I hope someone might be able to help with a few questions about the DTV visa.

From what I can read, to get approved, I must be able to provide evidence of having 500k baht in my bank account. That's fine, but do the money have to stay there for the entire stay in Thailand or am I allowed to use some of it?

The alternative is a sponsorship letter, if I'm not wrong? What would that look like? Does anyone have an example of such a letter?

Recently had my DTV Approved at Thai Consulate Ho Chi Minh City.

New Zealand Passport

Bank statement was just a printout of my online banking.

The proof of funds money was deposited just a few days before applying.

I also got my dad to write a letter saying that he was willing and able to to support me if I ran out of money. But no screenshots of his bank or anything like that.

I included a copy of my work contract which was from a US company. It was not verified by embassy as some places suggest is required.

Proof of address was just a reservation printout from the hotel I was staying in Vietnam.

Overall it was a far smoother process than I had been led to believe. No documents needed verified from respective embassies, and no issues applying from Vietnam as a New Zealand Citizen on a tourist visa.

Staff were friendly and did a quick check over all my documents before taking my money ($340 USD, no bent or folded notes).

My application was processed in 2 days.

Can't guarantee your experience will be the same, but overall I highly recommend Ho Chi Minh City if you are currently in Thailand and looking to do a visa run somewhere to apply for DTV.

My experience went far smoother than I had anticipated.