Approved in Vientiane / Laos. Freelancer category.

Timeline:

Application submitted: 14/09

Request for further documents: 15/09

Interview: 23/09 10am (seen at 11am)

Approved: less than 15 minutes after my interview.

Entered Thailand: 23/09 (the evening of approval).

So it was 9 days from submitting and paying for the application to then physically being in Thailand 🇹🇭 very fast. I believe it was fast because I was extremely thorough in my application.

The only request for further documents I received was a clearer photo.

This group helped me a LOT!!!! And I mean, A LOT. So thank you to the admins and also all the members 🙏

My experience:

I own an events and entertainment company in Australia. It’s only small. I have zero staff and run it entirely online alone. I employ entertainment contractors for private events, parties and pub / club events.

I supplied a bunch of invoices and a bunch of remittance notices (payment confirmation slips).

I also supplied screenshots of my website and also a copy of my Australia business registry page from their website with my company name and Australian Business number, which matched all of my invoices.

Nothing more for proof of income.

I uploaded screenshots of my bank balance.

I did also upload 3 screenshots of my bank statements but only the opening and closing balances of each month. Not the whole 3 months of every transaction.

I wrote cover letters on every single document page and wrote as much information as possible.

I specifically wrote on page one of my employment documents specifically that my work was 100% Australian only and I had zero intention to bring that work to the kingdom (I referred to the Thailand as the kingdom of Thailand each time it was mentioned).

I explained that my intention of staying in Thailand was to immerse myself in thailands rich culture, nature and to learn about Buddhist culture whilst travelling and boosting the Thai economy through my remote income.

My 500,000THB had only been in my account 2.5 months. Not 3.

During the interview the staff were very kind. My interviewer was lovely. I was in there for under 10 minutes. He just asked to look at my bank balance on my phone app and also to see my website and asked me 1 or 2 questions about what my business actually did and how I was paid.

I found that the process was EXTREMELY easy (thanks to the knowledge acquired from this group) but quite time consuming. I uploaded so many documents because I just absolutely did not want to risk any chance of rejection and I did not rush.

I used Canva to create documents that were multiple pages long so I could upload around 4-6 screenshots / documents per page and also write notes on things if needed and circle things etc. then exported as a PDF and compressed the files before I uploaded. Because as you will see, there is only the option to upload 1 document per section, but of course we need to upload so many more, so this was the easiest way for me and it worked very well.

Thank you to everyone who helped with my questions during this time I will always appreciate you.

I would definitely recommend Vientiane / Laos for applying for DTV because I believe if there’s any small issues or mistakes in your application you’re going to be able to explain these in the interview. Laos is the ONLY destination that do interviews. This is why I chose it.

Please feel free to ask any questions if you would like some help! I’m happy to pay forward what everyone in the group (except the trolls) did to help me.

🫶

Maan, last week I applied for the digital nomad DTV with the London embassy, thinking the whole thing was surprising straightforward (clearly very naive).

They’ve just emailed me saying I now need:

1. Better quality passport scan – I already gave them the same scan I successfully used for another country visa.

2. Proof of current location – I already gave a bank statement with my address, but now they want a utility bill in my name, and I live with my parents in the UK so none are in my name.

3. Stamped bank statements – for closing balance and last three months. I’ve already given statements but not stamped; not sure my bank even does that.

4. Professional portfolio or company description – I already submitted a statement with screenshots of earnings showing consistent freelance activity.

5. Self-assessment tax return / statement of accounts / other HMRC docs – I haven’t been freelancing long enough to submit a tax return; maybe I could just give bank statements again?

6. Letter confirming employment/contract details – I work freelance across multiple platforms. Even though I meet the monthly requirements, none of my “clients” are going to provide a signed letter addressed to the embassy.

Am I just screwed here and out the visa fee?

Hi guys,

Applied: 21/08/2025

Approved: 25/08/2025

Processing time: 2 working days (weekend fell on 23–24 August)

No follow-up documents were requested

Details:

- New Zealand Passport

- Applied in Jakarta, Indonesia

- Workcation

I've prepared a list of items, and I've also created a cover page for each one.

EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT (Merged in one PDF)

* Retainer Contract

* Company Registration (of the company I’m working for)

* Invoices (last 6 months)

* Tax Return (Financial Year 2024/2025)

* Proof of Self-Employment

* Company Cover Letter from Director (explaining my role)

* Personal Cover Letter (stating I won’t be working for a Thai company)

* Portfolio (website screenshots)

* 12-Month Lease Agreement (Bangkok)

BANK STATEMENT/FINANCIALS (Merged in one PDF)

* Cover Letter (explaining each document)

* Proof of Accounts (with address)

* Bank Account Screenshot

* 6-Month Bank Statements (balance over 500K THB, with download date + recurring payments highlighted)

* 6-Month Balance Report

* Currency Conversion (screenshot from date of application)

* Investment Portfolio (with currency conversion)

* AMEX Credit Card (10K limit)

PROOF OF LOCATION (Merged in one PDF):

* Screenshot of Arrival Stamp

* Boarding Pass

* Digital Arrival Card (screenshot)

* Air Ticket Receipt

* Hotel Booking Confirmation

* Photo in Front of Hotel

Merge PDF:

[members only]/

Resized PDF to A4 (if you have uneven pages):

[members only]/

Compress PDF (under 3mb under each category):

[members only]

Other Notes:

* I’ve organized the documents to make them easy to review.

* I transferred 150,000 THB into my account one day before applying to ensure the total balance met the 500,000 THB requirement.

* Prior to that, the account had maintained a balance of approximately 400,000 THB for the past 3–4 months.

Hopefully this helps!

To everyone considering applying for the DTV.

Please set aside a good chunk of time (hours if necessary) just for filling out the application online (apart from document / cover letter prep).

If you're even 10% unsure on any part, make sure to reach out for help or consult the guide/manual material provided.

10,000 baht is a lot of money to lose for silly mistakes, such as inputting a middle name when your middle name isn't even on your passport.

Hello everyone, tomorrow is my interview for DTV. Can anyone give me some suggestions or advice?

Hey, can you guys share your experience of entering on dtv? Just saw in the group there have been instances of unwanted srutinization while entering on the dtv? Someone said they were asked to show all the docs, they used while applying. This would be very inconvenient given some of us applied physically and don't have all the docs handy.

Hi everyone.

I’m a freelancer content creator based in Dubai.

I in the process of preparing my documents for the DTV. I got everything almost.

I made a freelancer portfolio, I wrote a cover letter describing my work and attached screenshots and links for my social media profile. Also I attached recent invoices and receipts showing that I received money from collaborating with brands and organizations.

I just want someone who has done it before to take a look at it and give more insights.

Approved yesterday on 20th March in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Overall takes 4 working days (Approved on Thursday 6:30pm.)

Applied under remote working

Submitted everything in one goal, no further documents requested.

Applied with 3rd party assistance.

Made a video about some most common questions asked, and some tips for the application (Prepare for the most, not the least)

[members only]

Good luck!

# ✅ DTV Approved in Manila, Philippines in 4 days (Workation category)

My profile: I am a business owner so I only work for myself.

Since english is not my native language so I had to translate some documents.

## My experience:

Before going to Manila, I created my account on thaievisa.go.th and started filling out the online forms so I don't have to do everything last minute. It is not a problem to start the process while still being in Thailand. Only the final submission matters (I submitted the application and paid the next day of my arrival in the Philippines).

To make sure I would not be asked further details and avoid wasting time, I made sure to make my application as complete and as easy to understand as possible, even provided extra details when it felt relevent.

There are 3 separate documents to provide on the last page of the application, and each document can only be one file under 3MB so you need to merge all of your documents for each section into one single PDF (I used adobe acrobat for that). You should have 3 PDFs at the end.

At the beginning of each PDF, I created a table of contents with page numbers and a brief explanation for each page in order to make reading easy to understand and to keep the reader in a good mood.

## 🟢 Proof of current location (pdf 1):

* Photo of the Philippines passport entry stamp (with a background view of the city from my airbnb)

* AirBnb Reservation details (1 week booking)

* AirBnb Reservation receipt (You can request a "Receipt for Visa" within your Airbnb booking)

## 🟢 Financial evidence (pdf 2):

* Bank balance certificate from my bank (luckily my bank had an option to generate it in English).

* Bank statement screenshot for the current month (showing the latest transfers because I moved large amounts only a few days before the application and it would not show on the previous statements otherwise).

* Bank statements for the past 6 months (only 3 were required). I did not translate those but highlighted the income in yellow using the adobe acrobat highlighting tool.

## 🟢 Work details (pdf 3):

* Cover letter explaining how my business works and how I make money, the purpose of my stay in Thailand, including a compliance statement with thai laws (3 pages total!).

* Company ownership and remote work agreement (A signed document mentioning I am the sole owner of the company and that I am allowed to work remotely. It sounds overkill but I read it was recommended to do that for business owners)

* Company registration certificate (English translated)

* Company registration certificate (French original - “Avis de situation”)

* Certificate of tax regularity (English translated)

* Certificate of tax regularity (French original – “Attestation de vigilance”)

* Landing page screenshot of my business website

* Screenshot of the “earnings dashboard” from my business showing consistent revenus for the past year

* Business-related invoices for the past 6 months.

## Some details that got me wondering during my application:

* You need a flight number but don't need an actual booking so just look up for any relevant flight and put the flight number there.

* Your entry/exit dates don't need to be accurate, just write realistic dates.

* Current location address was my airbnb address but I had to check something like permanant address and added my home address from my home country as well.

* I translated myself some documents with google translate when it was necessary (provided a copy of the original along), no need for notarized translation

The actual making of all the documents took quite some time, I maybe spent 2/3 days on this but I wanted to make sure that it was very clear for the person that was going to read it for the first time.

So I would say Manila is a very good place for DTV, I submitted my application on a Sunday evening (actually it was past midnight so technically on Monday), and I received the approval email the next Thrusday at 6pm o'clock (4 days processing time). The timing felt as if the emails were sent in batch at this exact time at the end of a working day. It was a pleasant surprise and I could finally move on from this process!

One last detail: the start date of validity of the visa is the day your visa is granted, not the day of the "intended date of arrival" that you had to fill out on the application.

So thank you everyone from this group as I had a lot of valuable details across posts, this is now my contribution to this group!

Good luck you all!

I've been having some challenges this week applying for the DTV in Ho Chi Minh City.

Yesterday they asked for "Provide passport FULL BOOK including EMPTY PAGES." So I took a picture of every single page in my passport, and uploaded them one by one (since the site doesn't allow multiple uploads. Today they respond: "Read our request CAREFULLY before submit. Provide passport FULL BOOK from page 1 to 52. If no, your visa application will be REJECT." No information on what was wrong / missing.

Yesterday they asked for "Provide your CV/ Portfolio." Well I'm a software engineer and I mostly work on backend projects which are hard to put into a portfolio. So I uploaded my Resume detailing my 25 years of industry experience as well as a public presentations I've given, screenshots from applications I'm working on, and a patent application (with my name on in) from a previous employer years ago. Today they respond with: "Provide "YOUR" CV/ portfolio. If no, your visa application will be REJECT."

Has anyone experienced something similar? It sounds like I only get one more shot at this before they reject my application.