5 year multiple entry DTV visa (Destination Thailand) from 2024-xx-xx

[billy100]

13 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

@billy100

 

Thank you for your report. You left out some key information. Which category did you apply under?

 

Was it workcation or soft power?

I edited my note to include: I applied as a digital online worker: freelance

[Briggsy]

10 hours ago, billy100 said:

I edited my note to include: I applied as a digital online worker: freelance

Thanks

 

So, given your age and the term "freelance" I assume you did not provide a current contract of employment.

 

You mentioned providing your "HMRC tax calculation".

Is this an SA302 showing your self-employed earnings? 

Or is it rather simply a tax calculation showing your state pension, possible company pension, private pension (SIPP)/annuities and investment income?

 

If the latter, then you have no remote working contract and no "professional" portfolio. This would mean that the London Embassy is being very lenient in their interpretation of a digital online worker.

 

If I have understood you correctly and hopefully you can fill in the gaps by answering the above questions, then the London Embassy seems prepared to hand out DTV's in the workcation category to retirees with no paid work but simply investments. Quite a stretch! But up to them.

[billy100]

On 4/10/2025 at 1:19 AM, Briggsy said:

Thanks

 

So, given your age and the term "freelance" I assume you did not provide a current contract of employment.

 

You mentioned providing your "HMRC tax calculation".

Is this an SA302 showing your self-employed earnings? 

Or is it rather simply a tax calculation showing your state pension, possible company pension, private pension (SIPP)/annuities and investment income?

 

If the latter, then you have no remote working contract and no "professional" portfolio. This would mean that the London Embassy is being very lenient in their interpretation of a digital online worker.

 

If I have understood you correctly and hopefully you can fill in the gaps by answering the above questions, then the London Embassy seems prepared to hand out DTV's in the workcation category to retirees with no paid work but simply investments. Quite a stretch! But up to them.

What I do in terms of portfolio management and research, involves considerable amounts of time each working week (I said that in my note above); you seem to have confused it with “simply having investments”; I doubt having the odd passive OEIC or bonds would cut it. My submission was very detailed in terms of my portfolio of work & accounts.

 

In terms of HMRC data, accounts etc: that’s up to the individual's circumstances what they submit to the Embassy. Any income and capital appreciation outside of a tax-free wrapper will be shown in your HMRC records, again depending on the individual circumstance.

 

I think your assumption regarding retirees is a strange one. The fact is that there is no upper age limit for the DTV in whatever category you feel may apply to your circumstances: Digital Nomads, Freelancers, Remote Workers; and Various Softpower such as cooking courses.

 

 

Anybody interested in the DTV  may find this YouTube video of assistance: it clearly blasts through any incorrect assumptions.

 

[Briggsy]

5 hours ago, billy100 said:

What I do in terms of portfolio management and research, involves considerable amounts of time each working week (I said that in my note above); you seem to have confused it with “simply having investments”; I doubt having the odd passive OEIC or bonds would cut it. My submission was very detailed in terms of my portfolio of work & accounts.

 

In terms of HMRC data, accounts etc: that’s up to the individual's circumstances what they submit to the Embassy. Any income and capital appreciation outside of a tax-free wrapper will be shown in your HMRC records, again depending on the individual circumstance.

 

I think your assumption regarding retirees is a strange one. The fact is that there is no upper age limit for the DTV in whatever category you feel may apply to your circumstances: Digital Nomads, Freelancers, Remote Workers; and Various Softpower such as cooking courses.

 

 

Anybody interested in the DTV  may find this YouTube video of assistance: it clearly blasts through any incorrect assumptions.

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

I am sorry you felt it necessary to defend your successful DTV application. I was not in any way casting aspersions. Your posts lack details to help others. I am trying to figure out how you applied.

 

I will rephrase it.

 

Are you registered with HMRC as a self-employed sole trader filing annual tax returns? That is all I wanted to know.

 

(As a UK qualified accountant, I know how the UK tax system operates)

 

Thanks

[bokningar]

On 3/23/2025 at 8:14 PM, Maestro said:

 

You go to your local immigration office with this application form:

https://www.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/22.Transfer-Stamp-to-New-Passport-Form.pdf

 

Regarding the list or required documents, some immigration offices may also ask for the receipt for your latest TM.30.

 

So, if I change my passport when I'm out of Thailand. Should I bring this with me when I come back to Thailand and show it at immigration on arrival? Or will the e-visa that state my old passport number be OK?

[BrandonJT]

1 hour ago, bokningar said:

So, if I change my passport when I'm out of Thailand. Should I bring this with me when I come back to Thailand and show it at immigration on arrival? Or will the e-visa that state my old passport number be OK?

If you change your passport outside of Thailand, you use both passports to enter Thailand.  The officers at the airport won't care about any forms you have.  Changing stamps to a new passport can only be done at an immigration office, so that's where you need to go with the forms.

[bokningar]

1 hour ago, BrandonJT said:

If you change your passport outside of Thailand, you use both passports to enter Thailand.  The officers at the airport won't care about any forms you have.  Changing stamps to a new passport can only be done at an immigration office, so that's where you need to go with the forms.

I should have explained it better.

If I go down the DTV road next winter, I will stay 90 to 120 days in Thailand and then go back home. That summer my passport will expire, so will the time (180 days) I could have stayed on the stamp in my old passport.

So, coming to the airport with my new passport I will have my DTV e-visa still valid 4 more years, but with the wrong passport number on it. What is the step to get my visa to match my new passport?

[BrandonJT]

15 minutes ago, bokningar said:

I should have explained it better.

 

If I go down the DTV road next winter, I will stay 90 to 120 days in Thailand and then go back home. That summer my passport will expire, so will the time (180 days) I could have stayed on the stamp in my old passport.

 

So, coming to the airport with my new passport I will have my DTV e-visa still valid 4 more years, but with the wrong passport number on it. What is the step to get my visa to match my new passport?

 

You use both passports to enter Thailand.  Then you go to the immigration office with both passports and your e-visa.

[alw22]

On 4/23/2025 at 3:04 PM, BrandonJT said:

You use both passports to enter Thailand.  Then you go to the immigration office with both passports and your e-visa.

 

Why would one need to make a trip to the immigration office?  If you're able to enter using both passports and the e-visa, why not continue doing that until the e-visa expires?

[BrandonJT]

6 hours ago, alw22 said:

 

Why would one need to make a trip to the immigration office?  If you're able to enter using both passports and the e-visa, why not continue doing that until the e-visa expires?

That's your choice. You can carry both passports for years, or go to immigration and stop having to do that.

[Jabatron]

17 hours ago, BrandonJT said:

That's your choice. You can carry both passports for years, or go to immigration and stop having to do that.

You can't transfer an e-visa. You will need to carry both passports. 

[BrandonJT]

4 hours ago, Jabatron said:

You can't transfer an e-visa. You will need to carry both passports. 

You can and people have already reported doing it already. They make a notation in your passport with the old passport number, allowing you to use the new passport alone with the e-visa with the old passport number.

[Maestro]

4 hours ago, Jabatron said:

You can't transfer an e-visa. You will need to carry both passports. 

 

The facts:

 

1. The DTV is an elcronic visa (eVisa).

 

2. An eVisa is not a stamp or a sticker in the passport and therefore, there is no visa to "transfer" from the old to the new passport.

 

3. If the passport holder submits the form 

ขอให้ย้ายตราประทับลงในหนังสือเดินทางเล่มใหม่
TRANSFER STAMP TO NEW PASSPORT 

to the local immigration office with the required documents, the immigration official places a stamp into the new passport with information linking the new passport to the old passport. In addition, where applicable, visa information and some immigration stamps are copied from the old passport to the new passport. Thereafter, the passport holder no longer needs to carry both passports to travel; the new passport and, where applicable, a printout of the eVisa suffice.

[StayinThailand2much]

Just saw a large number of ads on FB, agents offering the DTV, 'taking care of documents and bank balance'... Is that legit?

[Rob Browder]

4 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Just saw a large number of ads on FB, agents offering the DTV, 'taking care of documents and bank balance'... Is that legit?

"Legit" in Thailand?  No such thing here - but "Normal" would fit.  Covering any required bank-balance is a standard part of Immigration's agent-partners.

[Jess Leland]

Hello,

I tried to find an answer before asking here. 
 

I'm a bit confused about the DTV now. I've heard conflicting information from different seemingly credible sources. 
 

I've talked with a law firm here in Thailand. I met them in-person. The acting director and the Thai lawyer were both adamant I would be allowed to stay for a total of 360 days within a 5-year period. That the validity of the visa is for 5 years but only gives you the ability to live for almost 1 year. No more visa runs or extensions or anything. 360 days maximum (180 + 180).
 

It reminded me of the tourist visa in USA so it made sense. For example, a tourist visa to the USA is valid for 5 years. meaning you have 5 years until it expires, but you can't live there for 5 years of course. 
 

I later read some more stuff and looked at my videos on YouTube. Benjamin Hart with Integrity Legal on YouTube is also insisting that it's for a maximum of 360 (180 + 180) days total within a 5-year period.
 

But I also saw the interview by youtuber RW4U. which was with the Deputy Director General of Consular affairs Dept of MFA. This seemed to make it sound like you could simply leave and come back to restart your time over. 
 

I don't know who to believe at this point.
 

[farang51]

2 hours ago, Jess Leland said:

I don't know who to believe at this point.

This:

2 hours ago, Jess Leland said:

But I also saw the interview by youtuber RW4U. which was with the Deputy Director General of Consular affairs Dept of MFA. This seemed to make it sound like you could simply leave and come back to restart your time over. 

 

You can stay 180 days, then you need to extend at immigration or leave Thailand. You can only extent once, then you need to leave Thailand.

 

Next time you enter Thailand, you get 180 days etc.

 

The visa is valid for 5 years, meaning you can stay up to 5½ years with a few breaks from when it is issued (and entering the last time just before the valid until date).

[Maestro]

On 5/13/2025 at 8:19 AM, Jess Leland said:

...I don't know who to believe at this point.

 

Your experience shows up the uselessness of clueless lawyers who portray themselves as experts in immigration law in Thailand. It's a shame that this situation exists.

[Jess Leland]

On 5/14/2025 at 12:57 AM, Maestro said:

 

Your experience shows up the uselessness of clueless lawyers who portray themselves as experts in immigration law in Thailand. It's a shame that this situation exists.

 

Are they clueless or is it intentional?

[makescents]

Very frustrating application experience.

 

Applied April 8th and had a request for docs April 25th.

 

They requested:

• a bank statement (Fidelity cash management statement was rejected)
• business portfolio (I uploaded a document informing them that I'm employed not freelance)
• tax return (easy)
• business registration of the company - this I cannot obtain. We're publicly traded company so I uploaded the S1.
• Guarantee letter from the company implies that you work remotely (easy)

Now they've come back again today (21/05/2025) asking for:

• a bank statement (Capital One is a bank - what the hell...?)
• business portfolio (uploaded the S1 here because it contains an overview of the company)
• business registration of the company - uploaded the S1 again
• US visa - I'm Canadian and we don't need visas to reside in the US so I uploaded my stamp and I-797 which I coincidentally got this week

 

This is LA consulate.

 

At this point I'm expecting either a rejection or another round of requests. Does anyone have any idea what they actually want in terms of bank statements, business portfolios and the registration?

 

[Briggsy]

@makescents

 

At the London embassy, any document that is not specifically as described is passed to "request for further documents" at the initial stage. I suspect this is done by a lower level MFA employee.

 

After further documents have been submitted, there appears to be some scope for interpretation of the whole applicant's situation. I suspect this is done by a more senior MFA official

 

So, what has happened in your case is absolutely normal. You initially did not provide what was required and a further request for documents was sent back.

 

Many successful applicants have found it a good idea to include a short covering letter with the further documents explaining why they have not provided precisely what is required and why they feel they qualify.

[makescents]

They responded pretty much 5 minutes after I supplied the docs from the second round.

 

They requested my US visa again so I wrote "No visa sticker for Canadian citizens" on the paper along with my stamp. The bank statements were also requested again. This time it said 3 months so I'll supply that.

 

I really hope this doesn't take another month to process.