Why don’t you move somewhere cheaper and more conducive to having a dog? Samui is notorious for cost and housing issues.

Just wait and see, no need to panic.

@Wannikea ********

you are making yourself wide open to extortion if you travel with that much cash - not recommended.

If the money is hitting your Thai bank account and you are here longer than 180 days then you are obligated to report it. That doesn’t mean you have to pay taxes on it though. Best to ask a tax professional though.

Be aware that local banks will likely start reporting significant money transfers soon to tax authorities to bring them in line with international standards. There is a huge push now to crack down on money laundering and to a lesser extent tax evasion. Pieces are being put in place to automatically identify violators in the near future.

> use only trustworthy agents with no business ties to Chinese nationals

Good luck with that.

I used a letter of employment from my HR that clearly states I'm a remote worker. Applied through the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles and had zero issues.

The airline desk staff had no idea what mine was. She had to call a supervisor over who then took a picture and presumably sent it to someone for validation. Took about 10 minutes. My wife is Filipina and tried to explain in Tagalog, but they had no clue what a DTV was.

In Singapore last year Singapore Airlines refused to let me board without a return ticket even though I had a DTV. I had to step out of line and buy an onward ticket to satisfy the desk agent. They didn't dispute the visa, just the requirement for onward travel.

I'm not sure how random airline staff would scan it anyways. They would need access to a system from Thai immigration to validate the QR code on the visa and I kind of doubt they have that.

Eh, I got a lot of questions and confusion my last trip to the Philippines due to my DTV. It’s not a common visa type so it’s not surprising.

You can apply for all the jobs you want on a DTV but once you find one you will need a non-B and work permit to start work.

My gf and I went to Japan for Xmas three years ago and she got pulled for secondary investigation/interview when we returned. She had a letter from her school detailing the school break and her travel, but the IO demanded she call the school so the letter could be verified. It was after midnight but she still made my gf call the number on the letter and of course no one answered. The IO kept accusing my gf of working illegally in Thailand and then said it was stupid to stay in Thailand on an ED visa as they were all scams. They finally let her go after almost 3 hours after she showed them pics on her phone of her with her classmates at the school. They warned her not to travel again while on an ED.

She had a valid re-entry permit issued by Chonburi IO.

I got rolled up with her since we were traveling together and had to explain why I had spent so much time in Thailand that year on visa waiver entries and TR visas. I told them because my gf was going to school in Thailand which they did not like. They let me re-enter with her finally though, but warned that I needed a proper long-term visa the next time I exited and re-entered.

After all that crap we left for the Philippines after 90 days. Stayed there until DTV became a thing and now we are back. Highly recommend getting one while you still can - I have been in and out multiple times on it with absolutely no issues other than my first entry on it. The only issue then was that the IO had never seen a DTV and had to call her supervisor to help with the processing.