Destination Thailand Visa proving very popular

From Pattaya Mail

By Barry Kenyon

The Thai government’s pioneering DTV option for long stay foreigners is stimulating great interest amongst expat communities here and abroad. There are basically three markets: remote workers with contracts from overseas-based companies but no business within Thailand, “soft power applications” from those enrolling on skills-based education courses (or medical treatment) and a family visa for those with legal partners and/or children under 20. No official statistics are currently available, but staff at the Thai embassies in neighboring countries suggest well over 1,000 applications worldwide in less than two months. Most of the visas granted so far appear to be in the digital nomad category.

There are several key advantages to DTV. It has long validity – five years with multiple-entry – which surpasses the traditional one year extensions of stay for retirement or marriage. The official enrolment fee is 10,000 baht ($US30) for an initial 180 days which can be extended for another 180 days, if wished, for a 1,900 baht fee at local immigration. But it is then necessary to leave the kingdom – briefly if you like – and return to begin the process all over again.

There is a financial guarantee of 500,000 baht ($US16,000), but this is cheaper than the much larger sums required for traditional visas or the five years’ Elite which requires a non-returnable 900,000 ($US26,000). Many retirees in Thailand are looking carefully at the cost-benefit analysis. All they have to do is to find a justification to apply for the DTV, although some agencies in Thailand are already partnering Muay Thai academies or cookery schools to prove enrolment in advance of arrival here.

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