An agency told me it would be okay if I exit Thailand, apply for the DTV from Vietnam, then, even without approval or rejection, return to Thailand on a tourist visa with safety entry and wait for the DTV inside the country. They claim the reason is that they only need to submit my exit stamp/ entry to vietnam from the passport to apply for the DTV, and whatever happens after that doesn't matter. Is this legitimate? (I suspect it's not.)

28 minutes ago, Unown_0 said:

return to Thailand on a tourist visa with safety entry and wait for the DTV inside the country

You mean return to Thailand visa exempt and wait for email with the DTV e-Visa.

Don't follow the thinking.

To activate the Visa you need to enter Thailand with the e-Visa

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

You mean return to Thailand visa exempt and wait for email with the DTV e-Visa.

Don't follow the thinking.

To activate the Visa you need to enter Thailand with the e-Visa

Thanks for the reply, but I think there might be a misunderstanding about what the agency is suggesting (and what I meant).

The agency is saying:

• Exit Thailand (get exit stamp).

• Enter Vietnam (get entry stamp).

• Use those stamps as "proof" to submit the DTV application (from Vietnam, presumably via e-visa or embassy).

• Immediately return to Thailand right after submitting — even before any approval or rejection comes through — using visa-exempt entry (60 days).

• Then just sit in Thailand on that visa-exempt stay and wait for the DTV e-visa email/approval to arrive later.

Their claim is that "whatever happens after submission doesn't matter" because they supposedly only need the exit + Vietnam entry stamps to file it.

12 minutes ago, Unown_0 said:

Then just sit in Thailand on that visa-exempt stay and wait for the DTV e-visa email/approval to arrive later.

I understood your plan.

Fact is you would end up in Thailand and also have a visa exempt stamp.

When email comes with your DTV you would need to exit Thailand and reenter to activate DTV.

Added note. I have had an agent advise your plan is not appropriate however a chap did exactly what you outlined and prior to expiry of visa exempt stamp exited Thailand and reentered to activate the DTV.

BTW: was Saigon

My advice is to wait in Vietnam till you receive the DTV

This thread suggests your plan possible. Not ideal in my book.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1366999-retirement-extension-nah-i%E2%80%99m-dtv-now/

7 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

This thread suggests your plan possible. Not ideal in my book.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1366999-retirement-extension-nah-i%E2%80%99m-dtv-now/

Thanks for the detailed advice and the link, really helpful!

I get it now: even if approved while back in Thailand on visa-exempt, I'd still need to exit/re-enter to activate the DTV. So rushing back isn't practical anyway.

I'll probably just stay in Vietnam until approval/rejection, much safer.

Quick note: I started a new topic with my full situation (agency offering to provide the missing 500k proof + work contract docs). Could you (or others) take a look and share thoughts?
https://aseannow.com/topic/1389882-anyone-got-dtv-with-agency-help-on-fundscontract/

3 minutes ago, Unown_0 said:

I'll probably just stay in Vietnam until approval/rejection, much safer.

Better idea IMO.

Re the soft power DTV via agent, I had not seen that.

Most agents do the other options. Muay Thai etc

Officially, you must remain within the jurisdiction of the embassy while they are processing the application. Pretend you dropped your passport off at the embassy like the old days. That's still how the embassy sees it.

Regional embassies do in-fact call people in for interviews or request every page of your passport with proof of the current date in order to check that you have not traveled when they feel the need.

22 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

This thread suggests your plan possible. Not ideal in my book.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1366999-retirement-extension-nah-i%E2%80%99m-dtv-now/

Not legit and not possible not always the same. Reminds me of the late 80s,early 90s when it was common among long stayers to have agencies send your passport to embassies abroad, while you stayed on your old visa or VE in Thailand. Once your passport arrives with the new visa (often a one year multiple entry non immigrant from the UK or the US), you exit on your old visa, reenter to activate your new visa, and were good to go. That worked so well for lots of folks for years that people came to think that it must be legit. The only dicey part was the being without a passport for a week or two.

Then one day out of the blue, folks got stopped/arrested, turned out it was illegal after all. But authorities were so overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who had been doing it (probably also because Thai immigration /embassies were in on it ) that that the Thai government said if you get a new passport p) they would forfeit fines, blacklisting, deportations)

17 hours ago, BrandonJT said:

Officially, you must remain within the jurisdiction of the embassy while they are processing the application. Pretend you dropped your passport off at the embassy like the old days. That's still how the embassy sees it.

Regional embassies do in-fact call people in for interviews or request every page of your passport with proof of the current date in order to check that you have not traveled when they feel the need.

That is becoming more difficult with the increasing number of automated gates and stamp less entries, as embassies are not connected to the immigration system of the country they are located in. Your passport alone doesn't tell them anymore where you are.

7 minutes ago, thecyclist said:

Reminds me of the late 80s,early 90s when it was common among long stayers to have agencies send your passport to embassies abroad, while you stayed on your old visa or VE in Thailand.

The OP plan nothing to do with that.

He outlined travel to Saigon, apply for an METV eVisa and return to Thailand enter visa exempt and after the visa is issued at some point exit and reenter Thailand to activate the visa

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

The OP plan nothing to do with that.

He outlined travel to Saigon, apply for an METV eVisa and return to Thailand enter visa exempt and after the visa is issued at some point exit and reenter Thailand to activate the visa

Granted, very different cases.

Nevertheless, both are examples of agencies telling you that everything is above board/legit /safe, and it turns out to be not the case.

Agencies want to make money, and, especially IN LOS, tend to be less than straightforward.

As so often in Thailand, the rules are clear but the enforcement is lacking. Pay your money and take your chances.

With a DTV that is valid for a long time, what I'd be concerned about is that one day an overzealous IO looks up your history, spots that you were in Thailand on the day the DTV was issued and refuses to stamp you in. Then what? You will have no recourse whatsoever.