Live and work in Thailand for five years, legally.

The DTV is a 5-year multiple-entry visa introduced by Thailand in July 2024. Each entry permits a stay of 180 days, extendable once per entry by a further 180 days at Thai Immigration for ฿1,900. It does not confer the right to work for a Thai employer and is not a work permit.

Two document requirements appeared, dated 31 August 2026 at 00:00 Thailand time: proof of permanent residence, replacing the document indicating current location, and a certificate of criminal record clearance. Nothing else changed. The announcement is national — it says the e-Visa system will require both of every DTV applicant — but missions have updated their own published checklists at different speeds: London and Washington DC list both, while Singapore still asked only for a document indicating current location when we checked on 3 September 2026, and several missions had not yet listed the criminal record certificate at all. What counts as proof of permanent residence also differs sharply: London asks for permanent residence in the UK, Ireland or the British Overseas Territories, while Los Angeles accepts a valid US visa or a driving licence. The accepted age of the police certificate runs from three months at Washington DC and Los Angeles to six months at London. Check the page of the mission you are filing with rather than a general summary, including ours.

No. Since 31 August 2026 the test is residence, not citizenship: the mission asks for proof of permanent residence in the country where the application is submitted. A Turkish citizen with UK indefinite leave to remain therefore files in London, and a Filipino citizen resident in Dubai files in Dubai. The head-office wording allows the criminal record certificate to come from either your country of nationality or the country where you file, but individual missions narrow it — Helsinki names Finland or Estonia, London the ACRO or Irish police certificate, Washington DC and Los Angeles the FBI certificate. Two things make this harder than it sounds. Missions have published the new rule at different speeds: Savannakhet, Kuala Lumpur, Berlin, Washington DC and London had it when we checked on 3 September 2026, while Vientiane, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, Canberra, Ottawa and Tokyo still listed the old requirements. Singapore’s page was updated on 31 August 2026 and had adopted neither new item, although its own older line has granted the DTV only to Singapore citizens and residents since well before the change. And what each mission accepts as proof of residence varies widely: London wants UK indefinite leave to remain or Irish long-term residency, Washington DC accepts a valid US visa or a green card, Los Angeles accepts a valid driving licence, and Berlin wants an ID card or residence permit together with a Meldebescheinigung. So the question is not which mission is easiest, it is which mission your actual residence status entitles you to use and what evidence that mission accepts. If you hold no residence standing anywhere that is currently open to you, there may be no mission you can properly file with right now, and we will tell you that rather than take the work.

Three categories qualify. Workcation: remote employees, freelancers and owners of businesses registered outside Thailand. Thai Soft Power: participants in recognised Thai cultural or wellness programmes such as Muay Thai training, Thai culinary courses, or medical treatment, generally of six months or longer. Dependants: a legal spouse and unmarried children under 20, who apply separately once the primary applicant is approved. Thai language courses no longer qualify under the soft-power category.

฿500,000 — roughly US$15,000 — evidenced by bank statements covering the last three months. Each mission publishes its own fixed local equivalent and they do not agree: £12,000 in London, US$16,000 in Washington DC, US$17,000 in Los Angeles. Meet the figure your own mission publishes, with a margin. Seasoning matters more than the balance on the day: the funds must have been held, not deposited shortly before applying. Insufficient seasoning is the most common reason DTV applications are refused.

No Thai mission publishes a list of financial instruments it rejects, so claims that cryptocurrency, brokerage accounts, pensions or credit are formally banned are not supported by any primary source we could find. What is verified is that missions name a savings or checking account statement as the document, and that the account must be in the applicant’s own name. A wallet screenshot or portfolio valuation gives a reviewing officer no basis to tick the box, so the safe course is to hold the money in an ordinary bank account for three months before filing.

No. Applicants must be physically outside Thailand when they file, and applications are submitted through the Thai e-Visa portal at thaievisa.go.th. Diplomatic missions cross-check entry stamps and application IP addresses, and filing from inside the country results in refusal.

Two separate costs. The Thai government fee is set by each diplomatic mission — nominally ฿10,000, charged as $400 USD in Washington DC and £300 GBP in London — and is paid directly to the embassy. Consultancy fees are separate: Siam DTV charges US$79.90 for a one-hour consultation call, credited in full against any package bought afterwards; US$499 for the Regular package and US$699 for the Premium package; and US$199 per dependant.

You may work remotely for employers and clients based outside Thailand. You may not take employment with a Thai company or perform work for the Thai domestic market, which requires a work permit that the DTV does not confer.

No official processing time is published by the Thai government, and it varies materially between diplomatic missions. Any firm quoting a single universal figure is estimating. A realistic estimate for a specific embassy is established when we review your case.

Yes. A legal spouse and unmarried children under 20 may apply as dependants. Each files a separate application, generally after the primary applicant has been approved. Siam DTV coordinates family applications at US$199 per dependant.

Usually not. Thai banks have increasingly classified DTV holders alongside tourists for account-opening purposes, and some have closed existing accounts on discovering the visa type.

Spending 180 days or more in Thailand within a calendar year makes you a Thai tax resident, which can bring foreign-sourced income remitted into Thailand within scope. Because the DTV permits long stays this catches people out. Take advice from a qualified Thai accountant.

Missions generally expect a programme of six months or longer from a registered provider, and they do verify the provider. A weekend course or an unregistered gym will not support an application. Thai language schools no longer qualify under the soft-power category at all — an applicant on that route needs an ED visa instead.

Government fees are not refundable by anyone. Siam DTV professional fees are non-refundable once work has begun, because the preparation work is performed either way and no consultant controls the mission’s decision. On the Premium package one re-submission is covered where the mission requests additional documents. This is why we review your eligibility carefully with you before any work begins.

No. Siam DTV is an independent private consultancy and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Royal Thai Government or any diplomatic mission. Applicants may apply directly and without assistance at thaievisa.go.th. No consultancy can guarantee that a visa will be granted; that decision rests solely with the Royal Thai Government.