Thanks James 🙏

@James *******

I was in & out in 15 minutes 👍The questions I was asked were why the DTV, have you been to Thailand before, have you ever had any overstays in the past. She asked for clarification about my online work (new role)... do you understand you may be asked for documents again at immigration when you exit/enter, do you understand the DTV rules, etc... They were curious why I'd applied so early (which is funny because they allow you to apply 3 months in advance so that's what I did). And if I remember correctly, she asked if an immigration officer has told me to apply for a visa (I'm assuming this was to check I haven't been denied entry on a tourist exemption and I'm trying to get back in the country by just applying for the DTV)... Probably 1 or 2 other questions I don't remember, but it was farily straightforward. I had nothing to hide so I just calmly politely answered everything in line with my online application. She was very nice & friendly, and it felt informal all things considered 🙏

@James *******

yep, will reply in your original comment 🙏

@Suja *******

I have no idea how agencies work when it comes to visas, but you've paid for their service so you should use it 😊 And good luck 🤞🙏

100% agree

@James *******

yes I will answer any questions people comment as best I can, of course 🙏 But I don't need to reiterate or re-explain why I don't wish to engage further with this particular person. It would make no sense and be rather strange (& somewhat phoney), for me to reply to what he wrote - he was obnoxious on my last post and is now acting like a different person. So, when people ask questions, I will gladly do my best to help 🙏 as I already have so far. Thanks.

@Christopher **********

Again, it's a shame you couldn't have been polite, mature, & reasonable like you are now, the last time I posted. You were very unpleasant & sarcastic and it was completely unnecessary. You're far too long in the tooth to be behaving like that, but you seem to see no issue with talking in that way, which says FAR more about your character than me as a person. And as it turns out, your negative assumptions were wrong. My guess is you were bored that day and just projecting frustration from elsewhere, or it's the type of person you are, because a healthy emotionally stable man wouldn't speak to someone the way you did - plenty of other people were capable of responding to my post in a normal manner. What did you actually gain, is the weirdest part. So yes - I will absolutely answer people's questions as best I can (hence posting my update), but I have zero interest in engaging further with someone like you.

@Andi **********

It wasn't like a projected microphone as such, more like a speaker vent through her screen... I think I described it wrong 🤣 but either way, I definitely wasn't expecting it to be out the counter in front of everyone 😅The process took a long time from start to finish (although I appreciate that I applied very early so I wouldn't have been a priority), and the waiting was quite nerve-racking, but definitely worth it and I feel priviliged to be given a 5yr visa 🙏 Hopefully there won't be too many changes to the visa whilst I'm on it (& of course I hope they don't remove it completely😏)!

@Andi **********

*edited my comment to respond to your edit 🙂* Yep, unfortunately social media is the perfect breeding ground for keyboard warriors who have boring unfulfilling lives (a healthy person wouldn't have the time nor desire to write out negative or passive-agressiveness comments). Sarcasm, mockery, patronising, etc... (to name a few), are all indications of the internal character of that person, not the person they're directing their emotional immaturity towards...but in a group of adults it's baffling to me, and you have to wonder if they're like that with people in-person! If you want to help someone great - if you don't, then keep scrolling, or get a life 🤷 I shouldn't waste my time engaging with people like that, you're right I should just ignore them and let them show themselves up! People get criticised for posting anon, but is it any surprise sometimes, when this group can be so hostile and snidey?! Anyway lol, the interview was not what I expected! I expected to be taken into a private room and sat in front of 2 consular officers (no idea where I got that idea from 😅)... but I was asked the questions at the counter through a glass screen and a microphone in front of everyone 🤣I was nervous - not because I had anything to hide, there was nothing they could "trip me up on" so to speak, because I'd given them all the information I could supply, but it's human nature particularly if you've never been to an Embassy, when you're walking into the unknown 🙏 I was in & out within 15 minutes!

@Suja *******

aww thank you 🙏 I applied on 19th Dec (3 months in advance😆), and got approved yesterday! They asked for additional documents on 8th Jan (within an hour of emailing them for an update 😅), which I submitted the same day. I then politely asked for an update on the 21st Jan, and within half an hour (😅) got asked to attend interview in London. It's possible it took a long time because I applied so early, but I couldn't say for sure of course...I imagine they have a lot of applications to process and would prioritise applicants flying sooner