@Mark *******

, where did you source that information from?

I guess that depends on the bank. I have a Thai bank account and I’m on a DTV.

I guess the documents you need to provide depends on which type of DTV you’re applying for. I applied as a Remote Worker. I didn’t provide any documents in advance I just uploaded them as part of the online application process. I uploaded 3 mths personal bank statements showing 500K THB in a Thai bank.

I stayed in Hanoi for 3 days and then took a trip to Ha Long Bay for a few days before returning to Thailand via Hanoi. About 10 days total in Vietnam.

I used Hanoi, Vietnam for my DTV in April this year. Very straight forward. Took about 5 days from application submission to receiving DTV via email. I didn’t need to attend the embassy itself.

@Mark ***

Yes I applied as remote worker.

Re bank statement: I just printed 6mths statement from my Thai bank A/C a couple of days before I left Thailand so it was probably about 4-5 days old by time I submitted my DTV application.

Re Proof of income: I am a UK Company director. I provided most recent Financial Statement & latest CT600 submitted to HMRC along with 6mths Company Bank Statement and a covering letter explaining how my company trades and how I remunerate myself.

Re Health Insurance: I don’t have health insurance - I self insure. I don’t recall Health Insurance being a requirement for DTV - probably because DTV is a tourist VISA.

Re Proof of employment: Company Financial statement (see above) declares me as a Company Director.

I applied for DTV as a Remote Worker. If you’re retired then I doubt this option would be applicable for yourself - but I’m no expert, I’m just telling you what worked for me.

Good luck 🤞

@Ronnie ******

, see my other replies above re expiry of my Thailand retirement VISA. I didn’t need a VISA to enter Vietnam. I did include hotel accom booking in Hanoi as well as entry/exit stamps from my passport for proof I was applying from outside Thailand. Not sure what your agent means when he says fees increase if your retirement VISA expires. All I can say is I didn’t pay any extra fees and my retirement VISA had expired when I applied for DTV. However I didn’t use an agent so maybe he’s referring to the agent fees increase.

The other thing to keep in mind is when does your existing retirement VISA expire. You obviously can’t have 2 VISAs for the same country active at the same time. In my case I timed my short vacation to Vietnam so I could exit Thailand on my existing retirement VISA (British citizen I didn’t need a VISA to enter Vietnam for a short vacation), my retirement VISA expired the next day and then I submitted my online application.

Hope that helps, good luck. 🤞

I didn’t actually need to go to the embassy in Hanoi. You have to apply online and as part of your application you need to state which embassy you are applying at - I stated Hanoi. If they want to interview you then you need to be prepared to visit that embassy. So I just took a short vacation in Hanoi, included copies of my Thailand exit and Vietnam entry stamps from my passport as proof I was applying from outside Thailand (but hotel reservation might work as well - I would advise you to check with the embassy what proof they will accept). In my case an interview was not required so I didn’t need to attend the embassy in Hanoi. As soon as I received the email with my DTV as PDF I printed it out and re-entered Thailand on my DTV.