# Issued Tourist Visa (TR) despite applying for DTV with full documentation – Any similar experiences?

Sawa dee ka everyone! seeking advices or similar experiences regarding a frustrating outcome from the Thai Embassy in Tokyo.

I am a Japanese national and recently applied for the DTV (Remote Worker category). I have a clean immigration history with 3.5 years of previous work experience in Thailand under a working visa (no overstays, no visa runs).

The issue: Despite applying for the DTV and paying the 52,000 JPY fee, I was issued a 6-month Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (TR) instead :((((

My application process was intense:

1. Since I’ve been living abroad recently, my bank accounts and employment contracts are from outside Japan.

2. After my initial submission, the Embassy requested Tax Returns, Bank Statements, and my Employment Contract to be NOTARIZED in Japan. This cost me extra time and money, but I completed it perfectly.

3. They asked me 2nd additional document requests, I provided proof of my current stay in Japan and a detailed professional portfolio to prove my remote work status. I submitted those.

It is extremely difficult to understand why they requested a "Notarized Contract" (which is specifically for DTV) only to issue a standard Tourist Visa. It feels like a clerical error or an unfair downgrade without explanation.

Has anyone else applied for the DTV and been downgraded to a TR visa despite having no "defects" in their documents?

For those in this situation:

* Are you entering with the TR visa and planning to re-apply for DTV later?

* Should I try to challenge this with the Embassy, or is it a lost cause?

Honestly, the lack of transparency in this process is incredibly frustrating. I’d love to hear your thoughts or if anyone has successfully "converted" or appealed such a decision.

Have a good day!

Hi everyone,

I have a question from a practical point of view. I understand that legally I am allowed to do this, but I would like to hear real experiences.

I recently received a 12-month extension of stay based on being a parent of a Thai child (Non-O visa). For the financial requirement, I have the 400,000 THB in a Thai bank account.

My question is: will there be any issue with my next extension if I temporarily reduce the balance during the year and then restore it at least three months before applying again, as stated in the immigration rules? Or is it safer in practice to keep the full 400,000 THB untouched the entire time?

Has anyone here done this successfully, either with a marriage extension or a parent-of-Thai-child extension?

I would really appreciate any recent experiences. Thanks!

Hi everyone! 😊

Sharing our successful DTV workation case for me and my spouse.

We are currently based in Bulgaria, so our applications were processed by the embassy in Bucharest.

I applied late in the evening on March 7 and received approval on March 12.

My documents were quite standard - employment contract, proof of accommodation, and bank statements.

I have accounts in three different currencies within the same bank, with a total balance slightly above the equivalent of 500,000 THB. Part of the funds was deposited just a few days before applying - no questions were asked.

I provided bank statements for all accounts for the last 3 months. Additionally, I included a 6-month statement from my salary account to confirm a stable source of income.

My husband applied as a dependent spouse on March 16 and got approved today, March 27.

We submitted our marriage certificate along with an official English translation.

I also wrote a sponsor letter confirming that I will cover all his expenses.

My husband does have his own income - we mentioned his employer and income details, but did not attach his contract.

The bank statements were mine (the same ones I used for my application).

We didn’t receive any additional requests or questions from the embassy - everything went smoothly and quite fast.

Big thanks to everyone who shared their experiences here - it really helped a lot 🙏

Non-O Immigrant Visa based on Retirement experience

Here's our experience with the whole NON-O IMMIGRANT VISA based on RETIREMENT, in case it might be useful info for anybody:

We're 2 middle-aged Aussies (50 & 55yrs old) who've applied for, and obtained, a Non-O Immigrant Visa based on Retirement from Australia. The application process online was simple through the Thai E-Visa official portal:

[members only] ...and we obtained our Visas a couple of months later.

We entered Thailand on the 18th of March and had a printout of our E-Visas to show passport control at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport - probably unnecessary, but we wanted to be 💯 sure they'd stamp our passports with the "90-Day Non-O E-Visa" stamp. They did! 👍

We planned only 9 days in Thailand this time round, as this was a stop-over on our way to Italy. So, to reiterate, we entered Thailand on the 18th of March and will be leaving on the 27th of March. Therefore we will need to get a Thai Re-Entry Permit before we leave Thailand on the 27th of March.

We will then return to Thailand in a couple of months, on the 22nd of May, and look to settle down somewhere between Bangkok and Hua Hin.

So for these 9 days in Bangkok we reserved a HOTEL. We will then be looking for a long-term rental when we return to Thailand at the end of May.

This made it very difficult for us to open a bank account!

Our plan was to open a bank account each during these first 9 days in Thailand, that way we could immediately deposit the required 800,000 THB needed for the 12-month extension to our initial 90-day Non-O Immigrant Visas. Our plan was to deposit the 800k THB now, that way they'd be sitting in our Thai bank accounts for 2 months by the time we returned to Thailand at the end of May!

However BE WARNED: it has been very, very difficult to open a Thai bank account without having at least a 30-day rental agreement to show. 😩 We've been to ALL the banks, and tried different branches of each: KBank, Krungsri, Krungthai, SCB, Bangkok Bank...

We had obtained a T30 Form from our Hotel showing our 9-day stay at the Hotel, but this wasn't sufficient to prove our residence status at the Banks. So we went to the Immigration Bureau to request for an official "Certificate of Residence".

Keep in mind the TIESC at the One Bangkok mall downtown does NOT provide Certificates of Residence to foreigners just holding a Non-O Immigrant Visa - they only provide it to business people with an actual work contract. So we had to go all the way to the Immigration Division 1 Bureau at Chaeng Watthana Rd, near Don Mueang Airport. All this for nothing, as they couldn't release a Certificate of Residence for a stay under 30 days at a Hotel! They explained the only way to get an official Certificate of Residence from the Immigration Bureau would be to show them a rental agreement of at least 30 days for a condo/apartment/villa, as well as all the additional documentation from the leaser/homeowner (their ID, Yellow Book and utility bills). So we couldn't get a Certificate of Residence, and the TM30 form for a short stay at a Hotel wouldn't do.

So please keep this in mind in case you're planning to open a Thai Bank Account on a Non-O Immigrant Visa based on Retirement: you will need to bring them a rental agreement of at least 30-days, as a TM30 form for a short stay at a Hotel won't be accepted.

Has anyone successfully gone from a marriage visa to a DTV?

If yes, was it seamless? I searched the group but nothing came up.

Hello everybody I just want to enquire if anyone got same situation during their submission for DTV visa

I am a long term resident in China “ 2 years RP” and before even I start anything I called the Thai embassy in China and inquired about if a can apply for DTV and they said yes I can apply as long as I have a long term visa in China and it will take 3 months time for the process, which I didn’t have any problem for waiting.

On NOV I have applied for Muai Thai DTV program

I got 2 requests for additional documents

The 1st was the next day of submission and the second was 2 weeks later and I submitted it all required docs.

Since then it was in the pending documents check status .

I called few times during the process and emailed them to check, they just say they have received everything and Now that I have to just wait for the process.

I even called during this week and they said still 3 more days till I finish the exact 3 months time so I have to wait more . I thought I might get an answer anytime during this 3 days. Even I asked if the 3 months will count from the day of submission or uploading the required docs they said from submission date.

I knew that I can not travel abroad during the process.

So I waited patiently for the total 3 months Until today 6 Feb , I checked the website status it was mentioned “finished”.

No email of Rejection or Approval … Just the word “Finished” in the website.

I called the embassy they said that maybe the application time in the system is over which is I guess the 3 months time since the date I applied , and Couldn’t discuss anything further.

Then I sent an email but unfortunately no reply. Tried to call few times later in the evening no answer.

I really don’t know what to do now , any advice from anyone who faced same issue like this. Should I wait longer or move on with my life or what exactly I should do?

Please advice

Hello together i applyed for the DTV as Business owner in Frankfurt on the 03 January. Till Now nothing heared from them again no requests of additional Documents nothing 15 Working days over. I put the 26 of January as estimated travel Date which is tomorrow. Tryed to call them writing E-Mail no answeres. Is there someone else who apllyed for the DTV in Frankfurt how was the experience, how long was the waiting time? As i can not wait longer, i am now thinking to fly to Vietnam to apply there one more time. But the question is will it be possible to apply from Vietnam while the first one in Frankfurt in still pending? Thank you so much!

Hi everyone,

I saw someone post that they were rejected twice, and I wanted to share my experience and ask for advice, since I’ve also been rejected twice in 2025. Honestly, I’m now afraid to apply again.

Both times I applied at the Hanoi embassy(which I now realize may have been a mistake)

After first rejection, I went to embassy to get any information and the staff at the counter told me deposit could be issue. (May be I said because all my documents are legit and I couldn’t think any reason of what could wrong but my full deposit is over 2 months. So I think they just follow what I said).

So after I wait around 4 more months, I applied again same embassy since I thought they said deposit is issue. So now I fixed it and it’s better to go same embassy. But second time also rejected in 3 days after pending approval.

I applied under remote job. I work in IT.

My company is based on Singapore. My salary is fixed 50k THB(2000SGD) plus overtime bonus.

I worked in Thailand before with work permit for over 2 years. And after that stayed with Thai ed for around 2years while I’m working as freelance. So my salary goes to my Thai bank which comes from Singapore. I have also proof email payslips.

Deposit bank is also another Thai bank which has over 500k seasoning around 1 year now. I don’t have actual contract as when I’ve been working with this company for long as started with like freelance. But since now I want to apply DTV as actually I’m working as full name. My company provide me contract and recommendation letters. But I don’t have any proof since I got it in person(some agent said contract and recommendation letter from email ). This documents have my company stamps and employer signatures.

In my application, I submitted

1. company profile registered in sg

2. employer ID

3. payslips(6months)

4. 500k deposit bank ( first time over 2 months length, second time over 6months length)

5. Recommendation letter with employer signature and company stamp

6. Employer contract with employer, employee signatures and company stamp

I would really appreciate any insight into what might be wrong with my application. In particular:

1. Is my salary too low?

2. Is it a problem that my income is paid into a Thai bank account?

3. Does my employment contract need improvement or additional proof?

I’m feeling quite lost at this point and would truly appreciate any advice or experiences you can share.

Thank you so much—I really appreciate your help in advance.

Hello everyone,

I have a quick question regarding the DTV Visa based on the Soft Power option.

For a married couple, is it sufficient if only one person completes the Soft Power course, or do both spouses need to take the course?

Are there any married couples here who can share their experience on whether it worked with just one course, or if both were required?

Thank you very much 🙏

I’d like to share my DTV journey with soft culinary skills training, in case it helps others.

I chose Arun Thai Cooking after comparing different schools, mainly because their packages looked reliable and interesting. They offer two options; 6 months or 1 year, with or without a visa support package. Since I’m from a low-income country, I decided to go with the visa support option, which includes a full refund guarantee if anything goes wrong with the visa application. That gave me some peace of mind.

For the visa process, the school arranged the connection with Issa Compass, which made everything easier.and honestly, the application process was very smooth and effortless.

My timeline:

Application submitted: 3 January

Pending approval: 5 January

Additional documents + interview request: 7 January (afternoon)

Visa approved: 7 January (evening)

I’m now in Bangkok for the course. The program is very flexible. You can book and attend classes on the dates that work best for you, which makes it easy to manage your schedule.

Hope this helps anyone considering a similar path 😊