A question regarding the 5 year DTV Visa.

You can get one if you sign up for Thai cooking courses. How long has the course got to last?

Once you have finished the course is the DTV still valid or do you have to get another visa to stay in the Kingdom?

Has anyone actually been denied entry and turned away at the airport on a successful DTV, without option to pay some scam fee to get in? If so what were the circumstances of that denial?

Which country do you suggest to apply for a dtv Visa? I've heard that Vietnam and Taiwan should be good?

I spoke to an agent in Pattaya last week who told me that they’re stopped doing DTVs as they’re checking people so much and people being refused entries etc

Another agent told me they’re good to go for 95-100k Baht and enrollment into a cooking course is all that is needed and border runs or immigration stamp every 6 months

Anyone had one for a long time doing a cooking course or similar and not had/had any issues?

We are travelling to Thailand in May for 45 days. Do we have to apply for a visa prior to leaving Australia. Ty in advance

Greetings my visa expires Feb 4th bit I leave on the 12th. Do I need a visa extension?

Hi everyone! I plan on moving in July and just wanted some feedback as to how early should I start my DTV? Is applying now too early or should I wait till like a month out?

I'm a bit confused. I received an email from my school stating that I need to apply for the ED Visa at the embassy. I thought that starting in 2025 everything would be online and that there wouldn't be any embassy requirements especially since there's no Thai embassy in my home country Tunisia. Can anyone assist me with this? I've already booked my flight and wasn't aware that I needed to go to the embassy.😔

Maybe I've been reading things incorrectly, but it seems like on the evisa retirement non O, it was said you get 2 months on arrival, then can extend for 30 days, and then can extend for 1 year by getting the bank account etcetera.

We just arrived today with our non o retirement visa and both I and my mom were given 90 days right away

Approved!

My case is a bit unusual, as I had an active METV issued by the Chicago embassy in early November (valid until early May). I was a bit worried after reading some posts here that stated I couldn't have two visas active at the same time, but in November had entered Thailand with both a single entry and multiple entry tourist visa. Upon arrival at BKK, the immigration officer simply asked which one I wanted to use. I'm assuming he canceled the single entry visa after I told him I wanted to use the METV. Because of this and reports from others that their applications were not denied, but basically postponed due to existing METVs, I decided to give the DTV application a shot.

I still have no idea why I was approved despite others with active METVs being told they have to wait for theirs to expire.

Details:

Applied 6/1/25 from Da Nang via HCMC Embassy. Soft Power route with Botany/Cooking seminars from Discover Thai Nature. 5 years of monthly seminars for $9999 baht.

In addition to filling out a flight date/number and my Da Nang hotel address on the short-form page, I submitted the following documents with my application:

* Passport data/photo page

* Photo taken in Da Nang 5 months ago (used on previous visa applications)

* Current checking account statement (dated 2/1/25) from US-based bank showing around $19,000.

* Documents sent to me by Discover Thai Nature - letter of invitation, confirmation of enrollment, payment and participation, business registration documents

* Photo of my Vietnam entry stamp

On Thurs, 9/1, I received a request for extra documents (see photo).

This time I submitted:

* Merged PDFs of one of my brokerage accounts and two checking accounts, all of which showed 6 months of financial activity. I used [members only] to merge documents on PC.

* A new photo taken 10/1 in Da Nang (total cost was 40,000 VND or around US$2 for picture and JPEG sent to my email).

* Merged PDFs of my hotel confirmations in Da Nang, matching the address I submitted on the short form page.

* The same documents submitted initially from Discover Thai Nature, but this time with a cover letter stating my intent to attend seminars and a description/explanation of the other documents I was submitting. I also stated that I intend to participate in professional cooking classes with Bangkok Thai Cooking Academy later this year, but hadn't yet enrolled (I fully plan on taking their four-week course).

I received my approval e-mail at around 1:30 PM today. I plan on staying in Vietnam until mid-February but will update on whether or not there are issues with immigration and my two active visas (I don't expect there will be) when I fly back to Bangkok.