If my wife and I are both going to take Thai cooking classes should we both apply individually for DTV, or one apply for DTV under soft power, and other apply as spouse of DTV member? Is there a pro/con to either route?

If my wife and I are both going to take Thai cooking classes should we both apply individually for DTV, or one apply for DTV under soft power, and other apply as spouse of DTV member? Is there a pro/con to either route?

TIA

Trying to sanity check my plans- I'm about to retire from the (US) military, planning on moving over to Bangkok and attending university on GI Bill. I know it's no problem to get my own Ed visa through the school, but the school I'm planning on attending is saying they (and others) don't provide sponsorship for family members.

Would my wife and son (14) not be able to accompany me via non-O immigrant visa?

We are planning on enrolling him into one of the international schools, but prob not until we're settled and have things figured out a little better, maybe the second school year in country- so getting him an Ed visa and putting my wife on as the caretaker doesn't help.

DTV for wife, with son as dependent? Is that a viable plan?

I am looking to talk with a visa agent for some clarification/advice.

I would get my own DTV, but I *want* to attend university, and it's my understanding that the schools will push me onto their own Ed visa.

Thank you

Applied Hanoi on soft power Muay Thai DTV Muay Thai Fever

2nd February applied and paid

4th February changed to pending approval

6th February emailed my approved visa

Now I just need to do 2 dependant visas and we will be back in the place we love 💟

Visa approved for my wife and I (she’s a dependent).

I own my own businesses but found that the paperwork to apply as an employee was way easier and less hassle.

Would highly recommend for any business owners to apply as an employee of your own company.

I applied from the London embassy. I’m a U.K. passport holder and I have a company in the UAE. Overall the process took around 4 weeks for my wife and I combined.

Any questions drop them below happy to answer.

Hello everyone 👋

My wife and I, along with our four children (one of whom has special needs), are planning a long-term move to Thailand in early 2026. Our son with special needs will be receiving stem cell therapy in Bangkok, and we hope to settle down long-term near Jomtien Beach, Pattaya.

During his therapy sessions, I’ll be traveling with him to Bangkok for a week at a time, while the rest of the family stays in Pattaya.

My wife is a disabled U.S. veteran and receives a guaranteed monthly income of about USD 4,500 (~166,000 THB). We can provide full documentation of this income, along with supporting bank statements.

We’re currently trying to figure out the best visa pathway for a family of six that:

1️⃣ Accommodates dependents (spouse + children),

2️⃣ Doesn’t require a large upfront 3-month bank deposit, and

3️⃣ Allows long-term residence with minimal renewal hassle.

If anyone here has experience with family moves like this — or can recommend a reliable visa agent or immigration lawyer who handles complex family or medical cases — we’d really appreciate your advice 🙏

Thank you all for your time and any recommendations you can share ❤️

hello everyone

I have a question: since my husband just got approved under DTV now I need to apply for mine and my 5 year old. I don’t see the option to do both of ours together so does it mean I have to apply separately for me and her? do we still need to be outside of thailand? anyone know how long it will take for ours now to get approved? thank you again.

I (m) and my two teenage kids want to stay long-term in Thailand. I’m employed by a european company and work remotely. We had been in Thailand for over two years on education and guardian visas, but since my kids stopped going to school this term, we needed another solution.

In July/August 2025, I applied for the DTV visa in Vientiane, Laos - and got approved. I’m sharing our process here in the hope it might help someone going through the same.

* Day 1: Created an account on the DTV online platform and prepared my own visa application.

* Day 3: Flew to Vientiane on a Friday, added missing information (proof of location), submitted the form.

* Day 6: Monday, paid the 10'000 THB fee in person at the embassy (cannot be paid online in Laos). Bring the printout with the QR code - it will be stamped.

* Day 9: Received email for an in-person interview in two weeks. They said to bring all original documents and that they would review online banking. (Note: everyone applying for a DTV visa is interviewed according to an information at the embassy.)

* Day 23: Attended the interview. Basic questions about my job, then I had to log in to my online bank to show recent salary payments and my WISE account. My Bangkok Bank account was not of interest.

* Day 23: Got email with approval notice and visa (PDF).

* Day 24: Flew to Bangkok to activate my visa. Prepared dependent visas for my kids.

* Day 25: Returned to Vientiane with my kids and submitted their applications (dependend DTV visa).

* Day 26: Paid 10,000 THB each. One visa approved by noon; the other was canceled because I had selected the wrong country in one of the form field.

* Day 26: Resubmitted the canceled application.

* Day 27: Paid the fee again. Embassy requested an English version of the birth certificate (it was already multilingual). I re-uploaded the same document but highlighted the English labels.

* Day 28: Visa approved.

* Day 29: Flew to Bangkok, showed the visa at immigration, and got the passport stamp.

Just an update - I obtained my DTV through Ankara (it took one week, was very easy and simple), and I entered through Bangkok last night. He just asked to see my passport, DTV (for me and my child), and our TDAC. He stamped them all, said welcome and smiled, and gave the full 6 months on our stamp. Super easy!

So a family applying for the DTV visa if both parents work remotly and married is it better to get two main DVT and a child dependent or one DVT with a spouse and child dependent visas. Do all applicants need access to the 500,000 THB in both cases or would we just need 500,000 THB between the three of us making it better to apply for the latter.

Hello everyone,

I’m an Afghan citizen and have been living and working in Bangkok for nearly 10 years through my own company.

I’d like to bring my father (60) and brother (30) to live with me. My brother has a mental disability and cannot work, and my father is retired. They simply want to stay here peacefully and travel back to Afghanistan occasionally.

As many of you know, it’s very difficult for Afghan citizens to obtain tourist visas—including for Thailand.

So I have one main question and would really appreciate your advice:

What is the best way for them to enter Thailand and stay long-term, similar to how I renew my visa annually?

Thank you in advance for your advice!

*P.S. Afghan citizens apply for Thai visas in Islamabad, Pakistan.*