Approved!!

I submitted the application through the Los Angeles Consulate on November 13th & the next day I was asked to submit my flight itinerary & a better photo of myself. I received my approval email around 1 hour ago.

I will be attending Arun Thai Cooking School!

I found so much helpful information on this page. Thank you to everyone.

Approved visa in Hanoi Vietnam! ✅🎉

Applied for the Soft Power DTV with Arun Thai cooking

Application submitted: Friday 16/10

Changed to Pending approval 17/10

No document requests.

Approval received: Wednesday 29/10

What I submitted:

Bio data page of US passport

Passport photo

Proof of current address:

- Hanoi evisa document

- 1 passport page with Vietnam stamp

- Agoda bill recent for apartment in Hanoi

- Confirmed booking for flight from HAN to DMK for 25/11

- a picture of me holding apartment keys and a grocery receipt showing the date on the receipt as 14/10

- A close up of the keys and receipt together.

- Agoda page with address of serviced apartment

Three months of bank statements from a HYSA

- September, August, July statements

- The tenth of August had the full amount 500k baht amount and September the entire month. July had like 200k baht.

Arun Thai Cooking school documents.

I wrote a cover letter in English explaining that I will write a small letter in Thai explaining why I choose soft power cooking. I explained why in Thai because I had previously studied Thai getting an ED visa for 18 months and wanted to show that I actually studied and am continuing to learn Thai. The letter was basic and just said Thai food is famous and listed some of my favorites and that I want to learn.

Last time I went Bangkok in January 2025 after spending a month in Japan, I got grilled by the IOs for trying to come back without a proper visa. Because I had basically lived in Thailand for a little over two years. Mostly with ED visa. So an hour later they agreed to let me in but they left a note on my file that said I would apply for the dtv visa.

Huge thanks to the group for all the help. I'm excited to go back! Happy to answer any questions!

Hello! I received my DTV visa by enrolling at House of Taste Thai Cooking School as a soft power! The school was super friendly and helpful in providing me everything I needed from their end quickly. Approved first time with NO ISSUES!!

DTV approved! Enrolled in House of Taste Thai Cooking School 👨‍🍳 [members only]/ I highly recommend them if you are going soft power route.

They are super fast to respond on WhatsApp and so nice. They quickly provided all the documents needed for the DTV and the LA Consulate did not ask for anything additional.

I’m so excited for my first class with a market tour next week! 😁

I can also confirm the LA Consulate is moving much faster now as my DTV was approved in 3 business days. Best of luck to everyone!

who have successfully obtained a DTV through the cooking school.Please share to me.Thanks.

Can anyone recommend places in Chiang Mai that do the DTV ‘soft

power visa?

Just got my DTV in Ho Chi Minh city! Landed on the 15th May, sent in my application via Issa Compass ([members only]/) and it was approved on the 26th May. They're a great visa agent that doesn't charge too much, and they also offer a refund if your application is unsuccessful!

I applied via Thai soft power with Arun Thai Cooking school for a 12 month program which offers a variety of different programs depending on your need. The entire process was really smooth and they were responsive and answered all the questions I had.

Highly recommend!

Hi :)

I plan to apply from France (soft power "thai cooking school"), and I'm surprised to see that the following is required :

"Proof of salary slip/monthly income for the last 6 months"

I found this information on the following website :

[members only]

This doesn't appear on the official website ([members only])

Did anyone experience this request when applying from France or another country ?

Thank you for your help 🙏

How much did you pay for your Softpower (Not Visa) Course ?

Can anyone link any vegan cooking classes/courses they signed up for which got their DTV accepted please? Struggling to find 6 month courses (do they need to be 6months?)