DTV approved in Laos. in 5 working days. Even after they said 700-800 applicants in one day (see my post bellow in group)

27th July flew in and applied.

29th July paid because of Thai holiday.

31st Asked for picture of Laos stamp in passport.

1st of August got interview date for 13th august, sent email asking for faster date, replied in 1h and book for 5th august

5th of august today went for interview at 10am, got approved at 2pm.

If any questions, happy to help :))

Hi everyone 👋

Thai embassy in Laos requested to certify the bank statement at the embassy, Has anyone encountered this? or knows what exactly they want? 🤷🏽‍♀️

And How many days does it usually take to schedule an interview? Could I go to Thailand while wait appointment to interview?

Thank you so much in advance 🙏

Hey anyone ! I’m a freelancer looking into the DTV visa – wondering if anyone’s done it via an agency or on your own? Also curious if anyone here applied in Laos? Any tips would be awesome. Thanks heaps! 😊

Hi members..

Need to do border hop..

Enter Nong Khai to Laos.

Then back 2 days..

Can you get passport stamped on Saturday or Saturdays...

Or do I need to go during week days 🤔..

Thanks

So im in vientiane, Laos. Been here since 9th. Paid money 14th....they just gave us an interview date of 1st August FFS.

This is ridiculous.

Update - they kindly moved it forwards for me following a polite request. Looks like il be out of here 9 days from payment so I take back my above comments 😂 had a whale of a time here in Laos. If you bothered to learn any Thai in Thailand youl love it too as they speak issan and a lot of Thai and youl be able to communicate with and get to know some wonderful locals.

Hi people would appreciate some of your knowledge regarding applying for a o visa 90 days from lao.been informed from a agent that is the best way to get a Thai bank account. I need to know what documents I need to take with me.

Thankyou

AteVChiang Mai border run to Chiang Khong/Huayxai completer. We found a private car service for about half the price of the organized Van trip. That way we could stop for snack and smoke breaks on the way. Fast exit and entry into Laos. We had Lao e-visas but still had to fill out an arrival and departure card. We waited about 20 minutes for the bus across the friendship bridge, ฿25 a person entering into Laos was smooth, but there was another ฿20 charge after we cleared immigration. We turned right back around and went back in. The Lao immigration person was very friendly, asked several times if we were sure we didn’t have to stay two days. We assured her that was not the case, hoping we were right, as we had been informed in this forum. It was a short wait for the bus back across the friendship, bridge, and our entry into Thailand was smooth and easy. The Thai immigration officer took our DTV’s, asked us where we lived, which was Chiang Mai, and stamped us back in through January 8, 2026. We had filled out the TDAC online and were prepared with the digital downloads I saved to my phone. However, just like the last time we came in at Chiang Mai airport, we were never asked for it. I imagine they just looked it up on the computer and saw that we had it, but no one ever mentioned it. thanks for all your help. 

Which of you applied in vientiane, laos? im here, made application on friday and due to go and pay the embassy tomorrow. Just curious to hear any experiences that may assist me with this process or possibly put my expectations at ease lol.

Have provided proof of everything they ask for so hoping i either just get accepted or get an interview to fill in any blanks if they need more.

Thank you all, youve been very helpful so far with this process. 🙏 I hope you are all successful with your applications also and wish you the best of luck and energy.

For those who interviewed in Laos, what documents did you bring? I understand they check your current bank account? Anything else?

Hi guy's just some details of my successful DTV application in Vientiane.

46yr old male retired fighter.

Application for soft power Muay Thai.

Landed in Vientiane on Sunday 18/05.

Went to the embassy Monday 19/05 to complete payment for my application.

Received an email Wednesday 21/05 to send a different passport photo, the one I originally sent is the same one used on previous official thai government documents so I just sent the same one again and it was accepted lol, it seems in Vientiane no matter how perfect your application is they will find at least 1 fault, I've seen this with almost everyone I've spoken to in Vientiane that applied. Maybe it's a way for them to gain more time to deal with the high volume of applicant's 🤷.

Monday the 26/05 it went to pending approval.

Wednesday the 28/05 I received an email to attend an interview on 05/06.

Saturday 31/05 I received an email to say my interview had been cancelled and will be rescheduled, 4 hrs later I received another email with an interview date on the same day it was originally set for but just 4 hrs later.

Thursday 05/06 I attended my interview, something to be aware of when attending your interview. The wifi and 5g are extremely bad around the embassy area, this caused problems opening the banking apps to show proof of funds and transactions and it wasn't only me there was several of us freaking out as we waited for our turn.

Thankfully after 30 mins of trying to open my banking apps just as I was about to walk up the stairs for my interview my app opened, I can't tell you the relief and happiness it brought 🤣🤣🤣.

I walked into the interview room and before he even got to say a word i said please sir can you check my banking app straight away please, I explained about the issues and he said yes no problem and understand as it was happening often to others.

He looked at my UK account statement's which has a high balance in it and asked me to show the transitions going from my UK account to my investment account (crypto) and from there to my Thai bank account.

This took under 1 minute.

He then asked what will you do in Thailand, I said I will be training Muay Thai everyday as I've been doing it almost every day for the last 35 yrs.

I'm a retired fighter but still train every day.

I had a letter from the Muay Thai school confirming that I paid for 1 yr and pictures of me on the Muay Thai gym's official Facebook page training there.

I also attached 1 yr of medical insurance to cover extreme sports in Asia, this wasn't required but it made my application stronger.

The whole interview was 2-3 minutes as I had everything well prepared and ready to show.

He said ok that's all I need from you and you will get an email today with the results of your application.

As I was walking down the stairs from my interview I received my approval email, around 20 seconds after leaving the interview room.

I went to the print shop near by to get my DTV certificate printed for immigration then jumped in a taxi and straight to the airport.

I had booked my flights the day prior, if you book them on the same day they are usually double the price.

For anyone thinking about applying in Laos I would advise to choose a different country. There are so many better options.

Vientiane is a horrible city, the rds and paths are all torn up, the pollution and dust are crazy on your throat and chest there is litter everywhere and there is absolutely nothing to do and very few people around.

I got stuck there for 8 days.

I then moved to Vang veing for 6 days, it is an absolutely beautiful area with lots of outdoor activities to do, it's 1 hr on the train for Vientiane. Again all paths etc torn up but anything is better than Vientiane 🤣🤣

I then moved to Luang prabang for 3 days, 1 hr from Vang veing on the train which was very different from the other places, good rds and paths and a very clean town. There are lots of little restaurants and bars but again not many people around.

Also allow for an extra $2-3,000 for expenses over the 3+ week stay

Hope this information helps.

If anyone needs some help or advice I'm more than happy to help.

It can be quite a stressful experience but it really doesn't need to be.

It's better to take advice from people that have been through the process rather than from people that read about it.

Have a great Day guy's 😎😎😀