JimmyTobacco

Question: I got the DTV and will be staying with my gf in Chiang Mai for about 75 days. We will then travel abroad and come back and I will stay with her for another 75 days on the DTV. But during the time in Thailand we might also make short trips to other provinces. I won't require a visit to immigration for any extension of my visa. How does that work with the TM30? Is it even worth it to bother with getting one? In all honesty I stayed with her last year and this year for a total of about 50 days and never got any TM30, since we weren't aware of its existence. Nobody's ever said anything, but I suppose that's cause I didn't visit the immigration office. Is the only thing that could happen a 1600 THB fine, and is this likely to be applied even for periods in the past? To be honest the fine is so low that it beats figuring out the bureaucracy around getting a TM30 and possibly getting a new one if I leave the country or province for a few days.

Wonderful video!!! Thank you and thanks to Chris Parker!

It seems that way, but I am still confused why they would say that extending your 180 day stay for another 180 days is 10,000 THB, but apparently you can do a visa run and just come back and get another 180 days for free. Anyway, it definitely seems to be like you say: a visa on which you can basically stay in Thailand for 5 years.

I had my DTV issued a few days ago by a Thai embassy in Europe for workcation. I'm self-employed and was a little confused about the documentation I needed to supply them with, so I made a small portfolio with a copy of my registration as a self-employed individual (in English) and a resume and some samples of my work (also in English). For the financial proof I added a statement from the last 6 months from a mixed savings and brokerage account (the account has an IBAN though). The statement was not translated into English but it clearly showed plenty of balance above the 500,000 THB threshold at all times in the last 6 months. The DTV was approved within 3 working days. My plan is to stay in Thailand for something close to the 180 days, but I am also planning to leave for some other travels around SE Asia somewhere in the middle of that period. I am curious how easily I will receive another 180 day stamp when coming back to Thailand after my travels, or if they will question the length of my stay since my total stay could then amount to much more than 180 days if they give me another 180 days after going out and going back in after 3 months. I did book a return flight about 178 days after my original flight to Thailand, for tax reasons and also because it was cheaper to book a return flight.