We applied for my girlfriend's DTV last week. Today we just got it approved and have the DTV safely delivered in her inbox. Just thought I'd update here so anyone else applying in a similar circumstance and via HCMC knows what the rough wait times currently are.
# Embassy & DTV Type
* Soft Power - Muay Thai
* Embassy - Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
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# Timeline
See below a breakdown of our timeline below:
1. Saturday 4th October @ 3pm - Submitted application via Thai Visa website.
2. Monday 6th October @ 5pm - Request for additional Documents, which included:
- Document indicating current location: Provide pictures of every single page of passport, not scanned but a photo taken, including time and date stamp.
- Proof of monthly income: If unemployed, explain how you will sustain yourself on a 5-year visa and what your plans are for after your 6 month Muay Thai course.
- Email from Muay Thai Gym: Ask the gym to send a student confirmation email directly to embassy email, use the same email that is listed on their website for credibility and attach a screenshot of the email to help with verification.
- Financial Evidence: Show a deposit account with 6 months of statements of transactions with amount totalling no less than 500,000 Thai Baht.
3. Tuesday 7th October @ 1pm - We submitted additional requested docs.
4. Wednesday 8th October - Thai eVisa website status changed from 'Request additional Docs' to 'Pending Approval'
5. Friday 10th October @ 5:10pm - Visa approved and DTV delivered by email 🥳
So all in all, it took 5 full business days including additional docs request, but we were obviously very fast at providing the requested docs. Any extra time you take, might cause further delays.
But it only took 48 hours after our status changed to 'Pending approval'. So all in all, it was very quick and I'm impressed after hearing about how long it's taken people in the past from HCMC.
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# Additional Information
* 6 month statements doc request - This was odd, because we already included it in our original submission. I gathered they just wanted to see a second version updated to the latest date so we exported another 6 month statement that included the last few days that weren't on the original submission and submitted it on it's own file as per their request.
* Proof of income & sustaining yourself - My girlfriend has recently started her own business which is still only at the beginning. She has a very minimal income, and it's not even regular monthly, it's spaced out a lot. We wrote a cover letter that explained this, and explained that she'd likely be continuing her Muay Thai training way past the 6 months in between travelling in and out of Thailand. We express her love for the country, culture, people and food. We then attached a certificate of her registered company, her company bank account and stripe account to show the minimal income there. I then wrote a cover/sponsor letter from me, explaining that she lives with me and I cover most of her living costs, including apartment rent and food. I explained I am already on a DTV for 1 year and showed 1 month bank statement to show my funds that I have enough to support her.
All in all, I was pretty anxious the entire week because it had been 1 year since I originally got my DTV in London, and just heard so many stories about people getting denied for not knowing the reason after what seemed like a very good and strong application, it really felt like it just totally depends on who you get on the day and what mood they're in. Plus my girlfriend was way less qualified to get a DTV than me.
Fortunately, it all worked out. Hope this helps anyone else with their applications or anxiety whilst they are waiting 😂.
Was helpful going through this group the past week, so thanks to everyone who contributes.
