How many people are just trying to âpush the visaâ through on some sort of loophole?
I read a lot of BS leading up to the DTV which a lot of people bought into, like that itâs going to be âoneâ extension in five years or â10,000â baht to extend?
If youâve read Ryan Holidayâs books and understand how fake news works, you will know what is happening here. Someone reads the government website, writes an article saying something totally different, then âpasses it up the chainâ. Then people repeat if as true.
Hereâs the reality of the visa, how it will probably work applying and what you need to know.
1. You need 500k+ baht in the bank.
2. You need to be a remote worker or run a remote business.
Pretty much, thatâs it. If you have those two criteria, donât quote me on it, but if you are a remote worker/business owner and have 500k on hand whether the money was in the bank for a day as you cashed it out of somewhere else or you had it there for 12 years, they wonât care.
If however, theh read through your statements and it says: âenglish teacher in Thailandâ yeah theyâre going to say: âHey, you need 3-6 months with the amount in your accountâ.
This is Thailand, itâs not Japan. Japan will just say: âDenied. Not a remote worker.â
Theyâre trying to ânot hurt your feelingsâ.
How is this circumnavigated. You will have to hire an agent, like for sure.
I met a guy a week or two back who gets an agency to do his retirement visa, they put money into his account the day of, take a photo then take it out.
Am I recommending this? No. You canât openly recommend that.
But you have to remember, a lot of people are trying.
So if you totally meet the criteria then just go in. Tell them the moneyâs in crypto or stocks or whatevr and take it out or print out the statement. Iâm going to be doing this and really not expecting much pushback. but I run an online business and have well over 500k+ in my investment accounts.
If, however, you created the company yesterday and put in 500k and then wrote a letter to yourself, yeah theyâre probably going to say: âyeah, umm. We need 3-6 months worth of statementsâ.
Iâm generalising, yes, but this is Thailand, âsaving faceâ is the norm so I get the feeling most the people getting rejected are not getting clear answers.
And when I read a clear, simple application process and requirements then hear story after story as to people being rejected under those criteria. It is, unfortunately more likely that they didnât âreallyâ meet the criteria then lots of people being rejected who meet the criteria because of all the âout thereâ reasons they are mentioning.
Iâm not saying theyâre not even true. Maybe so many people have gone in to game the system they do now require 6 minths worth of stsrements.
BUT! They will be looking for evidence you are a remote worker NOT that you had 500k consistently. đ€Šââïž Just think guys, use your head and stop accepting things on face value.
So what we know:
1. If you apply online, you will not get feedback first, so only do so if youâre confident you will pass.
2. If you apply in person, it is:
- Same day Taiwan.
- Japan + Korea only accept local applicants.
- 5 day wait cambodia.
- 2-3 days Vientianne and has been so far higher success rate. Requires a booking,
- Jakarta is walk in.
3. You need 500k in the bank.
4. You need to be a remote worker or remote business owner.
I will have my VA check into the cooking class or whatever those requirements are, but without looking, I would assume itâs the same as with not âreallyâ meeting the requirements so you will NEED to use an agent to âsqueezeâ it through. Which could be the school offering the classes or the agent themselves, Iâm sure agents will get onto this âquickerâ though.
Who to call? I havenât found a reputable one yet, but if you have one please let me know. But I think I might make some calls over the next few days. If you could as well and let me know what they say would be appreciated.
How do they do this? God knows. Pay them? Have a party. I have no idea, but they can sometimes and no one seems to care.
So those are your two options:
1. If youâre clearly a remote worker or business owner I donât think this is going to be too hard at all. But, still, apply in person if you can, as they can then give feedback on your application. When I did my last multi-entry in Australia I flew to canberra, which was a pain, but at least they could amend on the spot the 2-3 mistakes I made (one being printing off the âsydneyâ form which theh said would be an instant fail).
2. If youâre going to try to âget one past the goalieâ as an English teacher or online trader or whatever. I would recommend finding and hiring an agent. As youâre going to be met with: âoh, you need 6 months of statementsâ when really they mean: âYou donât meet the requirements sorryâ theyâre just being nice.
For me, this is far more likely the situation. Then âso manyâ qualified people being rejected for the superfluous reasons being thrown around.
One more thingâŠ
Almost all Thailandâs visasâs are tourist visas. A LOT of people have been scammed into thinking they are residency visas when they arenât or maybe theyâre just complaceant, Iâm not aure.
But there is residency options out there and I am looking for them.
There is essentially free houses in Japan, Taiwan gives actual residency for the same price as Thailand with the âgold cardâ. And there is many others which I want to find so have hired a few VAâs and am scouring the globe now.
I think Thailand is a fantastic start, especially with the DTV. But you really should be going into it with eyes open. Especially three things:
1. It will never lead to residency. The only path is being on a work permit or starting a company and hiring yourself, which I would oersonally only do under anâinvestmentâ with a thai person. Expecting it would probably go south anyway.
2. You should NOT have a bank account here or they will tax you, so if you have one, close it and use Wise or Revolut. The best strategy I have found (if you can) is to have a HK company (can set up for $1000 with one I found that does crypto too) and then pay yourself from there, to revolut or wise. Or just use the company account. But never a Thai one. Iâve read the rules and it is only on money brought in, so just donât bring it in.
3. Never and I mean NEVER go to immigration if you have overstayed your visa. Always leave and pay the fine or you risk ending up in jail.
And that, to me, is the biggest (and scariest) risk in Thailand for me, for all the people who donât even know about it. That if you ever have a âbrushâ with the law and end up in jail, or god forbid get in an accident and end up in hospital. then go to immigration with âjust causeâ for overstaying you could (and should treat it as will) end up in the IDC where they essentially lock you up and throw away the key. No joke. Look it up.
So personally, for me this is a temporary place. Just like the DTV and with all the legal landminds surrounding it, I am personally looking for somewhere else long term. Is why I hired the VAâs. To look up all the different options for residency and long term stay and will release it later once weâve got a really solid understanding of the market. For me whatâs most important is:
1. I can own land 100%.
2. They give an actual passport or residency eventually.
3. Itâs well priced.
4. Itâs safe.
5. Itâs fun.
But am using like 100-200 different criteria including tax rates, investment amount needed etc.
Anyway, not really that interested in feedback as it will all almost definitely be passive aggressive whinging. But if you have something to âaddâ to the conversation feel free.
All the best.
