DTV Workation (USA, Business Owner) approved in 1 business day in Manila, Philippines 😮 I have a branding and web design business with a US based LLC. I have tons of online presence and an online portfolio to showcase, so I'm sure this aided in the quickness.
Followed a lot of the posts in this group here to a T, alongside the help from ChatGPT to write contracts, letters, descriptions etc.. But wanted to share my own experience to aid anyone else in the process! I put together three different PDF's that I created in Google Docs.
1. PDF 1: Proof of Business
* Cover Letter explaining who I am, what my company does and why I'm seeking the DTV. Made sure to highlight that income is generated from non-Thai sources and that my work is fully remote in nature
* Company overview with a company intro, explanation of business services, explanation on where my clients are based on how I earn revenue, and description on my nature of work being remote and location-independent
* Employee Contract & Director Service Agreement (asked ChatGPT to write this between my LLC to me as the director)
* Employment Certificate Letter (written by ChatGPT stating that my company certifies me to work online and remotely)
* EIN Document from IRS
* Schedule C (Proof of Sole Proprietorship and Tax) for tax year 2024 and 2025 - I blacked out my social security number
* Tax Compliance Report downloaded from the IRS
* My website screenshot with a link alongside a short explanation on who I am, what I do and for whom
* Screenshot of Upwork Profile
* Resume & University Degree
* Screenshots of client branding & website projects with links to live websites. Each portfolio piece had a short description on project scope, a written client review and video testimonials
* More client reviews (included about 10)
* Client Invoices for the past 6 months
* Business Bank Statements for the past 6 months with client payments highlighted in red to match invoice names. Also highlighted owner draw/salary in blue
* Business Income Statement from Xero showing company Revenue & Expenses year to date.
* 2 Client Contracts
2. PDF 2: Proof of Financial Evidence
* Personal Savings Overview: A table outlining the amount held in USD on Jan 23, Feb 17, March 17 with the Thai baht equivalent next to it. Included a screenshot of my ending statement balance converted from USD to THB on Xe currency converter. My ending statement was approx ฿720K+
* 6 months of bank statements: ฿500K+ held for a little under 3 months, and it did drop under that amount by a little once or twice! I've heard from this group that you don't need 3 months of fund seasoning for Manilla, but had it prepared just to be safe.
* Proof of Long Term Investments held in a Brokerage account with Vanguard
* Business Bank Statements for the past 6 months with client payments highlighted in red and owner draw/salary highlighted in blue
3. PDF 3: Proof of Location
* *Note: *I'm dual American & Philippine citizen. I included a photo of my Phil passport to prove this. I am staying with family in Cebu at a condo I co-own, so didn’t have a formal booking
* Proof of accommodation letter (written by ChatGPT) stating that I am staying in the condo for a month. The letter included my full name, my passport number and address in Cebu. Also included a recent utility bill, the condo title, and the passport + license of the other owner
* Proof of Location including a photo of my entry stamp, a photo in front of the Cebu airport holding my passport and boarding pass, a screenshot of my etravel arrival card, and my airline eticket receipt.
My application was probably a bit overkill tbh, but no revisions or additional documents requested. I feel like the hardest part was compressing my PDFs to under 3MB each without losing the quality of images lol. I used a combo of Adobe Acrobat and iLovePDF to compress the files
I’ve been in Thailand for 7 years with all sorts of visas including education, volunteer and smart visas. Still amazed at how smooth this visa process was and still can’t believe it took one day to process 🤯
I applied around noon on Wednesday, e-visa letter available to download through the portal on Thursday around 4pm, and official approval email received at 7:30pm
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My partner is British with an online e-commerce and Amazon FBA business, and he followed a similar format. They asked for some additional documents for his application after 1 business day, then was approved the following day around noon. He included screenshots of his Amazon product listings with links to his Amazon storefront, screenshots of product reviews, UK business incorporation, UK + US brand trademarks, Amazon FBA payout proof receipts, screenshot of seller central dashboard highlighting recent sales for the past 6 months, supplier invoices, product packaging, product inserts, link to his Shopify website, 6 months of company bank statements with amazon payouts and director salary highlighted and labeled, recent PAYE statements for the past 2 months, VAT registration certificate, and proof of his last VAT return for his UK Ltd company (screenshots from [[GOV.UK](GOV.UK)]([members only]) website).
*** The additional documents they requested from him was proof of corporation tax / tax payments. He uploaded PAYE statements, VAT registration certification, and proof of his last VAT return for his UK Ltd company*
Took two business days in total for him to receive his e-visa approval letter.