DTV Approved 🎉

Location: Hanoi

Passport: Zimbabwean

Visa Type: Workation – Self-Employed

Application Timeline:

Applied: 2 Feb

Extra documents requested: 3 Feb (business registration of the company you’re currently working with and proof of income from your job, highlighted in your bank statement).

I had this ready and uploaded it within an hour.

Approved: 9 Feb

History:

First entered Thailand on a single-entry tourist visa in April (60 days).

Returned in July on a 6-month METV (two week-long visa runs, 60 days apart).

On my final entry, I was pulled aside and questioned by immigration in November, right after they announced a crackdown on visa runs. I filled out a form and was eventually granted entry after showing that I had a business in Zimbabwe and was not working in Thailand. I was advised to return on a DTV, which I said I would — I was waiting for my 500k baht to be seasoned for three months.

Extended the final entry stamp by 30 days.

Advice:

Be meticulous with your application. Title each document, include a table of contents, and label everything clearly. Remember there is a human on the other end, so make it easy for them and leave a good impression.

Prepare all documents according to the ISSA Compass website — sign up and go through their extensive checklist.

Use Canva to prepare docs & Ilovepdf to compress

I was approved with between 500k–560k in my account for 2.5 months. Bank statement wasn't stamped.

This group was a valuable source of information. Search any question you have and you’ll likely find advice. Asking Google and AI would be secondary.

Ignore the fear-mongering, but do your research if you have a passport from an African country. I’ve succeeded here, but can't speak for other African countries.

Feel free to ask any related questions and I’ll do my best to answer.