How to apply for the DTV, step by step
You apply for the DTV entirely online, through Thailand's official e-Visa portal at thaievisa.go.th, and only from outside Thailand. The path is the same for everyone: create an account, select the visa and your category, fill the form, upload your documents, pay, and wait for the approved e-visa to arrive by email. The detail lives in the uploads and the follow-up, and that is where applications stall.
The application at a glance
| Where you apply | the official e-Visa portal, thaievisa.go.th |
| From where | outside Thailand only |
| Document format | PDF or JPEG, one file per category, typically up to about 3 MB |
| Photo | taken within the last 6 months |
| Payment | by card, inside the portal |
| What you receive | an e-visa PDF by email, not a passport sticker |
Everything runs on the official e-Visa portal
There is one place to do this: thaievisa.go.th. Since early 2025, DTV applications go through the e-Visa portal, which runs in English, Thai, Chinese, Russian, and Japanese. The whole process is driven by email, so register with an address you actually check. Requests for more documents, and the visa itself, all land in your inbox.
The DTV application, step by step
- 1Register on the portal
Create an account at thaievisa.go.th with an email you check daily. Every message comes through it.
- 2Select the visa and category
Choose the Destination Thailand Visa and your basis: remote work, a soft power program, or being a dependent.
- 3Fill the form
Your permanent address outside Thailand, your occupation, and the details that match the category you picked.
- 4Upload documents and photo
One file per category, each under 3 MB, plus a photo taken within the last 6 months. Full list on the requirements and proof of funds pages.
- 5Pay the fee
By card, in the portal. The amount is set by your embassy, so check the DTV cost page for your post.
- 6Submit and wait
The embassy reviews and may email for more documents. Timing varies, covered on the processing time page.
- 7Receive the e-visa
The approved DTV arrives as a PDF by email. Print it, keep a copy on your phone, and show it at immigration.
Upload rules that trip applicants up
Most avoidable rejections happen at the upload stage, not the decision. The portal takes one file per category, so several bank statements or contracts have to be merged into a single PDF. Each file has to stay under the portal's size limit, around 3 MB as of July 2026, and be a PDF or JPEG, so confirm the current cap on the portal itself. The photo must be a recent, proper visa photo taken within 6 months, not a phone selfie. Get these right and you skip the most common round of bounce-backs.
What happens after you submit
From here it is an email relationship. The embassy may write to ask for a clearer document or an extra one, and until you answer, the review pauses. That is why an unwatched inbox is such a common cause of delay. When the case is approved, the e-visa arrives as a PDF, not a sticker, and you carry it printed and on your phone. The final decision is always the embassy's.
Application mistakes that cost time
- Applying from inside Thailand, which is rejected outright. Apply from outside.
- Uploading several files to one category instead of merging them into a single file.
- Oversized or wrong-format files that the portal bounces back.
- Registering with an email you do not check, then missing a document request for weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Related DTV pages
Want your application checked before you hit submit?
We go through your portal entries and uploads against your embassy's rules: the merges, the file sizes, the photo, the category details. You fix the weak spots before the application goes in, not after a bounce-back or a refusal.