I think you need to be more specific on two key items that will drive the answers (1) what type of DTV - medical, ‘soft Thai’ or digital nomad, and (2) which embassy will you be applying to ?

Like many things to do with Thai bureacracy, I’m assuming the answer will depend upon the specific embassy you use for your application. So i am seeking specific experiences as there is nothing in the DtV general literature to say one way or the other. I don’t want to arrange a trip and find that the embassy requires admission to a place that is on an approved list. I am happy to apply to a place on such a list if it exists.

Meantime I will also follow your suggestion to trawl through other posts on here …

It says on. DTV literature that they only accept docs in English or Thai - anything else requires a certified translation.

@Andy ***********

yeah, I am certain of that. My friends tried at Jakarta and Manila.

@Andy ***********

that is interesting. I know of several people who tried to do stuff like that but were refused because (in the cases of booking cooking and Muay Thai courses) the places were not on some register held by the embassy. They eventually went to agents to sort it but ended up paying 100k plus.

@Frank *****

also the fees - everything from seats, luggage, meals, even credit card charges all vary enormously from one carrier to another.

Just check the final prices. A lot if headline prices excludes taxes snd fees. Only when you get to the final step in the booking process (usually payment) can you see the full and final price.

It’s a pain in the arse but because they all load their prices on different fees a headline price can be very misleading.

@Stuart **********

blah blah, and yet still every high street in every tourist location is full of visa agents. Cop on.

@Jim *******

the visa has nothing to do with taxation. The two are separate issues and you need to deal with the taxation issue separately - the situation from a tax perspective is the same either way.

@Brandon ***********

it is not just about the bank deposit. Firstly, if you apply from your own country, it not an O it is an OA visa. So, as you say, an OA avoids the need for a Thank bank account balance, but brings with it the need for medical health insurance with a Thai insurer (from a list).

If you want an O then you can apply from within Thailand and it avoids the need for medical insurance, but as you say it does require the Thai bank account and min balance of 800k (the easiest way around this issue is to pay an agent who will then sort out both the account and the min balance)