Well, that's considered 3 days. You apply in the morning of day 1 and receive your visa in the afternoon of day 3. Apply Monday morning, receive Wednesday afternoon. Savannakhet is now the same (previously, they were overnight processing).
I'd assume you have retained copies of the documents you submitted including any translations? I have. Therefore, there would be no need to pay money to get these translations done again.
However, as long as borders remain open (don't assume they'll never do a repeat of the Covid nonsense again and close the borders, because that could certainly happen again at some point in the future) then I'll probably be traveling. 6 months is a long time to be spending in country without ever leaving...except if my wife gets pregnant again I am pretty sure I'll be traveling for work or pleasure at least once every 90 days on average, sometimes even more regularly than that.
Therefore, chances are, in-country extensions for me would only occur if the borders were shut again. Some rumors this could happen again in 2026 but no hard evidence (not to mention we can't just blindly believe rumors). Still, whatever happens, I like to be prepped and prepared. This means ensuring my status is up to date and my documents are ready in case such a scenario does unfold sometime within the next few years.
Anonymous participant Correct. Also, once you leave the country, the system "resets" and does not allow for another online report.
I'd suggest DTV holders do mail-in reports. These can be done whether it's your first 90 day report or your 2nd or 3rd one. In practice, the second one will only be done if you do an in-country extension and will be submitted in person at the same time you go for your extension.
Yes, if you leave every 180 days, I don't think anything will happen if you miss the 90 day report. So far at least, nothing happens at the border as any fines levied are only done by your immigration office.
That being said, they might get stricter on this in the future (or they might not). So far, it doesn't seem to be an issue provided you don't deal with in country immigration.
As soon as you need something from them, even verification of your address to extend a driver's license or buy/sell a vehicle, then you could be fined if the system shows you didn't do one.
They might waive this is you left the country after 91 days and didn't do a report but if it's been 180 days and you didn't do one, chances are, you'll be fined 2000-5000 Baht.
If you ask me, the 90 day reporting wasn't fully thought through. If you never do an in-country extension but stay 180 days on each stay and don't do a 90 day report, nothing will happen to you for not doing one.
This is because fines are levied only by immigration offices, not border crossings.
Agreed. Unless one is old and infirm and/or has no connections to back home then pretty much all of us have a reason to travel occasionally.
How many of us don't go home at least once a year to visit family?
Then there are so many excellent destinations right next to Thailand to explore and even if you've been before, there's always something new to discover.
I've been to Laos around 50 times and Cambodia perhaps 40 times, Vietnam around 30-40 times, Myanmar around 50-60 times, Malaysia 10 times, Singapore 15 times, China 25 times, Indonesia twice, Taiwan twice and there's always something new to discover in each of these countries (and many more).
With a DTV, you'll only ever be able to do an online report once and then only if you happen to get an in-country extension.
This is because when your second 90 days comes up, you'll have been in Thailand 180 days and thus doing your extension of stay. At that time, you would also lodge your 90 day report at the same time and this would be done in person.
Once you leave the country, it resets and you have to revert to in-person or mail-in 90 day reports.
Thus, DTV holders won't really be able to take advantage of 90 day reporting via the online system.
If you do border runs, you'll never get a chance to do one.
If you do in-country extensions, you'll get the chance to do ONE only, at the 270 day mark only, which is halfway through your one extension allowed per entry.
Anonymous participant I'm worried about how the financials will be interpreted. I'm sure there will be immigration offices saying things like "you can't just have the 500K deposited yesterday. You need to show it's been in there for 2 or 3 months".
If that happens, off to the border you go.
I think the whole extension process will be more cumbersome than many are making it out to be.
Also, though I can't say for sure (we'll only know in around 12-18 months from now), but I think down the track, immigration stationed at the borders (land borders, airports, sea ports) might hesitate to grant re-entry to those who, after say 1 or 2 consecutive extensions are seeking to come back in after spending no time outside of the country.
By contrast, those who do border runs and do not seek an in-country extension are likely to be granted re-entry without question.
This is just my own hunch; Benjamin Hart from Integrity Legal believes that those who are attempting to use this visa to live in the country full-time may not be easily granted re-entry.
From my own experience living in Thailand on non-B and non-O multiple entry visas, sometimes with work permits, other times without, generally speaking, I haven't been hassled.
However, I also travel so frequently that immigration wouldn't be able to give me a reason why I have not complied with the terms of those visas. I rarely stay the full 90 days. I've never gone for a visit wife extension, because I need to travel on average once every 60 days, sometimes more frequently. 150 days in country (90 + 60 day wife extension) is more time than I need on any one stay.
However, down at Ranong, if you show up with any sort of mutiple entry visa, immigration will ask you for
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Baht and talk about a plane ticket out and accommodation proof. You can talk your way out of the latter 2, especially since a DTV visa allows for a long stay and a non-B and non-O visa are for business/work and visiting your wife respectively. They might try to insist on the
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Baht in cash though, before letting you stamp out to go to Myanmar.
Not only that, but going to immigration in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya is an unpleasant, all day experience. Firstly, it can take 2 hours just to reach the immigration office from certain parts of Bangkok. In that time, you can nearly reach the Cambodian border (or the Burmese border at Kanchanaburi, when it's open...currently it's not).
Then you'll be waiting in a queue for maybe 2 hours, probably have to wait for lunch unless you arrive super early and even then, you'll be waiting and waiting and waiting.
At best, you'll be back home in the afternoon...the same as taking a van to the Cambodian border.
Or if you're over in Isarn, the drive to a border with Laos or Cambodia and back doesn't take too long and can easily be accomplished in a comfortable day's trip.
No, it doesn't. It depends where you live. Even if you're in Bangkok, which is 200km from the nearest border, it's an easy day trip.
Of course, there's a little more nuance to it than that; you don't want to do a same day turnaround at Aranyaprathet/Poipet, though nearby Ban Khao Din/Phnom Dey, which has hardly any people crossing will likely permit it without issue.
You can also use a border run service; it's a same day trip, you'll be picked up around 5am from On Nut (or Pattaya) and they'll take you just slightly further away to Ban Laem, where they do everything for you and you'll be back in Bangkok (or Pattaya) by mid afternoon.
A better option is to make a holiday out of it, which obviously costs more but when it comes down to it, how many DTVers are trying to live in Thailand using this visa by doing as few border runs as possible?
Most of us have to travel at least sometimes, if not for business or work purposes then certainly to visit family back home.
