Destination Thailand Visa Gains Popularity Among Expats

[BritManToo]

6 minutes ago, John Drake said:

 

My Twitter/X feed and FB videos seem to have quite a lot of these nomads who make travel videos (mostly from one or two locales outside their condos). They're giving advice on visas, renting condos, and how to get jobs in Thailand. Most are late 20s to early 30s, male, and from the UK or US. Seems to me they're overpaying for most things, but I'm on the outskirts of Bangkok and rarely venture into the interior.

Went to a digital nomads meeting in Chiang Mai last night, almost all frumpy women and a couple of effeminate looking guys.

Ages ranged from early 30s to mid 50s.

[John Drake]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Went to a digital nomads meeting in Chiang Mai last night, almost all frumpy women and a couple of effeminate looking guys.

Ages ranged from early 30s to mid 50s.

 

What is their work? Did they say?

[brianburi]

2 hours ago, ujayujay said:

You have the choice of which country you want to live in. If you are not prepared to follow the rules, you can leave...

not exactly correct.  I thought about retiring to N Korea but a big No No....wrong style of haircut...

[Letseng]

6 hours ago, brianthainess said:

So do you have to show you are earning money from your 'remote' work or can you just get the visa sit back and do naff all ? apart from a boarder run every 6 months ?

Do a cooking class in lieu of remote work.

[gravity101]

2 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Twas and is in some places.

Couple years before Covid. They announced that anyone who left their "residence" and stayed somewhere else for more than a day was required to report themselves to the local immigration office or police station. If you were in a "good" hotel, they'd report you so you didn't have to.

For example, you leave Pattaya and travel to Chiang Mai for 2 days and stay at "mom's" house. Technically on day 2 you are required to notify Immigration of your location.
Then you go to Pai and spend 2 days there. Again, unless you're in a hotel that reports for you, you are supposed to notify Immigration on day 2. 
Then you go to Petchabun for 2 days. Same deal.

And then when you go home, you are supposed to notify Immigration again within 24 hours.

Jomtien was one of the first places to say - "not required so long as you return to the same address already on record".

I recall that people were saying in other places, they did expect you to report in.

But that was years ago and they may have let that one slide to the "too much work - just ignore it" pile like it seems they've  done with the "Bank Book" check 90 days after getting a new Extension of Temporary Stay.

Only a few months ago I tried to get a residence certificate only to told my registered address was some hotel I'd stayed in months ago put of province. Had to go to the main IO to update. Where I got told off for not doing it on my return. A real pain. This was Phuket.

[AdamRich]

4 hours ago, atpeace said:

Planning on trying this visa out this year. Plan on travelling outside the country often and think it might be a good option. 

 

Buying a new car soon and worry about a residency permit which is needed to put the car in your name.  Could always put it in the wife's name but that creates other issues when I cross boarders.  Anyone out there that got a residency permit on a tourist visa/DTV?

All you need for a residency certificate is a copy if the lease where you stay. I have bought 2 motorbikes and gotten many driver's licenses only being stamped in as a tourist.

[AdamRich]

9 hours ago, Lanny Wilkinson said:

Sounds like a great plan.  Does the 500,000 Baht have to be in a Thai Bank or can proof come from a bank from another country? What documentation is required of the 500,000 Baht? 

I went online and was able to print a letter from my brokerage account verifying funds.

[atpeace]

40 minutes ago, AdamRich said:

All you need for a residency certificate is a copy if the lease where you stay. I have bought 2 motorbikes and gotten many driver's licenses only being stamped in as a tourist.

Wow, that is great news.  I'll probably get CoR before applying next week just in case.  It is good for a year I think.  Not 100% sure they issue CoR's in Ubon without a reason but I guess I'll find out.

[AlaskaDave]

8 hours ago, NorthernRyland said:

You'd have to travel out of the country every 6 months though which could be annoying. I'd rather file the papers for the marriage extension than do a car trip to some land border or fly out and come back the next day. All most effort and time than papers at immigration.

 

The big plus for me would be the ability to use money in a U.S. bank as proof of financial viability instead of the money that's currently tied up in a Thai bank account that my wife can't access in an emergency. Every type of non-immigrant visa has drawbacks but I want to make sure my wife is taken care of if I pass away.

[xtrnuno41]

I red about DTV. So if I did ok, I conclude, you can only have DTV if you are a citizen from your country.

If you moved to Thailand, you cant have it.?

You moved and arent a citizen anymore from old country, therefor request rejected and paid for, bye bye 10000 baht, back to the "old" visa again. Those are my thoughts, convince me , Im wrong.

"Despite the ease of online application, DTV requests are referred to respective Thai embassies for consideration and cannot be submitted from within Thailand."

So can you, as a non O now, go to DTV? I dont think so.

 

Also thought, going to Thailand for 5 months, I can have TE and doing a border hop.

No, I cant. Airlines hold me back and I cant fly with them, if I dont hold a visum !

It is the timespan, as i can, if I go lower then 60 days. So I MUST have a visum.

So the airlines will block me going without visum, very probably then.

In the proces booking and visum are connected then and Im red tagged.

 

I could do then with a non o 90 days retirement. Also the border hop then,

However now Thailand introduced the ETA for the TE and you MUST have that one to enter Thailand again.

You have to apply for ETA, outside Thailand and before entering. You also have to do that every time, for your TE, before you enter Thailand. Otherwise you cant get in. SO the ETA is controlling your in coming in Thailand on TE.

 

It is said, the Aussies are in the test fase and already have to do so.

Will the ETA also be a tracker then? Will it run on your phone and collect data?

A clock starts on you and if you are out of time, they know where you are and coming for you.

Thailand already wanted such a thing in the past.

You thought Thailand was easier in rules now, absolutely NOT.

They implement and adjust to close gaps. Total control.

 

[Puccini]

1 hour ago, xtrnuno41 said:

....However now Thailand introduced the ETA for the TE

...

SO the ETA is controlling your in coming in Thailand on TE...

 

There is no TE. Do you perhaps mean visa-exempt entry, for which the acronym VE is generally used?

 

[xtrnuno41]

35 minutes ago, Puccini said:

 

There is no TE. Do you perhaps mean visa-exempt entry, for which the acronym VE is generally used?

 

you are tourist T and you have exempt E so TE

[Woke to Sounds of Horking]

Honestly why does anyone bother with any of the paperwork to stay in Thailand long term?  Last yr it took over a month for the bureauprats to approve my 60 day SETV - plus an extra 10 days b/c they didnt approve of my hotel. Meanwhile if youre Russian or Chinese just come visa free  . . . and stay for eternity, no Qs asked.

 

I will never ever again give them 60 bucks for the privilege, let alone spend hundreds if not thousands to stay long term.

 

Far better options in the region w far less hassle and expense. Cambodge and Vietnam come to mind.

Edited September 7 by Woke to Sounds of Horking

[Woke to Sounds of Horking]

12 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Went to a digital nomads meeting in Chiang Mai last night, almost all frumpy women and a couple of effeminate looking guys.

Ages ranged from early 30s to mid 50s.

Oh really? So youre a digital nomad too then - or did you just go out of curiosity?

Fishy...

[nickmondo]

On 9/7/2024 at 8:04 AM, koolkarl said:

Never ending supply of suckers who will be paying income taxes in Thailand and get absolutely nothing for the money, no health care and no immigrant status.

few, if any, of us suckers will be paying any income tax.

do your research, know what monies to bring to Thailand that are not taxable.

its easy, but probably too much for you to comprehend.

[nickmondo]

8 hours ago, Woke to Sounds of Horking said:

Honestly why does anyone bother with any of the paperwork to stay in Thailand long term?  Last yr it took over a month for the bureauprats to approve my 60 day SETV - plus an extra 10 days b/c they didnt approve of my hotel. Meanwhile if youre Russian or Chinese just come visa free  . . . and stay for eternity, no Qs asked.

 

I will never ever again give them 60 bucks for the privilege, let alone spend hundreds if not thousands to stay long term.

 

Far better options in the region w far less hassle and expense. Cambodge and Vietnam come to mind.

i think you need to swot up on the different visas applicable nowadays.

60 days for anyone nowadays, with an extension of 30 for less money than the Vietnam option.

[koolkarl]

21 hours ago, nickmondo said:

few, if any, of us suckers will be paying any income tax.

do your research, know what monies to bring to Thailand that are not taxable.

its easy, but probably too much for you to comprehend.

Really. You will see soon who will have the last laugh.

[motdaeng]

On 9/7/2024 at 1:58 PM, BritManToo said:

Went to a digital nomads meeting in Chiang Mai last night, almost all frumpy women and a couple of effeminate looking guys.

Ages ranged from early 30s to mid 50s.

 

why did YOU go to that digital nomads meeting? 

[Dart12]

On 9/7/2024 at 9:18 AM, AdamRich said:

Just woke up to mine being approved after so many hoops. I started the process 5 August. US price was $400.

it takes a month to get the visa??

is this always the case? or if I went to like Malaysia or Laos is it a single day process?

**And how many months does teh 500,000 need to be seasoned in my bank account? 

Going back and forth on this and a retirement visa.  

[balo]

On 9/7/2024 at 2:52 AM, Mike Teavee said:

Lots of reports of guys getting DTVs from places like Laos, Vietnam etc... showing money in the bank in their home country

 

So you can basically just show them a screenshot of something you made yourself ,  if you do not have 500k in the bank......

[Denim]

On 9/7/2024 at 3:56 AM, webfact said:

Some agencies in Thailand are already partnering with Muay Thai academies or cookery schools to help applicants meet the visa's enrollment requirements.

 

 

Open a few muff diving schools then stand well back againbst the walls and prepare for a crush of enthusiastic students.

[Dart12]

On 9/7/2024 at 9:44 AM, Tim K said:

Got DTV 4 Sep in Phnom Penh, based on dental appointment,
525k in Kasikorn, no pay slips.
more details in my post

I read your post.

Couple questions:  

1 So you went sept 4 and got the visa sept 4...same day?

2 You mention $400.  So Phnom Penh requires $400 usd fee over and above the 10,000 baht?

2B. if so...why didn't you choose an embassy that had no additional fee?

 

3. Do the 500k funds in the bank accounts need seasoned at all?  or can I transfer them in this month and be fine?

Thanks for any help you can provide in helping me choose this or a retirement visa



 

[Tim K]

37 minutes ago, Dart12 said:

1 So you went sept 4 and got the visa sept 4...same day?

No please read carefully again

submitted 28 Aug, got slip to wait until 04 Sep
(5 business days + weekend = 1 week)

2. Yes they are greedy.
2B tickets to HCMC were more expensive,  I was in P-P before in 2017 making TV, knew the area, was easier for me.

3. Can't say, there are no requirements on the P-P website. if it is at least 2 weeks I think you'd be fine, for a soft-power (medical/classes/festival).
Mine were sitting in the account from November 2023.

[Tim K]

On 9/8/2024 at 2:01 AM, Woke to Sounds of Horking said:

Meanwhile if youre Russian or Chinese just come visa free  . . . and stay for eternity, no Qs asked.

Nope, got grilled on just 1st border run in my life. after 90days in the country this year. 3 friends were grilled the same, 2 weeks later. Stayed same 90 days this year. Warned them to have ticket back home - they did, were allowed in 20 minutes later. I spent 3h at IO.

[Dart12]

ok.  So you had to spend a week out of thailand then.  I'm just trying to account for the full cost and PITA time requirement to do this.

Obviously not as easy as go inside thailand for retirement visa.  While 10,000 is much cheaper, got to account for the required hotel and airline tickets and like you mentioned $400 usd  additional where you got it.

if you don't mind sharing...what were airline tix costing where you went vs MCMC?  I know it changes daily for when I'd really need to search myself.  Just trying to get some broad estimation in my head.

Thanks for sharing everything you did as well!

[Derek B]

On 9/7/2024 at 6:29 AM, AlaskaDave said:

 

I saw a YouTube video a few weeks ago, an interview of an Interior Ministry official, that said the funds did not have to be in a Thai bank. I'm here on a Marriage Visa and would love to be able to use the DVT instead because it would make my life here so much easier. This recent report is encouraging but I'm not planning to apply for one until the details settle. By the way, the Interior Ministry official was positively exuberant about the DVT but it's the Immigration department that controls visas so it would be wise to keep your enthusiasm in check.

 

 

 

 

DTV...................................

[Wongkitlo]

On 9/7/2024 at 11:29 AM, ujayujay said:

You have the choice of which country you want to live in. If you are not prepared to follow the rules, you can leave...

You are obviously not married to a Thai. I moved to Thailand so my wife could be with her family.  Farung married to Thais usually have a lot more connection to Thailand than those on a retirement visa or a dtv/education visa. We have  homes, children, connections in the community,  more likely to speak Thai, visit the temple etc. I was married to a permenant resident applicant in Australia. As soon as she applied she could work, get medical benefits, social support.  In Thailand marriage visa applicants just get to contribute to the mountains of paperwork at immigration