FYI for anyone from Norway:

In one year, the Norwegian embassy will stop providing income verification letters. This article was posted on ASN:

"The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the phase-out plan in response to a parliamentary inquiry. Minister Espen Barth Eide confirmed the service cut, explaining that it is not a legally mandated duty. The embassy will discontinue the letters in a year, providing time for adaptation.

Thai immigration practices have shifted, previously accepting foreign embassy letters, now requiring verification through Thai bank accounts. Thai authorities favour either a balance of 800,000 THB or monthly deposits of at least 65,000 THB. Many countries, including the UK, USA, and Australia, have already stopped offering similar services.

The Norwegian Ministry advises citizens to consult the Thai Immigration Bureau and Thai Embassy websites for accurate guidance.

The decision aligns with a broader international trend. Norwegian retirees in Thailand must prepare for direct compliance with Thai financial requirements going forward.

The recent government white paper further clarifies these consular changes. It confirms Norway's alignment with other Western countries' consular practices in Thailand. This shift signifies a new norm for the verification of income for Thai visas."

Just thought I'd let everyone know about my border run experience. I got my DTV in August and did my 90-day report a few days early. i left Thailand a week before my 180-day mark, stayed out of the country for about 2 weeks and then came back to Don Meuang airport.

I paid for fast track service and when i got to the counter, the female immigration officer took one look at the DTV sticker in my passport and called over another female officer and showed the sticker to her. They talked for a minute and then the other officer asked me to come with her.

I followed her to a male officer who looked at my passport. They talked for a minute. Then the female led me to a desk with computers on it and asked me to sit down. She checked something on the computer and then asked me "what kind of DTV is this?". I told her "for work". She said "ok" and then checked something else on the computer. Then she stamped my passport and said "ok, finished" and motioned for me to leave. I wanted to ask her what that was all about but I didn't want to risk anything and I just wanted to get out of there. I left and went to my condo.

Everyone was nice and polite the entire time.

I have no clue what happened.

Regarding Bank Accounts (as well as other non-DTV) items TikTok has just posted this. I am posting this in DTV about the new banking regulatory requirements only.

They are very well connected and have been around a long time.

Wednesday, February 12 is Buddhist holiday. Where can I find if this will result in closing of Chiang Mai immigration office?

Hello, I submitted a DTV visa and i'm reading that not all embassies accept a family member like a mother as a sponsor.

I'm applying to Madrid embassy and I have spanish passport. Do you guys know if this is true?

There are so much confusing info, like some people say I need to submit a 6mo statement, which means I need to have the 500k for long time to make sure it is not a single loan, and other say that adding those 500k one time is enough.

That's why my mother is sponsoring me, do you guys have any idea about it?

also, do you know how much time can I expect to have the approval?

Thanks for your help!!

Has anyone ever successfully been able to get the DTV to study Buddhism, using a letter from the Abbot of a temple for the "Soft Power Activity"? As I'd like to seriously study Buddhism without ordaining and can obtain this document.

OR

Has anyone been able to use Dental work to qualify as the "Soft Power Activity/Medical treatment"?

TIA

I am not too sure what is the requirement for the Muay Thai Visa. Do I have to actually go train or just pay for the class is enough ? How long of a period do I have to train and will they ask me mutliple time to provide proof of training ? Thank you

Has anybody applied for the DTV after having already been working remotely in Thailand but on the visa exemption?

How often can you border bounce?

I’m currently on my second tourist visa, I would like to go to tokyo and back before I fly to cambodia to apply for DTV visa. Is this possible? Or will i get into trouble when coming back from tokyo amd having my third entry in the country.

Dutch(The Netherlands) passport.

I'm currently having a huge argument with a moderator of an English-speaking group

He is absolutely convinced that he believes what Tod Daniels wrote a week ago about the 60-day visa-exempt entry.

I, on the other hand, and the admin of another English-speaking visa advice group, are of the opinion that you shouldn't believe everything and should wait and see whether more reports of this kind come in.

It's true - there have been no other such statements so far.

Tod Daniels (a great guy, the visa guru of the advice groups!)

came to the conclusion a week ago that since July 15th you can make UNLIMITED 60-day visa-exempt entries via a land border. The limit of crossing a land border twice per calendar year has been dropped, he wrote

unfortunately, he is basing his argument on ONE single report, as well as the passport and the story of a Filipino who was stamped in at Nong Khai

this Filipino had already overstayed three times (!!) and had already made THREE 30-day visa-free entries since the beginning of the year!

and then the guy claims that after a 60-day visa-exempt stay permit was stamped into his passport, he asked the official how many times he could re-enter from there on

and the official answered him: "unlimited!"

I don't believe a word of this story

because - who is so stupid as to point out to the official at the border with such a stupid question that he might have made a mistake?

He would have expect that the border official will take a closer look at his passport and possibly revoke the stamp!

Do you understand?

that's why I don't believe this story

and Tod Daniels may have fallen for this story

And what else can you say about the little phrase "unlimited visa-free travel"?

The phrase "unlimited visa-free travel by air" has already suggested something that didn't actually exist

In the past, at a certain point, let’s say, the third consecutive attempt at visa-free travel, you would be taken aside at all airports (and at land borders!) and questioned about your true intentions.

And you would be warned that this would be the last time you would be allowed to enter without a suitable visa for a specific purpose.

So, please, why would it have been changed to "unlimited visa-free travel for 60 days for the rest of your Life" as of July 15th?

Based on just ONE report from a Filipino traveler about his experiences at a land border to Laos?

Why should one now start to believe that the phrase "unlimited" actually means unlimited entries by air and land?

Each entry is still granted at the discretion of the immigration officer at the border.

If an immigration officer decides that you have used visa-free entry often enough in a row and have "abused" it for a long-term stay, you can flush the next "unlimited" entry down the toilet