Obtaining a Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) in Colombo

Destination Thailand Visa - Colombo

I recently obtained a Destination Thailand Visa from the Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and I thought to document the process. It was a very smooth process, and every interaction with the embassy was friendly and smooth.

100% of my work is online, and because I don't have any business or clients located in Thailand, the DTV visa was a fairly obvious choice. I have been to Thailand several times before on tourist visas and on visa-free entries, and I absolutely loved it there. I loved the food, the scenery was amazing, and even in huge cities like Bangkok, I found serenity in huge green parks, with quite liberal access and variety in entertainment. Being able to stay up to five years in Thailand without visa hassle is worth every baht this visa costs!

I read this excellent post by Chanaka, a fellow digital nomad who obtained this visa at the same consulate last year, and it helped a lot to understand what to expect.

DTV Visa

  • Valid for five years from the date of issue.
  • Each entry allows up to 180 days of stay. You can leave and come back (called a "visa run") to get another 180 days, or extend the visa for 1,900 THB. From what I read, extending the visa is a bit too much of a hassle, and making a quick trip to a neighboring country can be both fun, easy, and even cheaper than the extension fee.
  • Employment prohibited.
  • I don't know if it's allowed to volunteer while you are on this visa, check with the organization you are working with.

Who is it for

  • Digital nomads: Those who can work online and do not make money from any entity in Thailand
  • Soft-power: Cooking classes, Muay Thai, Language classes, etc.

Documents needed for "workation"

  • A bank statement showing a balance of 500,000 THB or higher. I'd recommend 800,000 or so for a good measure. I submitted three statements: one from a USD account outside of Sri Lanka, a PFCA account in a Sri Lankan bank, and an investment account located in Sri Lanka. All three of them had 500,000+ THB each. I could also obtain a Thai-translated statement from one of the banks, so I included it along with the English statement. Two of the statements were for the past six months, and the other was for the whole previous FY, as it's a tax document.
  • A portfolio showing what you do: I submitted screenshots of some of my work, included links to my website and some sites that I maintain.
  • Work contracts: I submitted two contracts with (Dutch) clients, showing the start date, what I do, and what kind of work it is.
  • Cover letter: explaining why I would like a DTV visa, the statements I submitted, a brief introduction to the statements I attached along with the application, and a mention that I fully understand the restrictions of this visa, that I will not find employment inside Thailand.

Applying for the visa

I applied for this visa while I was visiting my parents in Sri Lanka, so I applied online (thaievisa.go.th), and selected the Royal Thai embassy in Colombo.

Each embassy seems to have their own prices for the visa, but it roughly costs 10,000 THB. For my application, I had to pay 120,000 LKR, which roughly converts to 13,000 THB as of today. I suppose it is a bit higher than 10,000 Baht because the Baht is getting stronger, and the Sri Lankan rupee was a bit too turbulent so they set a somewhat healthy margin. Considering that it's a five-year visa without a lot of hassle to obtain it, even this slightly higher visa fee was worth it.

The payment for the visa is done online, and they accept Visa/Master cards.

The questions in the visa application form were pretty clear, your basic information, upload a photo and a scan of the passport bio page, the type of the visa, which flavor of DTV (workation, soft-power, medical, etc), and some information on when you plan to enter Thailand, including a flight number if you travel by air.

You don't have to book any flight tickets or accommodation. These questions only gather some data, but you can take any other flight or stay anywhere else in Thailand too.

Request for additional documents

On the same day I applied and paid for the visa, I received a notification asking to upload additional documents.

DTV - Request for additional documents
Email notification, asking to upload a complete scan of the passport

This is a very common request from most embassies from what I read. I went to a print shop to scan the entire passport, including the empty pages. You can do this from your phone too, using the camera or perhaps with the help of a "scanner" app. I had a print shop nearby so it was quicker for me to just get them to make proper scans.

Right now, the file size for each upload is 3 MB, which means you will have to fiddle a bit with the PDF to make all those pages fit. I scanned the passport pages at 150 DPI at A6 size (each scan output showing two pages of the passport), compressed them using a CLI tool, and combined all of them into a single PDF.

Depending on your application details, they might ask for more information or might just approve or reject the visa.

Visa interview

After I submitted the complete scan of my passport, I received another email the next day, requesting an interview at the Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo. They sent the exact date and time, and mentioned to bring all the documents I have attached to the application.

I went to the visa interview, and there was one British applicant also scheduled for an interview at the same time. The interviewer (a Sri Lankan official) sounded very friendly and professional. We were the only two applicants and there was nobody else in the embassy premises apart from the staff and security.

I had a brief chat with the other applicant. He was studying Thai as part of an online course, and previously had an ED visa. The interview was not in a private room, so I could hear what they talked about (without even thinking of eavesdropping). The interviewer sounded a bit concerned because he was applying for a DTV while studying Thai online. The applicant seemed to convince the interviewer with more documents and an explanation.

Next, it was my turn. He saw that I'm applying for workation path, saw my previous Thai entry stamps, and asked when I returned to Sri Lanka and when was the last time I was there. He asked me if I knew what the conditions for the visa are, and I replied that I will not work in Thailand on this visa, and that it's 180 days per entry. For me, it was a very quick interview, it probably took 3-5 minutes. He smiled and said I will get the response back on the same day or the next day.

Approval

Soon after the interview, the application status changed to Pending approval without an email notification.

The next day, I received an email saying the DTV visa was approved, with the visa document attached.

DTV - approval email
Happy email

On the Thai eVisa website, I can now see the application as well:

DTV - approval from Thai eVisa website
thaievisa.go.th, showing application approved status

Timeline

  • June 01, 02:00 AM: Submitted the application and paid the visa fee
  • June 01, 11:00 AM: Request for additional documents - the passport scan
  • June 01, 07:00 PM: Submitted the passport scan
  • June 02, 11:00 AM: Request for an interview
  • June 07, 10:30 AM: Interview at the Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo
  • June 07, 11:00 AM: Application status changed to "Pending approval"
  • June 08, 02:00 PM: Received approval email.

Overall, obtaining my DTV visa was quite straightforward. The website is reliable and the communication and interactions with both the website and the Royal Thai Embassy were quite easy and friendly. Kudos to them!

A happy drink and a day later, I thought to write this post to document it, and I hope it helped!

Here are some more tips and things I learned about the visa:

  • At least at the Colombo embassy, they accept bank statements from foreign banks and financial institutions. Your mileage may vary, but Wise and Revolut seem to be accepted.
  • They do mention that crypto portfolios are not accepted as financial proof.
  • It may not be necessary to "season" the 500,000 THB minimum required balance, but I did not take any risk with this.
  • The Colombo Embassy seems to request interviews from every applicant, so it's not necessarily a negative response.
  • The Colombo embassy is extremely quick; Chanaka, who obtained the visa before me, had his visa in three days!
  • The embassy has no parking, but you can park in the alley next to the embassy building (although the wall does have a "No parking" sign), or at the Tennis court parking about 100 m on the opposite side.
  • When applying for a workation, make sure to submit some portfolios or contracts. I probably submitted more than it takes, but submitting too many is not going to negatively affect the application either.
  • During the visa interviews, the interviewer might ask you to show the balance on your phone, or speak with you in Thai if you had a previous ED visa. This was not the case for me, but I had read stories that they had to show it on their phone, or speak with Thai with the interviewer.