Thailand DTV visa 2026: requirements, cost and how to apply
Thailand's answer to the digital nomad visa: five years of multiple entries for remote workers and soft-power pursuits, if your savings clear the bar.
The DTV explained: the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) is a 5 year, multiple entry visa for remote workers with foreign employers or clients, and for people joining Thai “soft power” activities such as Muay Thai training or a cooking course. Each entry gives you 180 days, and you can extend once for another 180 days. You need 500,000 THB in savings and the visa fee is 10,000 THB. You cannot use a DTV to work for a Thai company.
- 5 years multiple entry, non renewable
- 180 days per entry, extendable once
- 500,000 THB in savings required
- 10,000 THB visa fee, per person
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The visa launched in July 2024 and has become the default answer to “thailand digital nomad visa”. Since 1 January 2025 you apply online only, through the official Thai e-visa system, and always from outside Thailand.
One more rule to know before you plan around it: the DTV is not renewable. When the 5 years end, you apply for a new visa from scratch. Rules also vary by embassy, so treat everything below as the baseline and check your own post before you file.
DTV key facts
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Visa fee | 10,000 THB, paid in local currency, so the exact amount varies by embassy |
| Required funds | 500,000 THB in savings |
| Validity | 5 years, multiple entry, non renewable |
| Stay per entry | 180 days |
| Extension | Once per entry, 180 days more, 1,900 THB at immigration |
| Minimum age | 20 |
| Dependants | Spouse and unmarried children under 20, each pays the 10,000 THB fee |
| Work for a Thai employer | Not permitted |
| Where to apply | Outside Thailand only, e-visa applications only since 1 January 2025 |
Who qualifies: workcation or soft power
There are two tracks, and your evidence depends on which one you use. The workcation track covers remote employees and freelancers. You prove it with an employment contract from a company outside Thailand, or a portfolio and client contracts if you freelance. Digital nomads, developers, designers and consultants all apply this way.
The soft power track covers people coming for a Thai activity or treatment. Accepted purposes include Muay Thai training, Thai cooking courses, medical treatment and seminars, each proven with an enrolment letter, appointment letter or booking from the Thai institution. Thai language schools no longer qualify, a change embassies applied during 2025, so do not build an application around a language course.
Either way you must be at least 20 years old. Your spouse and unmarried children under 20 can join as dependants on their own DTVs, and each dependant pays the full 10,000 THB fee.
DTV visa requirements and documents
Every application needs the same core set, whichever track you use:
- A passport valid for the length of stay you are requesting
- A recent photograph
- Proof of your current location, because you must apply through the embassy or e-visa jurisdiction covering the country you are actually in
- Bank statements showing at least 500,000 THB or the equivalent in your own currency
- Purpose evidence: employment contract or freelance portfolio (workcation), or an enrolment or appointment letter (soft power)
The money does not need to sit in a Thai bank. Statements from your home bank are accepted, but embassies differ on how many months they want to see. Since 2025 posts have applied the 500,000 THB rule strictly: a lump sum parked in your account a week before applying is a common refusal reason, and many posts now expect the balance held for around 3 months. Whether any post still accepts a sponsor’s or guarantor’s funds instead of your own is unclear, so plan on your own funds.
How to apply step by step
- Confirm your track
Workcation or soft power, then gather the documents above.
- Apply through the official Thai e-visa portal
At thaievisa.go.th, from outside Thailand. Paper applications ended on 1 January 2025.
- Pay the 10,000 THB fee
In the local currency of your application country.
- Wait for approval
Processing time varies by post.
- Enter Thailand
You receive a 180 day stamp on arrival.
The single most common mistake is trying to apply while inside Thailand. You cannot. If you are already here on a tourist entry, you will need to leave and file from another country covered by a Thai embassy.
DTV visa cost
The government fee is 10,000 THB per person, charged in the local currency of the embassy handling your application, so the converted amount moves with exchange rates. Dependants pay the same 10,000 THB each. There is no annual fee after that.
The in country extension costs 1,900 THB, the standard extension of stay fee at immigration offices. You may see 10,000 THB quoted for the extension on older articles, including our own previous guide. That figure conflates the extension with the visa application fee. The extension is 1,900 THB.
Agents charge on top of the government fee for preparing the application, and for straightforward cases you do not strictly need one. Where an agent earns their fee is on embassy quirks: knowing how many months of statements your post wants, and which purpose evidence it actually accepts.
180 days, extensions and the 360 day reset
Each entry on a DTV visa in Thailand gives you 180 days. You can extend that entry once, for another 180 days, at a local immigration office for 1,900 THB. That gives you up to 360 continuous days in the country on one entry.
After the extension there is no second extension, so the practical effect is a reset: leave Thailand, even for one day, and re-enter for a fresh 180 day stamp. No regulation names this a “360 day rule”, it simply follows from 180 days plus one extension. In practice DTV holders time a border trip or a flight home around the deadline.
Two housekeeping points catch people out. If you stay more than 90 consecutive days you must file 90 day reports with immigration like any other long stay foreigner. And overstaying your stamp carries fines and re-entry consequences, so diarise the date; the extension does not happen automatically.
DTV visa tax in Thailand
Spend 180 days or more in Thailand in a calendar year and you are a Thai tax resident, under section 41 of the Revenue Code (Revenue Department). The DTV itself carries no tax exemption. Most holders who use the full 180 plus 180 stay will cross the line in at least one calendar year.
A tax resident is taxed on income earned in Thailand and on foreign income brought into Thailand. Since 1 January 2024 that applies to remitted foreign income whenever it was earned. The Revenue Department has proposed an exemption for foreign income remitted in the year it is earned or the following year, but as of now that is a proposal, not law. Plan on the current rules, not the rumoured ones.
A non resident, someone under 180 days in the calendar year, is taxed only on Thai source income. For rates, filing and what “remitted” actually covers, see our guide to income tax in Thailand.
Do you qualify for the DTV? Take the 60 second check. Tell us your track, your funds and where you would apply, and a visa specialist will check your eligibility against your embassy’s current requirements. Check my eligibility
DTV vs LTR vs Thailand Privilege
The DTV is the cheap, flexible option of Thailand’s three long stay routes. The LTR visa runs 10 years and largely frees you from immigration admin, but the Work from Thailand Professional track requires around US$80,000 a year in income, against the DTV’s 500,000 THB in savings. Thailand Privilege asks for no income at all, just money: membership starts at 650,000 THB for 5 years.
| DTV | LTR | Thailand Privilege | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | 10,000 THB | 50,000 THB | From 650,000 THB |
| Validity | 5 years | 10 years | 5 to 20 years |
| Stay per entry | 180 days | Continuous, 1 year reporting | 1 year |
| Financial bar | 500,000 THB savings | US$80,000/yr income (WFTP track) | Membership fee only |
| Remote work for foreign employer | Yes | Yes | No work rights |
Rough rule of thumb: qualify for the LTR and want a decade of certainty, take the LTR. Want long stays without proving income, and can pay for it, Privilege. Everyone else working remotely, the DTV.
What to do next
Check your track, then check your embassy. Confirm you have 500,000 THB seasoned in your account, gather your contract or enrolment letter, and file through the e-visa portal from outside Thailand. If your funds are borderline or your embassy’s document list is unclear, get the application checked before you pay the 10,000 THB fee, because the fee does not come back with a refusal.
Two practicalities DTV holders ask about: opening a Thai bank account (possible but branch-dependent on a DTV) and the real cost of living.
DTV visa FAQ
Can I work for a Thai company on a DTV?
No. The DTV only covers remote work for employers and clients outside Thailand. Working for a Thai company requires a separate visa and a work permit.
How long can I actually stay without leaving Thailand?
Up to 360 days: 180 days on entry plus one 180 day extension at immigration for 1,900 THB. After that you leave, even for a day, and re-enter for a fresh 180 days.
Does the 500,000 THB have to sit in a Thai bank?
No. Bank statements from your home country are accepted. Embassies differ on how many months of statements they want, and many now expect the funds held for around 3 months rather than deposited just before applying.
Can my spouse and children come with me?
Yes. Your spouse and unmarried children under 20 can apply as dependants, and each pays the 10,000 THB visa fee.
Do digital nomads on a DTV pay Thai tax?
If you spend 180 days or more in Thailand in a calendar year you become a Thai tax resident, taxed on Thai income and on foreign income you bring into Thailand. A proposed exemption for income remitted in the year it is earned is not yet law.
Can I apply for the DTV inside Thailand?
No. Applications are accepted only from outside Thailand, through the official e-visa system, at the post covering the country you are in.
What counts as a soft power activity?
Muay Thai training, Thai cooking courses, medical treatment and seminars, each backed by an enrolment or appointment letter from the Thai institution. Thai language schools were removed from the list in 2025.
Is the DTV still available in 2026?
Yes. The changes since launch: applications are e-visa only since 1 January 2025, the 500,000 THB requirement is enforced strictly with roughly 3 months' seasoning expected, and language schools no longer qualify as soft power.