Last week I met a couple (US and Aus citizens) who were travelling to Laos to try applying from there since their applications in Vietnam failed so I wouldn’t count on Vietnam being the answer. For the best chance of being accepted I would apply from your home country. For me the process was easy and I had the visa in 2 weeks (UK)

I did it in Vietnam and was fine. Didn’t have to prove any residence there. Supposedly Hanoi are more relaxed than Ho Chi Min but who knows

Nice one Cal, see you soon? 🏝️😉

Thanks for the info. How long has it been since you got your visa?

😬

Same with me - I just needed to give them a booking ref from my hotel

What a great username and pfp

Lmao that's irony. In general southern Vietnam has the reputation of being more relaxed to the point that northerners view it as lazy. The north has the reputation of letting themselves be overworked and being more rude

I will try it out and let you know the result.

Think its the thais working in embassy who determine it

I applied online from Spain, no need to go to any office. I had all the needed documents so I didn’t have any issues

Where did you read this?

I can’t find the exact website.
But I have found and article related to it

https://www.dtvvisathai.com/blog/thailand-dtv-visa-tax-implications-2025

That’s why you exit after 6 months

it’s 180 days per year even if you leave and come back on the same year. If you leave at 6 months and come back the next year then it’s ok

Looking for monthly rental in Koh Samui 3bed3bath starting end of this month

If anyone has any referrals would love to hear before I book something on Airbnb 🫶

You only have to declare what you have entered to the country. If you earn 100k in 2026, but you only entered (any kind of transaction in thailand) 10k, you only pay taxes for those 10k.

Also I think we are in the same boat in the battle vs the Spanish hacienda 😆

I bet 99% of people who stay over 6 months - dont bother to file taxes because thailand isnt going to do anything about it anyway.

Apply for work from Thailand category then

Will just use a retirement visa. Im 50+ - Really hard figuring out why the LTR even exists. Seems a terrible choice in almost all choices.

If anyone is interested to teach English in Chiang Mai (safely) you can dm me

safely ??

Teach English to whom?

Anyone have experience with the DTV, specifically the workation one? I applied for it and thought it would be easy with the amount of details I provided. Then they requested a second round of pretty borderline invasive requests.

You may feel it’s invasive but it’s requirements

So you have experience with it?

I applied through the Thai embassy in Paris. They asked me a few follow-up questions as well to make sure I was legit, but it was ok. I got the approval a few days later

Cool that’s what I was looking for.

I also had around 6 follow ups so don’t worry, I finally got approved. The worst thing (at least months ago) was that the documents had maximum file size so it was a bit hard to include everything in 3mb

Hi,

anyone keen to do a shared coworking in Ko Samui next week?

Any recommends for a place to work there? :)

Thanks in advance 🙏🏼

Hey guys, does anyone know places to stay in Phuket that aren't too expensive?

By 6 followups, do you mean emails back and forth? Or repeated interviews?

Hi Chris, I'm thinking about flying to Samui on Saturday, what are you planning?

Yes I mean emails back and forth. Everything online and had to apply it again with requested info on their website

Hi Andi,

I dm you :)

Anyone hanging around Phuket in August?

Rawai and Chalong

Hi everyone!

Bit nervous typing this because it's my first ever solo trip

I'm heading to Patong, Phuket in October, and it also happens to be my birthday while I'm there, so I'm hoping to make it a memorable one.

I'd love recommendations beyond the usual tourist lists. Hidden gems, cafés, local food, viewpoints, fun experiences, or anything you genuinely think is worth doing solo.

Also, if you've got any tips for a first-time solo female traveller, I'd really appreciate them. I'll happily take all the advice I can get and if anyone from this group is around Phuket around the same time and would be up for grabbing a coffee or exploring for a bit, do let me know would really love to catch up.

I would recommend you going to pang na by motorbike and explore the area. At least 2 days

Hey! Anyone subletting the apt in BKK next week? Or has any recommendations other than bnb and booking?

for how long are you looking

For a week now, its 2ppl - me and my boyfriend

I'm looking get into Muay Thai to get DTV.
Any gym suggestions for that?

ChillInn Coworking in your best option

Thank you, appreciate it 🙏🏼

I don't agree it's a joke. There's 4 sane avenues to it, though they all revolve around the $80k USD income, one way or another.
Not sure why you jumped to rental properties, but plenty of people have 80k passive income per year through any number of means.
None of those paths are useful to me, and I kinda wish one of them was.
I've had Elite for 5 years, and I wouldn't recommend it to most people, to be honest.
The things the LTV does give you that are advantageous over Elite are
90 day reporting extension to 1 year. Not all of us are in BKK to have Elite do the first non-online 90 day for us, and it's about 50/50 if you can push it through online first time each return.
Exemption of 4-1 employment ratio
Work permit ( Though it's digital only, which doesn't help me )
Tax exemption for overseas income
The kicker for both of them, for me, is that you can't apply for PR on either of them.
I could switch to LTR, but instead I'm just going to go for my own local company and work permit.
It's inconvenient in some ways, needing more visits to immigration, but I've found Elite to be a PITA when companies and agencies don't know what it is.
( 1 out of 4 Banks was a problem, 1 in 2 Car purchases was a problem, and 1 in 4 bike purchases. In all cases, they had copies of what they expected to see, and couldn't/wouldn't deviate from that. I sense this might be a problem more in my area of Thailand, though )
TooLate;ReadAlready: LTR isn't a joke. But it's contextual. Don't use if it doesn't work for you, but there's real benefits over Elite that I'd personally value.

The remaining good parts of Phuket haha

vufaydsrfgp thankyou soo much for helping out , I have not locked in anything yet open to recomendations

Set 1:
Check out promthep cape (easy trek) and
cape krathing for amaaazing views, but longer and little tough depending on your fitness (start 2hr before sunset, there is a return wagon arrangement from the top)
There are nice cafes nearby (summore day cafe, recommended for excellent view)
There is a windmill viewpoint
And two serene beaches (yanui and nai harn, if you want to snorkel)

Another set:
Checkout cafes and markets in old town, nothing more interesting than walking around there (tun-ka cafe for city view with good food)


Another set of activities:
While Patong bangla road is fun for night life
Watch sunset at freedom beach
After sunset have your dinner in malin plaza and enjoy some street shopping

There is bangla boxing stadium, if that thing interests you
Nearby Banzaan fresh market: decent fresh food items, fresh fruits


If you have more time:
Do spend a night or two and enjoy the night party at the freedom bar, 11pm-3am
Phi phi islands
maya beach, beautiful but a little crowded
I found bamboo beach much more interesting
Do not waste your time on monkey island, lagoons or other activities
Phi phi island itself has nice streets and market
Avoid swimming near the beach there

Hello I am Phuket until 5 august if you are here we can meet

hey everyone, just came back from 2 months Thailand. Anyone got tips on saving money while travelling?

only got tips on how to make more money :)

😂😂 when I went to Thailand this year spent like 5x of what I had planned to stay

👍

Any recommendations for good value (<$600/month) 3 month rental in Bangkok?

Hey anyone going to LLM Mastery in Chiang Mai on the 14+15 november this year?

Interesting your renewal offer had a discount.

Also good information that the Thai elite has issues once in hand and trying to use for living.

The DTV makes it easier regarding tax residency for some people as it's remitted income.

What I've been told is keep all receipts and ATM withdrawal receipts and then that final number you pay tax on.

Problem with DTV is what happens in 5 years, will there be another VISA, will reapplication be allowed, will there be a cool off period?

Bigger problem with DTV is bank account, IMO 🙂

Any website for the event ?

Yes but can’t share links here

Hey everyone! My name’s Ruslan. Finally pulled the trigger on nomad life. I’m from Toronto and do ecommerce. Also big on AI and organic social media (tens of millions of views).

Landing in Bangkok in October. If your interests align, send me a DM - looking forward to connecting with y’all!

Hey! Planning a 1 month stay in Chiang Mai, do you think I need DTV visa? I will be working for a UK company remotely

try to get Revolut and Wise bank accounts in whatever country you can. Wise never checks again to confirm your residency somewhere. One simple destination is Georgia, you could open a local bank and Wise there pretty quickly, and then use throughout the world. Not sure if Revolut is available

1) Wise does check and change. It’s moved several accounts to being Thai residency that I know of.
2) sure, but I really did mean Thai bank accounts. My neighbours got their Thai bank closed when they switched to DTV from elite. That’s a massive problem for Thai residents.
QR scanning is just one requirement I was referring to.
Admittedly, the new Thai wise accounts give you QR scanning, but they hamper absolutely everything else.
3) I have a TBC Georgian account. I don’t see how that ha when you are in Thailand

1 - when did they check and change it? How did that happen? I myself called them when moved Netherlands - Bali - Thailand etc. asking if i need to update my residency and they said i don't have to :)

Sorry. I wasn’t clear enough originally. Bigger problem with DTV is that they will close your Thai bank account and/or refuse to open a new one.

ah ok i see. yeah annoying being without Thai bank

I posted the update when it happened. I think about 5 months ago. It’s Thailand specific, to cater for Thai government rules.

have you updated your address manually for some reason or how did they know you moved to Thailand? E.g. my wise still has a dutch address that i left 4 years ago already.

My wise is still not Thai address. My mothers was re-assigned because thai address. A few others were told to update their address documents because of spending habbits.

Hey! any recommendations for places to stay/work from in Chiang Mai?

Alt_Chiang Mai and Alt_Ping River