My fees using wise are a lot more than 44 baht.

Something like 12-15USD if I want to transfer 49,000 baht, which is the limit for daily deposit in my thai bank.

I still use it because I am lazy.

But for me the bank has no fees, and from what I can tell the exchange rate is very similar.

@Wabi *****

TM30 is done by your hotel to register with the govt that you are staying there.

You can ask them for a copy.

Usually people take this to immigration office to get a certificate of residence, which is what most people say you need to open a bank account.

I didn't do this and just bought the TM30 directly to the bank.

This worked for me, but maybe I just got lucky.

Doing anything at the immigration office is a pain in the ass.

I have a debit card and the krungsri app now yup, so can do bank transfers and QR code scan payments at shops like most locals.

Wise is an online money transfer service. You deposit money in one of their supported currencies, then you can sell it for Thai baht using the app. You can transfer the Thai baht to your Thai bank account that you opened. For Krungsri the transfer is immediate.

You can also just go to the bank with your home debit card and thai debit card and say "take x money out of here, and put into my thai card".

I have not run into any fees doing this, and the exchange rate is good. But this might depend on your home currency and bank.

I left all the flight information, planned entry date etc blank.

Intended address just picked a random hotel (didn't book it).

No questions and got my DTV 2 days later.

Is the fee coming from your home bank or the thai bank?

I just go into the branch with my foreign debit card and my thai bank card and tell them I want to transfer the money.

No fees on either side, and the rate is as good or better than I can find anywhere else.

This is New Zealand Dollar - Thai Baht

I have wise, but prefer not to use it unless I am too lazy to go to the bank. The fees are worse.

@Rok *******

I got mine on an METV (tourist visa). No residence certificate, just a TM30. (Though I'm sure a residence certificate would improve your odds).

Went to a shopping mall with the intention of trying all the banks, Got it on the second bank I tried. January this year.

@Patrick *********

wrong.

@Vitico *******

Nope.

And I also left the 'guarantor' and other sections of the visa application blank.

Make sure you tell them you are applying for DTV, because the visa form hasn't been updated to include the necessary check boxes yet, and you might accidentally apply for the wrong thing lol.

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

I had to make an appointment on their website for the initial application.

Most of them are weeks away, but pretty regularly a slot will open up a day or two in advance. So if they are booked out, keep checking.

I went there at the appointment time which was around midday, but I didn't have the USD. They checked all my documents and gave me a piece of paper which said I could come back without an appointment to bring the USD. I came back a few hours later with the cash.

When I handed everything over they gave me a slip of paper with an appointment 2 days later to pick up my passport. I applied Wednesday, the appointment they gave me was on Friday. Friday I turned up and got my passport with the new visa.

@Martha ***

I'm a Software Developer working remotely on contract.

I am not aware of any requirement to enter Thailand within a certain time period.

The visa just says 'valid from' and 'valid until' a date 5 years later.

They didn't provide any additional information to me when I picked up my passport.

Just handed me my passport, smiled and moved on to the next person.

If it's anything like the METV which I have had before, there is no entry requirement timeframe, and your stay duration will be determined by the entry stamp you get at immigration. I expect I will get a 6 month stamp next time I enter Thailand. Which I should be able to extend later at the Immigration office.

@Elías *******

I am in my early 30s. I added it because I was worried that they wouldn't accept my bank statements alone, since I only transferred the money into my account a few days prior to applying, and my bank statements only showed regular payments being made into my account during the first half of the year, before I changed my job.

Some things I read had on third party websites suggested that the money needed to be in your account for a while, so I asked my dad to write me this just in case.

I'm not sure if it helped or not.

IIRC you don't even need to provide your own bank statement if your parents are willing to support you. You can provide their bank statement, and a copy of birth certificate.