That's a great question.

First of all, this is the Thailand DTV group and thus no one is really talking about other countries' digital nomad visas in here.

Secondly, I think the criteria for being granted a digital nomad visa for Malaysia is stricter than for the DTV.

The DTV is a surprise though - prior to it being offered, you only had the extremely restrictive LTR, which is made for rich expats with requirements not too dissimilar to qualifying for an investor visa for the USA (and other western countries)!

Thailand normally goes overboard with unrealistic requirements.

So I think the first reason is because Malaysia's requirements are more stringent.

@Tod ********

Hopefully you don't have to show a copy of the data page of the old passport for each entry, just the first one?

I don't think it matters whether one is a natural born or naturalized citizen of a country. It end result is the same.

@Tim **********

Roaming is better. I've stopped purchasing sim cards when I go to Laos. Coverage is not great outside of urban areas, some network providers have zero coverage in the north for example. Roaming is a much better deal. Unlimited mobile data and you are automatically re-routed to whatever provider has a cell tower in a particular area, offering maximum coverage everywhere but the most remote areas.

Not worth buying lots of Beer Lao just to save 20+ Baht a bottle. Buy something to bring back that you can't find in Thailand, such as Somersby Ciders (incidentally, also brewed under license by Beer Lao).

@Wannikea ********

You're getting ripped off. Where do you live? Tops sells it for a standard price all over the country. Sounds like you live in Nakorn nowhere.

@Amir ********

It's 59 Baht at Tops for the normal Beer Lao and 68-70 for the other varieties. Naturally it will be more expensive than in Laos as it has to be transported here and distributed.

Yes correct. Reporting is only if you spend at least 90 days in the country on any one trip.

Flight from Bangkok should be more like 2h45m, not 3h30.

@Diana ******

Employer based ones are good. If you're not working in Thailand, there are several big name ones you could look at. Search "expat insurance Thailand" for options. AIG, Allianz etc would probably offer something but they may not be the best in terms of price or coverage.