot of the website where they can verify this and included the incorporation papers

* bank statements ( business ) here you have to show the payments going from the business to your personal account . I included 6 of thoses and HIGHTLATED THE MONTHLY PAYMENTS to my personal account

* taxes and invoices from some clients

If you follow this structure and apply as a business owner you should be good to go. PLEASE CHECK EVERYTHING BEFORE SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION. I spent 1 hr yes i checked 10 times if all the info was correct names address etc . Do not trust the passport scanner CHECK NUMBER BY NUMBER if you miss one they will reject the application. When they ask you where was your passport issued ( put the country that issued it) they dont care if it was an embassy abroad … embassies are considered part of those countries so please dont make that mistake. I saw at least 20 people that put thailand as they got their passports at their embassies there and were rejected NO REFUNDS if your application is rejected

I want to thank everyone here as i would not have done this without the help i got from this forum . As of last week i was still really lost in the process. For me it took 3 days to prepare everything and there was A LOT of info to be put into those 3 files . Good luck to everyone

Feel free to ask any questions.

Wanted to post my experience from getting my DTV Visa in Hanoi May 2025, as this group was super helpful for me!

I applied the Digital Nomad route (whatever its called) as I have a working contract with a company from Hong Kong. American passport.

What I submitted:

-Passport biopage

-Photos

-Work contact (signed by my boss and I)

-Bank statements (above 500k) going back 6 months (wanted to be thorough and the more you send the better.)

-I originally submitted my Hanoi hotel booking as proof of location

Timeline

-Tuesday May 13th I submitted it at 8am the day I flew to Hanoi.

-Thursday May 15th I got a request for more paperwork. (They wanted Vietnam entry stamp and "business certification" for work

-Friday May 16th, resubmitted all of this (the business cert I had to wait for my boss, they wanted the official registration from the country of your company)

-Friday May 16th it went into "pending approval"

-Friday May 23rd, received eVisa approval at 10am

My flight back to Thailand was scheduled for May 24th.

This is my 3rd eVisa and each time I received approval on a Friday. It appears 5-6 working days is the sweet spot as long as it's not around a holiday or something. The process was very simple, my main advice is give them more paperwork than you think you should. Everything you have, combine into a PDF and submit.

Good luck! Feel free to ask questions, happy to help.

Is there a step by step guide somewhere for getting a Non O followed by the 12 month extension, in country?

180 days on a DTV coming up, living in Pattaya. Can I border bounce either via BKK airport or via a van service to Cambodia on the same day to get another 180 days or do I need to spend time out of the country?

Spouse Visa Approved! Royal Thai Embassy , Washington DC.

Sunday 2 March application submitted. Passport. Marriage license. 3 months of her bank statement (December, January, February). Driver’s license. Bank statement and drivers license noted as proof of current residence. My DTV. Fee paid. Next status was pending document review. Monday March 10. Request for additional documents, my passport bio data page. Status awaiting documents Submitted Tuesday, March 11, status pending document review. Wednesday March 12, 9:15 pm, email received, we would like to inform you that your Visa application has been approved. What a relief. By the way, I did have one question that this group answered before I submitted her application, I listened to the good advice, and everything worked out fine. Thanks again to most of you, you know who you are, and you are greatly appreciated. 🙏 

*Edit* Printed out the visa. Handed it to the immigration officer with my passport. 0 questions asked. A simple thank you and smile and that was it.

Edit2 I forgot to mention I already had a 1 year lease agreement that expires in November with my name in it. I provided it in full with my application.

Edit3* I have been living in Thailand for 3+ years already on a Special Tourist Visa , Ed visa, a few border bounces and a couple of visa on arrival through the airport.

DTV Approved from HCMC as a contract worker. I'm Canadian and teach English online for a reputable platform.

Prepared all of my documents and uploaded them to the E-visa site ahead of time.

1) Proof of work. Provided:

- a certificate provided by my company stating I work for them on a contractual basis.

- My full contract

- Screenshots of my profile page with hyperlinks and step by step instructions on how to access my public profile showing in active status.

- My company would not provide a registration number but I found it online from a regulatory body in the country it is based in. I also provided hyperlinks to this site so they could find it themselves then provided the number and explanation in my cover letter.

2) Proof of Income

- 6 months of bank statements from an account in Canada. I only had the necessary funds for over 1 month. It was around 100,000baht for the 5 previous months.

- screen shots of payments for 6 months from my payment profile page with my end balances and my lump sum deposit 1 month before highlighted

- statement of received payments for 6 months with another bank account with dates and amounts corresponding with my payment profile page.

*I did not hide anything on the statements. I've read about too many people doing this and it only leads to a request for the full document and/or problems

3) Proof of location

- picture of boarding pass

- picture of visa stamp into Vietnam

- proof of accommodation

4) Cover letter explaining anything unclear in a bullet format. Also stated that I will respect all Thai laws and authorities and will not work illegally in Thailand.

Timeline:

- Flew into HCMC on March 6. Submitted application around 6pm.

- Friday morning stays showed awaiting approval

- Received approval of DTV March 13 @ 14:00

- waiting at the airport as I type to fly into Thailand now.

Overall a very smooth process. One important note is that I manually entered all of my information. Even though it autofilled my passport info correctly I did not want any potential glitches to cause issues. There are too many stories of applications being cancelled because of this. People please triple check all of you information before submitting. I cannot stress this enough.

Another note for those of you that have a cc. I signed up for the Adobe 1 week free trial. It will then give you the option to extend the free trial an additional week if you check close to the end of your first free week. Adobe will protect your data better than the free pdf editors you find online. Protect yourself. I wish I did before using them a few times before.

Ask me anything. This group has been so helpful for me so a big thank you to you all.

Kap Cheong (Surin) / O'Smach border run update: I crossed into Cambodia at O'Smach today. 1500 baht for the 1 month single entry visa to Cambodia. 500 baht penalty for not staying at least 24 hours. 300 baht for a "guide" who found and filled out all the documents including TM6. 300 baht for the Thai immigration officer to not ask for the 3 proofs for a "visa free" entry of 60 days. All over and done in 30 minutes.

Success with Remote Work DTV in Ho Chi Minh in mid-Dec and Children's Dependent DTV in Jakarta the day after Christmas (WITH travel during process):

I can't say for sure the Thais don't allow you to travel during the application process (many other countries do), but I think the key thing is to NOT travel to Thailand, during the process and explain where you've been.

I applied in HCM with:

- work contract,

-payslips,

- savings bank statements,

- letter from employer confirming work and ability to work remotely.

*I used the SmallPDF app for converting, combining, editing, finishing docs (highly recommend!).*

Stayed a few days and then had to leave Vietnam. They came back asking for bank statements showing salary received highlighted. Took approx 3 working days for initial submission to be reviewed, not quite 2 working days to be approved after additional docs provided. (Note, sometimes the requests come later in the evening Thai time - 8pm and later - so do keep an eye on your inbox if you're in a rush.)

By this time, I was in Indonesia. I applied for the children's visas to the Jakarta embassy sending:

- my visa,

-same (combined) bank statements, payslips, etc,

- work contract,

- birth certificates

- a letter from the hotel confirming we were in Indonesia.

- *a personalised letter of support (from me to the children) - template from Gemini AI*

Took approx 4 days for initial review (not incl Christmas holiday). We left Indonesia for Singapore. They came back asking for entry stamps and visa docs. Indonesia had stamped out over the entry stamp. We got on the ferry to Batam, received new 7 day Visa on Arrival (half price).

Sent back photos of both entry and the one exit stamps, both visa slips, and ALL passport pages (for the children only).

I included a letter saying we were in Indonesia when we applied, but had to return to Singapore for the Christmas festivities, but that they were now in Indonesia again and that the children had NOT travelled to Thailand (evidenced by ALL passport pages).

They approved the next working day.

Note, the application did not ask for permission from the other parent (many countries do), which is not to say they can't when you travel.

Dear Expat Community,

I'm reaching out because I'm growing weary of the constant cycle of 30- and 90-day visas. I'm seeking advice on long-term residency options. I'm fortunate to have sufficient financial resources and a retirement account.

I'm hoping to connect with fellow expats who have successfully navigated the process of obtaining a one-year visa or residency permit. Any insights, tips, or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Wishing you all a joyous holiday season filled with peace, love, and prosperity.

Been waiting 30+ calendar/20+ working days for my New York DTV application, should I be worried? It went to pending approval in one day and then no changes since then.