I just got word that my Thai female partner has been accepted for her visitor Visa to Canada (I sponsored her) we are just waiting for her to get her passport back with the Visa, she wants to fly here next month and not sure how long she is willing to stay, my question is can we just buy a one way ticket??? Or will she need to have a return flight booked???

Small report: Just passed through Nong Khai Immigration (approx 19.00, taking the Vientiane - Nong Khai bus). I've lived in Thailand before, but this was my first visa-exempt border bounce (initial arrival in January, extended in March). I spent 1 week in Luang Prabang before coming back. Upon arriving at the checkpoint, the first policeman sent me to Room 15 to speak to the supervisor. He asked me what I was planning to do and to see a ticket out (which I had thankfully bought in advance), but did not ask to see ฿20,000 or any confirmed hotel bookings. I hope this helps someone.

Edit to add: I had heard anecdotally that flights to neighboring countries are looked at with some suspicion by the border guards, so I booked to South Korea. These are more expensive, but under Korean law all airlines must offer a rather generous refund policy. It might be worth considering this for your own situation as well.

Source:

[members only]

Hey long time travellers... Sorry if this is a dumb question, but Asia is weird sometimes.

I've got a long layover coming up in bkk. It is just from my arrival until my commuter flight home to the north. In the states I know I can just go to the counter and ask for a seat on an earlier flight (these are seldom full). Does that concept exist in Thailand?

Hello everyone,

I am preparing my application for the DTV visa and need to purchase an airline ticket. However, I might need to postpone the departure date.

I've noticed that flexible tickets often cost nearly double compared to non-flexible ones.​

Does anyone have experience or advice on how to buy a ticket that allows date changes without incurring high costs?

Are there airlines that offer fares with free or low-cost modifications?

Or are there strategies to make a ticket more flexible without paying the full price of a flexible ticket?

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or personal experiences on this matter.

Thank you in advance!

I got my DTV in 3,5 hours!

Yes you read that right. 3 hours and 23 minutes to honor my German friends here.

So I’m gonna share my story to contribute to this amazing group that helped me a lot in the past days 🙏🏼

I arrived in Manila yesterday night, checked in at my hotel and went straight to bed. Today I finished my documents and at 11:57am I submitted my documents online - already mentally and emotionally prepared for two long weeks of waiting.

So I went out for lunch, had coffee, contemplated what to do with my life in a concrete jungle… and when boredom kicked in I checked my emails. 15:20h … Mail from the embassy … You’re visa is approved.

Wtf.

Straight back time travel to the feeling when I caught Mewtu for the first time in Gameboy Pokémon Blue Edition.

So here‘s exactly what to do:

Preparation is everything (life lesson in here)

- If you’re a business owner, get your documents ready:

1)Certificate of active Status of your company

2) Document proving you’re the owner of the company

- Prepare your employment contract, indicating you employed yourself as a managing director for your company. You must add the following benefit: 100% remote work

- Write yourself a „letter of authorization“ that you authorize yourself 100% remote work. You will find templates and tutorials for this document on YouTube as I did

- Make a nice presentation (I did it with Canva) in which you explain in detail (!) what you do:

1) Add your website and your LinkedIn Profile

2) Explain your services/products and proof your successful business with data/pictures/numbers/metrics // if you are a freelancer show 3 of your projects/clients and explain exactly what you do for them

3) Add invoices, then add the bank statement where this money came into your business bank account and finally add another bank statement from your private account which shows you actually received this money

—> Remember: The better you prepare this presentation, the faster you will be. My presentation was around 18 pages long and took me 4 hours of focused work.

- Have your private bank statements of your last 3 months ready. The front page should indicate the current balance of at least 500.000,- Baht.

- Merge the following documents into 1 PDF (you can use a free tool like „ilovepdf“ for merging pdfs - just google it):

1) Proof of your location: Use the receipt of your hotel booking

2) Picture of your Philippines visa stamp in your passport

3) Passport sized picture (should be exactly measured based on the given size on the Thai website)

4) Booking confirmation of your flight to the Philippines

What else do you need to know?

- eTravel Visa for the Philippines: When you enter the country you are required to show the eTravel document. Be careful: there are services online that charge more than a 100€ while on the official website it is for free I assume. Why I know that some charge over 100€? Don’t ask… 😂🤦🏻‍♂️

- When entering the Philippines you must present a return flight ticket. So have that in mind.

- Don’t book your hotel for too long in advance - you might not need it.

Remember:

- Preparation is everything. The better you prepare, the faster the process will be.

- Make it easy for those who are reading the documents.

- Be kind and friendly in your words, they are still humans.

3 hours 23 minutes - I hereby require my official entry in the Guiness book.

See you in paradise 🏝️

PS: If someone of the honorable team of the royal Thai embassy is reading this post - thank you! You did an amazing job 🙏🏼

My Experience Traveling to Thailand with the New DTV (Destination Thailand Visa) from India

Hi everyone, I wanted to share my recent travel experience using the new Digital Travel Visa (DTV), which might help others planning their trip.

I received my DTV in early March (I’ve already shared a thread on how I got it—check the group for details). I traveled to Bangkok on March 24th via IndiGo Airlines, but I faced an issue at check-in. The airline staff was unaware of the DTV and initially denied my check-in for not having a return ticket. They insisted that Indian passport holders are only allowed a 60-day stay. Unfortunately, I had weak internet and couldn’t open the official portal to show the updated guidelines.

After a few minutes, another staff member searched online and found the new visa rules, after which I was allowed to board.

✅ No issues at Indian immigration (Bengaluru Airport).

✅ At Bangkok immigration, I was in the regular line (while most Indians were sent to the visa exemption queue). I informed the officer about my DTV and mentioned I was looking for a house for long-term living. He asked about my work and whether I planned to buy property in Thailand. I replied yes, and he smiled and welcomed me warmly!

Key Takeaways for DTV Holders:

➡️ Many airlines are still unaware of the new DTV. Carry proof of your visa and be prepared to explain it.

➡️ Immigration officers in Thailand seem well-informed and welcoming.

➡️ Internet access at check-in is important—have screenshots or saved documents just in case.

Happy to share that I’ve now secured a beautiful villa in Phuket and will be relocating with my family next month! We are looking for like minded families to get along and friends for my 6 years young, energetic and English speaking daughter in Thalang. I'm a Entrepreneur and a Youtuber working from home.

Hope this helps others planning their journey. Feel free to ask if you have any questions!

Safe travels, everyone! ✈️

First time solo traveler here. Visiting Bangkok from May 2nd - May 4th and then Chiang Mai from May 4th - May 6th. If anyone wants to connect let me know!

Has anyone flew with Etihad airways are they any good. I usually fly with Qatar but Etihad are looking the cheapest. Thanks

Hello, I just want to share my experience with re-entering on the DTV visa in Phuket (remote work).

A few days ago I arrived back to Phuket after a short 2 day trip in Dubai. I presented my passport to the immigration officer and he said "oh DTV". He took my passport to his colleague and after a quick chat asked me to follow him to the immigration office. I was asked to provide all the documentation I used to apply for the DTV visa. Luckily I had it on my laptop.

The immigration officer asked all sorts of questions like: Did I apply for the DTV visa myself? Why did I apply in Hanoi if I am an Australia citizen and UAE resident? How much money do I have?

After about 1 hour of talking to multiple immigration officers and sending my documents via email to the imm. office at the airport, I was granted a 180-day stamp.

All the immigration officers were very nice and even explained why they decided to check all my documents. According to them, it turns out that a lot of fake papers were used to obtain DTV visas in Vietnam, Loas and Myanmar,... He said if I applied in Australia or Dubai then there would be no issues. The imm officer said they do a better job of checking papers in non SEA countries.

I have a remote work DTV visa (workaction) and am employed by a US registered company. Everything is fully transparent and documented.

However, I do want to use this opportunity to caution people against using DTV visa services, where agents will provide "all the papers you need" for a fee. I have seen many ads like this around FB and telegram groups.

One person next to me in the imm. office was issued a DTV visa with what they suspect to be fake papers and according to the immigration officer they will contact the embassy of that individual and notify them that the visa has been cancelled. I don't know what happened to that person after that, but it doesn't sound like you get a chance to just buy a ticket to KL and leave.

Please use common sense when deciding to apply for the DTV visa and treat it like you are applying for a visa in any other European or western country. If you applied for a DTV visa with a 2 week cooking course and are re-entering after 6 months, expect some questions. If you have used dodgy or even fake employment or course papers to apply for a DTV, then good luck to you.

Hope this info helps. Happy to answer any questions on my experience if I forget to mention something in the post.

Hi, I’m just wondering if anyone has anyone come across this before and is there a way around it?

I’ve got a return flight booked with Etihad to Phuket from the Uk for 81 days. I know the visa is 60 days on arrival but I was going to do a visa extension whilst there. To cover me for the 81 days.

I’ve gone to check in online with Etihad and they want visa information. Which I don’t have.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We fly tomorrow evening.

What’s the best thing to do now?

Cheers ✈️