Nostradamus the seer was very wise not to include the still-evolving DTV in his futuristic predictions. Still, over the course of the last four months, we have learned a lot: Thai embassies and consulates worldwide interpret the published rules and required documentation at their own discretion. In general, the rules have softened so that applicants can apply not only from their main base, but wherever they are on a visa run. But illegal applications from within Thailand remain a risky non-no. After all, your Thai immigration record will show when you are – or in fact are not – resident in the kingdom.
DTV is surely the most successful prior visa in Thai immigration history. No government statistics have emerged. There are around 100 Thai embassies and consulates around the world, although some are not able to process DTVs. A most conservative estimate might be 55 embassies x 10 applications x 100 working days since late-July 2024 = 55,000. Those tentative figures assume some embassies are much busier than others with DTV. With each processing fee averaging around 12,000 baht or US$350, that’s huge cash millions in cumulative treasury income no matter which currency you choose.
The very well-organized Facebook group Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), with 17,000 members, is the key source for information. Slowly but surely, the debate is beginning to concentrate on the future. We already know if DTV visa holders choose to leave the country and re-enter by sea or land or air, they receive another 180 days as this visa resets each time. Very few disputes at immigration entry points have been noted and no old or new documentation (except passport and visa) needs to be shown. This looks very like a tourist visa which can be used without hassle for 180 days at each entry for the full five-year validity period.
But what about the 180 days extension at local immigration offices for those remaining here until the end date in their passport? Nothing is certain as no DTV will be eligible for extension until six months after inception, namely from late January 2025 onwards. Neither the interior ministry nor the immigration bureau have clarified the extension issue. Maybe they never will, which will mean a jumble of reactions up and down Thailand as DTV holders wrestle with decisions by individual immigration officers. That seems an unlikely scenario as heated arguments in long queues at immigration bureaux are about the last reality anyone could want. So maybe the 180 days extensions will, in the end, be generously granted nationwide in a Cabinet email. That would end the debate.
To judge from comments in the DTV Facebook group, visa holders entering the country have been variously advised by immigration officers about the future, mostly saying they simply don’t know or it is too early anyway. Others have been told that extensions, in due course, will be available only in Bangkok’s immigration headquarters or, alternatively, that local officers will need to see again all the documents originally to the Thai embassy on application. These possible outcomes present serious and obvious downsides, not least the domestic travel issues and the fact that application documents produced six months ago are likely to be out of date in many ways. One DTV visa holder was informed that he will need proof that he still has 500,000 baht in a bank account which would be difficult for those who thought cash available and bank accounts were no longer a worry once you had the visa. It’s all guesswork of course.
With less than eight weeks to go until the first DTV visas become eligible for the presumed extension, one can only hope that somebody somewhere in authority is looking at the potential chaos if no announcements are forthcoming. Maybe, after all, there’s nothing to worry about. Or maybe extensions will require an online submission to the immigration bureau. Or maybe the fast-developing TIS, or high-tech Thailand Immigration System recently announced at Suvarnabhumi airport, has some relevance as an Integrity Legal video has suggested. Or maybe major rule changes will be made only in 2026. Soon enough, many thousands of current DTV holders will want to know the answers.
