Should I reapply for DTVSIA in Jakarta, Indonesia, after being rejected in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam? How long should I wait before reapplying? I don’t know the exact reason for the rejection, but I suspect it may have been due to missing documents. I want to prepare everything properly and try again.

Has anyone been approved at age 21 as a freelance software developer? I think they may not have trusted my income source.

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to apply for the DTV at the Helsinki Embassy under the freelance/professional route.

I run my own recruitment company and work fully remotely with European clients, invoices through my registered business. I plan to travel to Thailand in late September.

Before submitting, I’d be really grateful if anyone could share their recent experience with the Thai Embassy in Helsinki, especially if you applied under the freelancer route.

Specifically:

1. Did they require 3–6 months of bank statements showing a consistent balance of 500,000 THB+, or was it enough just to have the amount in the account at the time of application?

2. What supporting documents did they ask for (e.g., invoices, proof of client payments, contracts, CV)?

3. How long did the processing take from submission to visa approval?

4. Were there any surprises or additional documents requested during the review process?

Any tips, timelines, or document checklist would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Got through BKK airport from Hanoi. First time using DTV (Workcation/Freelance) which I got from Hanoi on July 8. (Please see my application documents below)

Burmese (Myanmar) passport, with last two years of Thai language school visa history.

IO looked at my small (A6 size) print of DTV visa and asked "You work here?". I said "No, I worked only online for my organization in Myanmar". She nodded and scanned the visa. Then she flipped through my passport, took some time looking at my ED visa stamps but didn't ask anything. Then she stamped on the empty page.

Applied in Hanoi on July 2 (3:35 pm) - approved on July 8 (3:21 pm). 4 working days, no additional documents asked.

Application documents I submitted:

Workcation/Freelance docs:

- Cover Letter

- Freelance Translator (English - Burmese) Portfolio

- 2 Freelance contracts (I don't actually have contracts so I draft them up based on the work with 2 of my regular clients)

- 6 Invoices for the last six months

- Statement of Burmese bank account where I highlighted the incoming transactions matching the invoices (on average the monthly income I showed is less than 20K if converted to baht which I was a bit worried might be too low, but apparently it was fine)

Financial proof:

- 6 months bank statement with each month closing at 500,000 + baht (I used my Thai bank account for this - I have opened one with my ED visa two years ago)

- Bank certificate certifying that I have *,* in my account (my friend who was helping me with the prep suggested I get this so I did)

Location:

- all passport pages including the arrival stamp

- flight boarding pass

- hotel booking

And then, four working days (or six days cause I couldn't manage to apply till a Wednesday) later, approved.

Hope they're clear. Please ask if you have any questions.

This page has been a huge help to me. I wish everyone applying good luck too. Cheers, everyone.

Has anyone recently obtained a DTV Visa as a freelancer? I would like to know how to establish freelancer status, including documents like payment slips, customer contracts, proof of six months of steady income from freelance work, and a portfolio. I have prepared all of these items and want to ensure they meet the requirements. How can I make them strong enough?

I've arranged proof of funds of 500,000 THB. If anyone has experience with this process, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share your insights.

Interviews

If you’re called for an interview, what are the questions they’d ask? esp if you’re applying as a freelancer

Ok, adding my experience to be helpful, even though I'm sure I'll get plenty of snide comments for using a Visa company.

Have been on plenty of different visas over the years, as my situation has changed many times, and I've always done it myself, because it's just basic paperwork.

With this one, I have reasons for deciding to use these guys, especially with their money back guarantee, and I'm not going to get into the details about why.

I had my paperwork submitted by Issa Compass, and overall had a good experience with them.

My nationality: USA

Applied in: Jakarta

Date applied: May 17

Date approved: May 29

No additional paperwork requested. Applied as a freelancer. I'm an online tutor.

Papers I gave to Issa Compass:

-bio data and Thai related visa pages of passport.

-my address in Thailand

- my booking in Indonesia and my evisa confirmation from when I entered Indonesia

- 6 months of personal bank statements, where you can see deposits from my income and over 500k baht

- my resume, screenshots of my website, screenshot of my classroom software business account, in-class screenshot as an example of what I'm doing

-invoices to my clients for the past 3 months, pdfs of the money hitting my overseas payment service, transfers and receipts of the transfer service I use to convert the currently into USD (that correlate with my US bank records), and because there are so many steps to this.... I made a little info-graphic showing the payment process step by step, with currency conversions into baht on all the relevant payments highlighted.

- a cover letter explaining what I do, how I'm paid, and why I want to be in Thailand, thanking them for their consideration.

-the 1040 Tax return page of my 2024 taxes, showing my previous year income that is listed as freelance tutor work.

Any of the pdfs/images that could be bundled together, I merged as one PDF (money related, proving work related, location related, passport pages, etc), which can be done on websites for free.

I was thorough, I know, but Issa Compass was helpful in telling me what was safe and what was overkill, and verifying that all documents were organized and presented in the way the embassy likes. I got to ask them questions I wouldn't ask publically, and about things particular to my situation that I was worried about- and they let me know if it would affect my outcome. All was well.

They do tons of these, and have a money back guarantee, because they know that if it passes their test, it'll pass the test of the embassies they recommend. They submit for you, so you don't get to log on and check it every 5 seconds (as some of us would like to do), but whenever I messaged and asked how it was going, they got right back to me and assured me I was still in a reasonable timeline and not to worry.

You could totally do all of this yourself and be fine in most cases- but if you have reasons to worry that the stakes are higher for you for various reasons and you'd rather pay for the peace of mind, then I do recommend Issa Compass. They couldn't offer the govnt fees back to their customers (in case of rejection) without it being a terrible business model, if they didn't facilitate what they do with confidence and experience. Anyway, just wanted to share.

I got hit up by 2 or 3 people by DM asking if I actually was using them, after mentioning it in a comment, so I know people are weary of whether or not they're legit. Now that it's finally all done, I can say that they are 👍🏼

I'm giving them this big rundown and praise because before using them I searched for their name in these groups a TON to see if I could trust them, and a good amount of the praise was posted anonymously, or the poster got ripped apart being accused of working for them. So, I wanted to help contribute a real account of being their customer. Yeah, I wish the fee was less for sure- but compared to what I've paid over the years for visas, I'm still super happy with what it cost in the end for me to not stress on this crap for another 5 years 😁

Stay, work online, so I can be paying into the Thai economy. I'm really happy this visa option exists for us now ❤️ 🙏🏼

I don't think I left anything out, but if you have any questions I'm happy to share more details of my experience if it's helpful. I know I relied heavily on the experiences of others to make choices to prepare for this visa myself, so happy to pay it forward. 🫶🏼

PS- if you're staying on Java and don't want to be in Jakarta, but relatively close, I have a great recommendation for a place in Bandung. 30 minute whoosh train from Jakarta, and you're in a city that's way more interesting and is a jumping point for tons of activities. Out guesthouse arranged some amazing day trips for us at half the cost I'd seen advertised online, and they really changed our experience of this visa run from a hassle to amazing. 😊

I am currently living in the UK and looking to move to Thailand in the next few months. I'm going to apply for a DTV visa but just wanted some advice. I'm a landlord in the UK, I have owned the property for over approx 15 years and have rented it out for 6 years. I have all my tax returns, deeds for the property, proof of rental agreement, proof of sufficient funds in the bank and proof of monthly rental payments. Would this be appropriate/ sufficient for a 'freelance' DTV visa? Any advice would be much appreciated!

I’m currently in Hanoi preparing to apply for the DTV visa, but after reading a lot of recent experiences, I’m starting to feel a bit unsure. Last year, I entered Thailand on a 60-day tourist visa and later enrolled in a six-month Thai language course. With the proper visa extensions, I was able to stay for a full year—all completely by the book. I’ve never done any border runs or overstayed. I even took a short solo trip to Hong Kong to visit art exhibitions with friends during that time.

I’m now applying for the DTV as a freelance graphic designer, and I have all the required documentation ready—proof of income, an extensive portfolio, and everything else listed in the guidelines. At first, I thought my clean history and the fact that I followed all the rules would work in my favor. But some of the posts I’ve come across suggest otherwise, and now I’m wondering: could studying Thai in Bangkok actually hurt my chances instead of helping them?

Does anyone have any actual knowledge on how long one needs to have been freelancing before applying?

I've seen conflicting statements here:

"You have no chance applying with a "new" business"

"Need to show 6 months minimum of income"

"Need to show tax return"

"It doesn't matter as long as you can prove you're a business".

So does anyone have the real deal info on whether someone can be accepted if they started getting clients, say, 3 months ago?

Hello everyone

I applied for the DTV as an online worker on Preply. I'm being asked for additional documents, including my most recent tax return. It turns out I don't have this document, and my income from last year isn't significant because I started my online job a few months ago. What can I do please?

Thanks in advance for your answers.