Thailand Work Visa to DTV Experience?

I was just curious if anyone has had any experience where they were working in Thailand through a work visa, and wanted to shift to freelancing for foreign clients while still staying in Thailand.

DTV (workation) seems like the way to go in this case but I'm wondering if they're looking for an existing history of freelance already in order to grant DTV in this case.

If my last freelance gig was from 5 years ago, is this still good enough? Or would it be better for me to return home first and get freelance gigs and then try to apply after a more recent history of freelance. Thanks for your opinions everyone :D

Has anyone worked with a legitimate lawyer for a DTV visa? Only looking for actual experience and recommendations, not people advertising themselves to me. I'm going to have a combination of some remote income, student loans for my masters program (fully online) and maybe 8-10k in my bank account. I just dont see me getting the minimum balance in for 3 months with my timeline. My kids dad is moving there for work and we want to make sure the kids start at the beginning of the school year. I could marry him for a non O but honestly I really dont want to 😭

Applied (from Japan) for soft power DTV (health & wellness); cancelled for "... docs do not meet .requirement for DTV". Used mult forums & AI to mirror examples from people that were approved for the same thing (in last 2 months). These were applicants with less financial stability, so maybe it depends on the consulate?

Reapplying under freelance as a portfolio manager, which is a significant amount of income, but not sure if they will accept. As you have to uploaded financial docs in a previous block; I wrote a letter for "Remote worker, foreign talent or freelancer status" detailing my freelancer status.

Is this second attempt a bad mark for me?

If rejected/cancelled, should I go through an agent? I'm close to $700 down on this already and would like to not lose more money without a good explanation.

Should I get the METV for now, wait until I turn 50 (next year) & apply for non-DTV options that I am 100% qualified for?

What is better ? Dtv or soft Dtv? Any real difference? Positive and negative things of both ??

Hi there all! I have a legit, government approved and registered Airbnb business located outside of Thailand. I run and coordinate the business remotely. Can I apply for DTV with this setting? Any insight would be appreciated.

# Got my DTV Visa (Remote Work) approved in HCMC, Vietnam.

I will share the full story (I was asked twice for additional documents), but first here are some short notes:

- Applied from Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

- Used Revolut account (including Pockets)

- German Passport

- Remote work with a US LLC

Short Timeline:

Monday, November 10 – 10:11 am – submitted application

Wednesday, November 12 – 4:40 pm – requested further documents

Friday, November 14 – 11:45 am – submitted additional documents

Monday, November 17 – 3:30 pm – requested further documents

Monday, November 17 – 11:48 pm – submitted additional documents

Tuesday, November 18 – 10:11 am – visa approved ✅

Because not many people share this, and I was a bit confused at the beginning about these parts:

— Address information: You must first enter your current location address, then click “No” when asked if this is also your permanent address. After that, add the address where you live most of the time.

— Intended Date of Arrival: The date when you plan to enter Thailand.

— Intended Date of Departure: The date when you plan to leave Thailand (within 180 days).

— Last Port of Embarkation: The country you were in right before entering Thailand on your last entry.

— Flight number: If you have not booked a flight yet, just check Google Flights and enter a flight number.

⸻————————

And now, the full story:

Applied in HCMC, Vietnam (from Phu Quoc Island).

For everyone staying in Phu Quoc and confused that the district (Kien Giang) is listed for the Hanoi embassy: I called the Hanoi embassy, and they told me I can apply at both, but I should apply in HCMC. I think it’s better there, but Hanoi would also accept.

Applied as Business owner with a US LLC – income more than 80,000 USD / year.

Submitted documents (10th of November 2025):

—> Passport bio-data page

—> Photograph

—> Financial evidence:

(1) Self-written letter with an overview of my bank statements, including total balances on August 1, in between, and on November 7 (more than 500,000 THB). I added the euro amounts from personal and Pocket accounts and converted them to THB.

(2) Revolut bank statements (33 pages) with highlighted income payments. Most of the funds were in Pockets and only a small amount in my personal account. For those using Revolut: I explained in the letter on the first page that both are part of the same personal account—they are just separated in the statements.

—> Business:

(1) Cover letter + information about additional documents

(2) Business registration certificate (US LLC)

(3) Full portfolio (including an introduction about me, how I work, what I offer, tools I use, visual work examples, website links, pictures, sample pricing packages, client feedback)

(4) Cooperation agreement with one of my clients

(5) Four business invoices from 2024 and 2025

(6) Table with an overview of business income in 2025

(7) Proof of remote work letter

(8) Screenshots from my website

—> Current location

(1) Accommodation booking confirmation on Phu Quoc (two weeks via Agoda)

(2) Flight confirmation from Koh Samui, Thailand to Phu Quoc, Vietnam

(3) Boarding pass

(4) Vietnam entry stamp

(5) Photo of me with my passport in front of the hotel

To be honest, I thought I had already given more than enough, but after two days they asked for additional documents (12th of November 2025):

***Povide your income tax for the last 2 years.

***Provide more information about your experience in this field and details about your current work, including (1) your CV or portfolio and (2) examples of your work, along with any supporting materials demonstrating your experience and qualifications.

Submitted additional documents (14th of November 2025):

—> For income tax:

(1) Income tax return from 2023 from Germany (English certified translation + German original)

(2) Letter explaining that I was temporarily residing in Thailand in 2024 (stayed over 180 days) and paid taxes according to Thai rules (only money transferred to Thailand), and listing the attached documents

(3) Thai income tax declaration (Thai and English versions)

(4) Overview (Excel screenshot) of income in 2024

(5) Official business statements from Wise Business Account for 2 months in 2024 (to support the Excel data)

Explanation: The 2024 tax declaration does not show my full real income because I did not transfer everything into Thailand. To avoid further questions about my income in 2024, I proactively added the income overview and statements.

—> For business:

(1) Letter outlining professional background and experience

(2) CV listing all relevant periods since becoming self-employed / founding my company, to show the timeline and development

(3) Additional portfolio pages covering services I offer (again!), 2 detailed project examples (with screenshots, descriptions, results, project dates), client feedback (again!), screenshots and website links (again!)

I did not expect another request, but they asked again.

This time they asked for (17th of November 2025):

***Please provide evidence of all previous employment listed in your CV, including employment contracts from former companies, photos at previous workplaces, and any other relevant documentation.

***Document indicating current location (e.g., valid visa, receipts / proofs of payment for airline tickets or accommodation, etc.): Provide the full passport, including empty pages (TAKE A PHOTO, DO NOT SCAN). The date the photograph was taken is required.

***Please describe your journey entering the job market, including your starting salary and the steps you took to negotiate and reach your current salary level.

Documents I submitted (17th of November 2025):

—> For employment evidence:

(1) Letter explaining that I am not employed and cannot provide employment contracts. Everything listed in the CV is self-employment / business activity, and I added proof of my self-employed work since 2022.

(2) Another client cooperation agreement (client since 2022)

(3) Another business invoice (from 2022 – to show when I started; English + German)

(4) A photo of me working on my laptop in an apartment while traveling

—> For passport:

(1) Photos with timestamp and location (there is an app like “Timestamp Camera”) of all passport pages — do not forget the cover page and the last outer page!

—> For job journey:

(1) A letter describing how everything started, where I found clients, how my expertise grew, the natural progression of improving my services and increasing income, and where I stand today.

I submitted everything on November 17 late in the evening (just before midnight) and finally received approval on November 18 around 10 am. 🥳

Overall, it took about one week, which is okay.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

How many times per year can I enter thailand for 60 days

Also I run a personal training business here in Australia will I have to stop coaching each visit I plan to bounce between south east Asia for about a year and unsure of the legality and tax/visa implications needed

How many days of 2025 will you have spent in Thailand by the end of the year?

Even though the visa grants a 180-day stay with each entry, is there a kind of unofficial upper limit on the number of days spent in the country that makes de facto resident status interpretable?

My visa was approved as a remote worker. I work for my long-standing EU employer in my rented flat in Thailand with two screens, a LAN connection and a fixed desk. Leaving the country regularly is not realistic.

By the end of the year, I will have spent about 315 days in this country. Next year, I plan to return to my home country for 1-3 months, in addition to a shorter stay in a neighbouring country.

How will the new border run rules affect dtv holders?

Or does nothing change for us?

An I ask the group, is the 5 year visa x5 of 180 day periods? And would you prefer it to non-o / non-b? I need to support working remotely as a network security engineer / cybersecurity engineer