@Jim *******

That is what they mentioned initially. There is no "price" mentioned in the published law in the royal gazette. So, maybe up to the immigration. Maybe it will even only be 1,900 THB like with all other visa. Cannot say at this point.

@Ning *****

Or they might adidtionally tell you to put a certain amount of bills in your passport before handing it over again for stamping you in "one last time". Having a Thai girlfriend changes nothing about one being refused eventually if living solely on tourist visa or visa exemptions.

I would like to have clarification on tax-related implications: How is the tax being handled? Will foreign income be taxable in Thailand (cause I have read articles that they will not while on a DTV, but have not found anything official about that)? Will foreign income be excluded from taxation (like with the royal decree in case of the LTR)? If not, why would people working for foreign companies on a LTR be exempt from tax, while people doing the same on a DTV won't? If foreign income is taxable while on the DTV: How to apply for a tax id in Thailand (as it currently requires a work permit or at least income from within Thailand)?

@John ******

I had a very similar issue with the LTR. Although meeting all other requirements and working for publicly listed company, I was denied as I wasn’t a direct employee but routing my money through a wholly owned corporation for tax optimization.

@Todd ********

I shared it in this very group yesterday:

@Todd ********

It is what it is (for now), so I don't have to bet. All current communication including the legal wording in the Royal Gazette supports this. Will they keep it that way or around for long - we will see. I kind of doubt it. On the one hand, they were cracking down on people abusing ED visa, and now they are basically letting everybody who can show 500k THB in any bank account stay for 5 years (with a few legal border bounces). Amazing Thailand.

@Graham *****

I know how it works. Had a look in detail at their system / screen, once. Just saying as long as the passport in "clean", they won't always scroll through all the details of the IT.

@Todd ********

Yes. The DTV is an extended version of the METV. That is exactly what it is. Crazy as it seems. The DTV isn't meant for residency (though people will use it as such), just for longer stays of tourists working on the side back home, or doing "soft power" leisure activities.

@Todd ********

I will still be aiming for the LTR by the way, probably just using the DTV for now. The more I look into the tax changes, the more I find the explicit tax exemption of the LTR on foreign income valuable.

@Todd ********

I understand the difference to the LTR, with which you never have to leave Thailand for the whole duration of that visa (the inital 5 out of 10 years). Let me instead do a comparison with the Multiple Entry Tourist Visa METV instead - as that follows the same mechanism the DTV will. With the METV you get a (multiple entry) visa that is valid for 6 months starting at the date it is issued. Within therse 6 months, you can enter Thailand unlimitted amounts of times and will be stamped in 60 days at each entry. And you can optionally extend you stamped in stay for another 30 days at immigtation for a fee at each stay, if you so choose and want to avoid having to leave Thailand in order to do another entry. This is how a multiple entry visa works. For the DTV it means accordingly: You get a 5 year visa, and within those 5 years you can come to Thailand unlimitted times and will be stamped in at 180 days each. The LTR is a different beast here. With the LTR you will be stamped in for the whole 5 (initial) years and a need for a re-entry permit is waived. The LTR is not technically a multiple entry visa, it is a long term visa, with the need for a re-entry permit waived should.