@Dean ****

September 5th I think

I had METV. Applied for and received the DTV with a sticker format (not e-visa).

When I entered Thailand they asked I'd I am changing visas and then put in my DTV information. Thus eliminating the METV.

I got mine in Taipei and only needed to prove current balance.

Agreed to apply in Taipei. Transfer funds into your personal account to prove the 500k. In Taipei office only need to show current balance for the 500k. Also need to show the income entering your account, work contract, invoices, letter from the company showing that you can work remotely, etc.

This is where I applied. They are good to work with but can get confused if paperwork isn't simple and exactly as they expect that is why I suggest transferring the funds into your personal account. 1) it will be in local language so no translation and 2) no confusion about ownership. I saw them question someone while I was there because confused about ownership.

@Alice *******

I'm also from USA and basically calling out his commentary lol

@Galenus *****

how is the tax situation different if they get the retirement visa??? Considering that is what the original post was asking about dtv vs retirement visa...

@Galenus *****

that is the same if they stay on the retirement visa... 😅😅 stay longer than 180 days on any visa (except one special ltr Visa I forgot the name)

You do not need to apply in Australia. You can fly to other countries from Thailand and apply without an issue. Search the group previous posts as there are some that have a summary of various locations that you can apply and includes the pros/cons of those locations. Requirements vary on the consulate. I think the consensus is Jakarta, Taipei and one other are considered the most friendly and easy to work with. Some require multiple months of bank balance, others only one, some take weeks others take days to complete, some cost a lot more, some require appointments and others just walk in.

No... you actually get less in Philippines for same amount of money. The only thing cheaper (in some areas) are the fees from the girls

The same quality of a condo costs more, restaurants cost more, and you never know if anything will work that day or not. "Sorry sirrrr, not abailable" is the phrase you will constantly.

If you compare apples to apples you get more for your money in TH. Been there done that

@Martha ***

I flew to Taipei on Tuesday, applied Wednesday and flew to Thailand on Thursday. Currently I'm truly nomad. US citizen but traveling for the past year