Because Hanoi is a very poor choice if you already have a history of visa rejections or unfinished visa application but paid and pending. They rarely give a second chance or approve applications in such cases.
You need to look for the last updated experience of people who apply exactly for Thai nature not just Soft Power because experience even between Muay Thai and Thai Cooking is not the same depending on Thai embassy location.
12 months course not always better especially for certain Thai embassies and certain nationalities. In a more positive way works better 6 to 9 months course or 6 months with extra workshops.
Applicants from more sensitive countries such as China, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, some Middle Eastern countries, and certain African countries do not have the same experience with the Thai Embassy in Hanoi as Western countries.
However, to be honest, at the Thai Embassy in Ho Chi Minh City, applicants from many Western countries sometimes face more difficulties obtaining a visa than those from so-called “sensitive” nationalities. It all depends on personal circumstances and the specific Thai embassy location — not everyone has the same experience.
If your documents are in very good order, your chances of approval are higher at Thai embassies that require interviews. Also, a previous rejection does not have a strong negative impact if you reapply immediately at a different Thai embassy that conducts interviews. Just make sure your documents are well-prepared — it’s best to have them reviewed by an experienced agent or school.
Regarding obtaining an ED visa now — yes, it is still possible. However, with a Chinese passport, two previous ED visas, and a rejection, I would not say it is impossible to obtain a DTV visa in the future, but it will be significantly more difficult based on your current history. Thai embassies are increasingly aware of ED visa abuse, especially among certain nationalities.
We recommend reapplying, but you should first have your documents reviewed by experienced professionals who can suggest improvements and advise on the most suitable embassy location for your case.
Yes, we have successfully handled 4 cases. However, this was mainly due to the specific location of the Thai Embassy and a degree of luck. Under the same conditions, applications submitted to more popular Thai Embassies are often rejected.
Approvals typically occur only when embassy staff do not thoroughly review the application or do not request a passport scan. Nowadays, very few Thai Embassies operate this way, and there is no guarantee that your application will not be checked.
In more popular Thai Embassy locations, many of our students have been rejected multiple times due to their visa history or improperly closed visas. Only after properly closing their previous visa and obtaining a new passport were they able to reapply successfully and receive approval.
It was an answer based on our experience with the specific Thai Embassy in Hanoi.
If you would like to verify anything, please share your e-visa file publicly with all personal information blurred, so others can see a real example. Without a real name or proof, the information may not be entirely reliable. If you got approved not from Hanoi Thai Embassy under current visa not finally used and expired it's fine and sometimes for some locations it's more highly likely possible. Thank you
Check your visa history records and personal documents, including your source of income and bank statements. Once rejected, it is very hard to reapply again. Hanoi is not the best location to reapply.
If you got METV must wait till it's fully used and expired, any try before just losing money and time.
You do not have to renew the course. The course simply makes the processing faster and makes it easier to obtain the 5-year DTV visa.
This way, you can use both reasons for entry: workation (if you have proof of remote work and income) or the Soft Power course. Even after completing the course, more than 50 of our former students have entered Thailand as tourists without being asked any questions or required to show any proof. In most cases, immigration officers did not ask anything.
The only situations where questions may arise are when a person has a long visa history in Thailand, such as many years staying on multiple ED visas or visa-exempt entries. In such cases, immigration officers may question the person not about the current visit, but about their past stays in Thailand and what they were doing, because they might suspect illegal work. This situation can happen with any type of visa.
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