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expat experiences

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This page displays all the results for the Expat experiences tag, sorted by the most recent activity. There are a total of 838 questions that have been tagged with Expat experiences. Explore the questions to find discussions and information relevant to this topic.
Nov 6, 2025
a day ago
John****
ORIGINAL POSTER
How long a muay thai gym membership should be whats the bare minimum for DTV ??

Heard one person said he got dtv visa for a 1 month membership

Some say its 6 months

Who else got into with a minimum membership like a month or two

Please describe your experience!!
Nov 5, 2025
2 days ago
Chris *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Hi everyone,

I currently have an LLC with funds in my business account and I’m based in Vietnam. I’m looking for the simplest and most straightforward place to apply for the DTV visa. I’m open to traveling to another country if it makes the process easier. Would appreciate hearing from anyone who’s had a smooth experience—where did you go, and how was it?

Thanks in advance!
Nov 3, 2025
4 days ago
# Soft Power - HCMC - 14 Working Days

Just thought I would give an update on Ho Chi Minh Approvals as it took a lot longer than expected!

Type: Soft Power - Cooking Class 6 Month with Arun Thai Bangkok.

Passport: Australian

Funds: 3 Months of Bank Statements, Had 1 Mill Baht so 2 x amount required and the money had been in their the whole time.

Unemployed: with < 20000 USD.

Submitted: 14th October 2025

Request Documents / Provided Documents: 17th October 2025

Pending Approval: 27th October 2025

Approved: 3rd November 2025.

Documents Requested:

1. Student confirmation letter from Cooking School.

2. All pages of passport

3. Proof of income and what I plan to do for the whole 5 years ( I showed some rental income that I earn plus mentioned that I had double the amount required that I would use)

All up it took 21 days ( 14 working days) for approval. If I was to do it again I would definitely have just locked in a months accommodation and relaxed instead of having to stress about whether it was approved and moving accommodation constantly!

Another thing is that I did email and send messages to Line about 3 times throughout this period. They didn't acknowledge them at the time, but today as soon as I got the approval I got a line message and email response which was great!

Very Grateful today as I am about to board my flight to Thailand!
Nov 3, 2025
5 days ago
Alexandra ***********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Got approved yesterday in Belgium!

Submitted on the 13th October, soft power thaï cuisine with Arun Thai Cooking in Bangkok.

Extra documents requested on the 16th (picture matching thai standards and a cover letter explaining my plan for the next five years in Thailand)

Approved on the 31th !

No magic spells, just matching their criteria :

more than 15k euros bank statements (I showed three months and highlighted the ending balance), proof of enrollment, proof of current location, flight itinerary and Airbnb booking for 25 days

My partner got approved simultaneously with a Muay Thai course (Fitfac gym)

... And we got the import permit for our cat 😺

Feel free to ask any question!
Nov 2, 2025
5 days ago
Daniel **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
My experience using a Thai visa issued in Jakarta

I applied for my Thai visa while in Bali, through the Thai Embassy in Jakarta. The process there was a bit slow — they asked for extra documents before approving it, but once I submitted everything, it went through fine.

About a month later, when I arrived in Phuket earlier today,, immigration took me aside to a holding area. They said they didn’t have the documents that Jakarta had received, and asked me to send them again. I had to dig through my computer and email them to a personal Gmail address (not an official government one), which felt a bit odd.

After about 15 minutes, one of the liasons came back and said okay, then told me I could go through immigration. They also had me fill out another short form with general information.

Overall, it wasn’t a big problem, but it definitely wasn’t as smooth as other people make it sound. My impression is that Phuket immigration might not be very familiar with this particular type of visa, or they just want to put on a front of being tough.
Oct 31, 2025
8 days ago
Jim **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Just received my 12 month extension on the Non O visa application and bank account ccompleted by the Thai Visa Centre and documents returned to me within 7 days. That's what I call service
Oct 30, 2025
8 days ago
Hi guys, Does anyone have any experience in Malaysia with DTV visa for muay thai?
Oct 29, 2025
9 days ago
Kate *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Just wanted to share my experience applying for the DTV — hopefully this helps anyone going through it!

🗓 Timeline:

• Friday 24th Oct – Submitted my application

• Wednesday 29th Oct – Approved ✅

(No additional information requested)

🥋 Muay Thai Training / Activity Requirement:

I applied under the Muay Thai training category with Lamai Muay Thai Camp, Koh Samui.

They were really helpful and super quick providing all the paperwork needed.

The program is a 6-month membership, offering up to 6 days per week / 2 hours per day training for around 34k THB.

Attendance isn’t mandatory every day, but they did say to attend regularly (at least weekly) as immigration may check attendance.

📧 For anyone needing info or documents from them, contact Nikki at muaythaitour@hotmail.com — she was amazing and very efficient.

⚖️ Visa Assistance:

I used Siam Legal (Bangkok) for consultation and processing. They do charge a fee, but it made everything stress-free.

Highly recommend Kanda — she was fantastic and very responsive 🙏

✈️ Where I Applied:

I was advised to apply in Hanoi for faster processing — and that was definitely true. From submission to approval, it took only 3.5 working days!

🌴 Overall, it’s been a smooth experience and I’m really happy with how easy it was.

Hope this helps anyone applying soon — good luck everyone! 🤞💙
Oct 29, 2025
9 days ago
Berrsan ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Question + Best Agency?

Hey everyone,

I'm seeing some sources that say that how long you have to keep 500k THB in your bank is different depending on where you apply.

For example if you apply from HCMC Vietnam the requirements are only stated as statement of last 6 months, and a balance of no less than 500.000 THB. No 3 month requirement is mentioned, I emailed them directly too.

I also found some people mentioning that they got their DTV visa by applying in HCMC literally a week after their balance got to 500.000 THB.

Im not asking this to cut corners, I have the balance and more, but it's in my business bank not in my personal, so I have to transfer the required amount to my personal bank.

Thats why I wanna know, how long do I actually have to keep this money in bank before I apply in НСМС? Would appreciate if anyone can tell me about their experience as well.

Oh and I’d appreciate it if you guys can share the agency you worked with that got it for you first try.

Thanks!!
Oct 29, 2025
9 days ago
Left Thailand and returned for the first time on the DTV.

Flew down to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and back into Hat Yai, Thailand.

Zero issues. No questions.

Just a big smille when I handed the cute border guard girl my passports size, laminated DTV visa.

She stamped my passport with a date 180 days from today.

Easy
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