@Kornvara ***********

my understanding is employment is not a prerequisit, it is that you have paid taxes and remained on the same visa type for the qualifying years. Being employed and being on a non b and paying tax at source with the yearly tax returns is the most common route, as people who arent employed may have failed to pay tax on remitted income in all the required years and therefore not qualify. Also i believe you cant work for 5 years, retire and then apply, as your visa type has changed, you need to apply while still in employment.

@Boonlert *****

best not to have lots of stamps in your passport that say you dont follow the rules, especially when applying for visas to another country.

They are trying to get same or better deal than Vietnam for trade, the visa aspect will be 'a nice to have', considering Vietnam doesn't have it.

The doctors surgery closest to the DLT centre is usually one that is set up churn that form out cheaply and quickly in most towns.

@John *********

oops my bad on 04 not 03.

It has to be approved by the plus 7 days, or your late and subject to fine regardless that it is pending or not. Did you go online to check the status? If its that you havent seen the email for acceptance, its worth checking your junk email folder first.

Also if you have access to a PC and printer, go to the DLT site and watch the 1 hour video in English, answer periodic questions to prove your watching, at the end answer about 5 simple questions. On completion print off the QR code and present it with your other paperwork. Usually means you can be in and out of DLT within half an hour new licence in hand. Otherwise when you put paperwork in they are supposed to book you into the next English speaking video slot with space which could be days away.

Date of entry would be 17 04 2023, if thats your last entry, the 19th May is not required on the form, the visa expiry date will be on your last extension stamp in your passport. Common mistake is putting current year in the year field out of habit.

@Tod ********

the online pretty sure does more than that now, the AI as part of the new systems link can return a Boolean (true or false), to identify if the TM30 is still valid, 'you have been registered since your arrival in country. Whether a manual checker refuses or accepts the TM47 if they see a permanent addressed tm30 is where variation in results come in.

Part of the online checking will be 'check-in date' on TM30 is greater or equal to 'In country Arrival Date' on the IMO system.