I'm so nervous. I have to go to Hanoi to apply tomorrow. Is there anything I should pay special attention to?

Just entered on a 60 day visa-on-arrival at DMK after spending 4 days in Taiwan. Previously had been in Thailand for a year on a education visa. Was lightly questioned for a minute about school and if I would study more or not, but seems no problem entering again after leaving for a few days. Never usually post here, but I saw a lot of people complain and share rejection stories about visa-on-arrival, specifically at DMK. Possibly its because they tried to do multiple visa-on-arrival back-to-back.

Please advise anybody who wants to fill out the arrival card that there are some sites online that are commercial and asking for money make sure they get the official tie arrival card it's free

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! 😊

Hello folks ...

My current Thai wife visa extension of stay is permitted up to 2 August 2025.

My current US passport expires in May 2026.

Would you confirm that I can apply for my visa extension with my current passport, however, the extension of stay will be permitted up to my passport expiration date in May 2026?

Thank you kindly ...

1st TDAC done.

10 minutes

No issues

DTV Approved HANOI - BUSINESS OWNER- AMERICAN

Hello! This group has been super helpful and I wanted to share my experience. I applied in Hanoi and before i came to Vietnam I read multiple posts to make sure i would not make any mistakes

Was going to Apply June 1st but there were still some issues on my application when i checked all the documents. PLEASE BEFORE YOU APPLY MAKE SURE YOU FILL ALL THE INFO OTHER PEOPLE HAVE SAID IS NEEDED OR REQUESTED. Because of this delay i applied next day Monday June the 2nd. What is requested varies by embassy so always check before you submit . They might be requiring something now that maybe was not needed last month

Timeline

06/01. Ready to applied but postponed due to document check was missing info

06/02 applied late at night around 9 pm Hanoi time

06/04 received an email to resubmit my picture as it was blurry per their standards

06/05 sent a nice email asking for an update ( later the email came back undelivered ) emails do not work at Hanoi tried 2 emails none work

06/08 visa approval ( Monday and tuesday embassy was closed ) so 3 working days it took for me the fastest i have seen in this forum . If you are thinking about applying HANOI is your best best as i write this post

Couple of reminders.

The DTV is so broad that there are many ways to have a succesful application. Find the easiest one “ the one you have more documentation and you will be fine.

I went with the Business owner route and on the last page before submitting i had 3 folders or pdf files

Please find a website to lower the resolution of the docs . I had like 26 mb at some point and you can only do 3 MB per file ( REALLY LIMITED)

1) Location file . Here i included my ticket out of thailand. my vietnam visa and my arrival stamp . I also included a copy of the reservation of my airbnb showing the dates and the address and my long term contract in bangkok . YOU HAVE TO APPLY OUTSIDE OF THAILAND FOR THIS VISA. Do not go back to thailand while you are waiting and do not travel outside . Thechnically you can but i would not risk it in case they call you for an interview

2) personal file. Here i did an index with all the info i thought would help me in the application.

*cover later ( why i thought the dtv was a good fit for me i reinforce tha idea MY INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT WERE OUTSIDE OF THAILAND

* CV put emphasis on what you do Digital Nomad etc

* contract ( since this was my own company i have been with this format since i left the us in 2020 i hired myself this is good for us taxes )

* paystubs 6 months

*bank statements ( BIG ONE SHOW 500k bath and they want to see continous flow) I read some people deposit money right before they apply . Some were fine but i would not apply in such terms . They want to see you can support yourself.

* wise bank statements for local usage. Here i told them i was aware that i would not qualify for a normal bank account in thailand as this was a tourist visa after all so they could see i was already used to having this restrictions

3) business file

* letter of recomendation ( yes i recomend it myself and specifically stated that as an employee of this company i was authorized to work from abroad and i would not seek local employment . Company must have a seal and make it professional . They really care about formality in asian countries

* company registration ( my company is registered in florida so took a screenshot of the website where they can verify this and included the incorporation papers

* bank statements ( business ) here you have to show the payments going from the business to your personal account . I included 6 of thoses and HIGHTLATED THE MONTHLY PAYMENTS to my personal account

* taxes and invoices from some clients

If you follow this structure and apply as a business owner you should be good to go. PLEASE CHECK EVERYTHING BEFORE SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION. I spent 1 hr yes i checked 10 times if all the info was correct names address etc . Do not trust the passport scanner CHECK NUMBER BY NUMBER if you miss one they will reject the application. When they ask you where was your passport issued ( put the country that issued it) they dont care if it was an embassy abroad … embassies are considered part of those countries so please dont make that mistake. I saw at least 20 people that put thailand as they got their passports at their embassies there and were rejected NO REFUNDS if your application is rejected

I want to thank everyone here as i would not have done this without the help i got from this forum . As of last week i was still really lost in the process. For me it took 3 days to prepare everything and there was A LOT of info to be put into those 3 files . Good luck to everyone

Feel free to ask any questions.

Wanted to post my experience from getting my DTV Visa in Hanoi May 2025, as this group was super helpful for me!

I applied the Digital Nomad route (whatever its called) as I have a working contract with a company from Hong Kong. American passport.

What I submitted:

-Passport biopage

-Photos

-Work contact (signed by my boss and I)

-Bank statements (above 500k) going back 6 months (wanted to be thorough and the more you send the better.)

-I originally submitted my Hanoi hotel booking as proof of location

Timeline

-Tuesday May 13th I submitted it at 8am the day I flew to Hanoi.

-Thursday May 15th I got a request for more paperwork. (They wanted Vietnam entry stamp and "business certification" for work

-Friday May 16th, resubmitted all of this (the business cert I had to wait for my boss, they wanted the official registration from the country of your company)

-Friday May 16th it went into "pending approval"

-Friday May 23rd, received eVisa approval at 10am

My flight back to Thailand was scheduled for May 24th.

This is my 3rd eVisa and each time I received approval on a Friday. It appears 5-6 working days is the sweet spot as long as it's not around a holiday or something. The process was very simple, my main advice is give them more paperwork than you think you should. Everything you have, combine into a PDF and submit.

Good luck! Feel free to ask questions, happy to help.

Is there a step by step guide somewhere for getting a Non O followed by the 12 month extension, in country?

180 days on a DTV coming up, living in Pattaya. Can I border bounce either via BKK airport or via a van service to Cambodia on the same day to get another 180 days or do I need to spend time out of the country?