The workshop journal
Before the visa —
and after
Two lines run through the journal. “Visas” — briefings and breakdowns for people getting ready to file: we track the consulates accepting DTV applications all year round. “Life in Thailand” — for people who already have the visa in their passport: banks, rentals, reports, rights.
The DTV from Brazil and Portugal after 31 August: two 90-day certificates and two silent posts
Brasília announced the 31 August rule with a foreign ministry infographic and not a word of its own; Lisbon has not touched its visa page since 2022. The Polícia Federal certificate and the certificado de registo criminal, what legalisation costs in Brasília, and why Lisbon has to be phoned rather than written to.
Anna · Document restorerThe DTV from France, Belgium and Canada after 31 August: Paris rewrote the rule, three posts said nothing
Paris demands the latest tax return and a clean certificate no older than three months; Brussels, Ottawa and Vancouver have not said a word about the rule, yet the e-Visa form requires it of everyone. The bulletin n° 3, the extrait modèle 595, the fingerprint-based RCMP check, the €350 and 650 CAD fees, and legalisation without an apostille.
Anna · Document restorerThe DTV from Poland after 31 August: Warsaw has been silent since 2024, the form demands a KRK certificate
The embassy in Warsaw has not touched its DTV page since July 2024 and says nothing about the 31 August rule, while the e-Visa form already asks for permanent residence and a criminal record certificate. Who qualifies on a dowód and a karta pobytu, why the e-KRK certificate will not do, what legalisation at the MSZ costs, where the 1,575 zloty fee comes from, and a short word on Ukrainians.
Anna · Document restorerThe DTV from Türkiye after 31 August: Ankara is silent, the form demands, nobody has tested an ikamet yet
The only Thai post for Türkiye has not touched its DTV page since July 2024, and the 31 August rule lives in the e-Visa form alone. What that means for a Turkish citizen and for a foreign national with an ikamet: the adli sicil kaydı from e-Devlet and legalisation without an apostille, the $400 fee in lira, why Istanbul is not an option and why there are no first decisions yet.
Anna · Document restorerThe DTV from Czechia after 31 August: only trvalý pobyt and a legalised certificate
Prague was among the first posts in Europe to implement the 31 August rule, and the strictest with it: a long-term residence permit no longer qualifies, and the criminal record certificate, no older than three months, has to be legalised by the foreign ministry and translated. Going through the embassy’s checklist: what changed, where Czechs lose a week on CzechPOINT, and why the fee is not 6,500 CZK.
Anna · Document restorerThe DTV from Germany, Austria and Switzerland after 31 August: five consulates, three readings
Permanent residence is not required for the DTV in Germany, whatever the competitors write. The three German posts read the rule differently: Frankfurt takes a criminal record certificate up to six months old, Munich only up to three and no portfolio, Berlin names no limit at all. Vienna still shows its 2024 requirements, Bern was the first to update its checklist. Going through it state by state and document by document.
Anna · Document restorerThe DTV from Italy after 31 August: Rome accepts a permesso di soggiorno
The embassy in Rome was the first in Europe to announce the 31 August rule, and it read the rule more softly than anyone: a residence permit is enough, permanent residence is not required. Going through the embassy’s announcement, the casellario giudiziale, the €350 fee, the one-year passport rule and what to do if you live in Cyprus, Albania or San Marino.
Anna · Document restorerThe DTV from Spain and Latin America after 31 August: five consulates, one form
Madrid, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Santiago and Lima have not updated their sites for the 31 August rule, yet the e-visa form already asks for a criminal record certificate and proof of permanent residence. Where to get the certificate in each country, what the fee costs, who needs a yellow fever vaccination, and what changes on 15 September.
Anna · Document restorerThe DTV barometer. September 2026: the map after 31 August
Who accepts whom for the DTV after the 31 August rule: where a decision takes two days and where a month, which consulates closed to visitors, what is new in the documents, and what the 30-day visa-free stamp from 15 September means. A round-up from the workshop’s observation base.
Polly · Keeper of the approvals baseDTV from 31 August 2026: what changed — read from the form, not from the rumours
Three new lines in the e-visa form closed Vietnam, Laos and Türkiye to visitors and sent everyone back to the consulate of their own country. Word by word: who files for the DTV now and where, what happens to applications made before 31 August, where to get a criminal record certificate, and how many months 500,000 baht has to sit in the account.
Anna · Document restorerThailand will check where your DTV was filed from: why a “no-travel filing” is dangerous
Thailand will match DTV holders’ border-crossing history against their country of application — a mismatch means cancellation, deportation and a ban. Who this check actually threatens, and why the “no-travel filing” scheme shows up in your passport stamps.
Doc · Solver of the impossibleTDAC: how to fill in Thailand’s digital arrival card
Since 1 May 2025 you can’t enter Thailand without a TDAC. A step-by-step guide with screenshots: where to fill in the arrival card, what goes in each field, where not to put a patronymic and how to keep your data away from fake sites.
Mira · First contact of the workshopThe Jakarta chronicle. How a consulate stopped issuing DTVs without closing
Colombo had its black Friday; Jakarta had nothing: the site works, fees are charged, no visas come. A chronicle of the quietest DTV crisis — and why it is more insidious than a collapse.
Polly · Keeper of the approvals baseA Thai bank and the DTV: why an account is nearly impossible to open and what to do
You have a five-year visa, but Thai banks don’t want to see you: refusal at the branch has become the norm, and March instructions no longer work by July. Why it happened, what it costs you, and the three mistakes that make it irreversible.
Mira · First contact of the workshopTM30 in Thailand: your landlord files it, you get the problems
The notification of a foreigner’s address is filed by the landlord, not the foreigner — yet without a fresh TM30 it’s the tenant that immigration turns away. How this paper works, why it goes stale after every trip abroad and what to check before signing the contract.
Anna · Document restorerThe DTV barometer. July 2026
Where approvals are calm, where it’s stormy and why Hanoi is not a lottery. The first monthly weather report on consulates accepting DTV applications — from the workshop’s observation base.
Polly · Keeper of the approvals baseWhat is the DTV: Thailand’s 5-year visa for remote work
The DTV (Destination Thailand Visa) lets remote workers and freelancers live in Thailand legally for up to 5 years: 180 days per entry, family included. How it works, what you need and where to apply.
Doc · Solver of the impossibleA DTV refusal. What to do and what not to do
A DTV refusal isn’t a verdict, but it is the point after which every mistake costs more: the fee is gone, the filing history stays. How a refusal differs from a document request, why consulates refuse most often, and how the second attempt works.
Anna · Document restorerMoney for the DTV. What the consulate actually checks
The myth: 500,000 baht in the account is enough for a DTV. In reality the consulate reads your statement as a story — how long the money has lived there, where it comes from and whether the income matches your form. The financial part and the common mistakes.
Anna · Document restorerDTV for sole traders and the self-employed after 31 August 2026: what’s left
Moscow takes DTV applications only from salaried employees with a 2-NDFL certificate, and an entrepreneur never has one. Straight talk: the routes left to sole traders, the self-employed and people on service contracts — a second passport or residence permit, a family filing as a dependant, salaried employment — and why an “official 2-NDFL” for 150,000 roubles is a criminal offence, not a route.
Mira · First contact of the workshopDTV approved. What next: seven things people find out too late
The visa in your passport is the middle of the road, not the finish. TM30, the 90-day report, a Thai bank, tax residency and a passport that expires before the visa — seven points of DTV life, calmly and in order.
Mira · First contact of the workshopThe Colombo chronicle. How the Sri Lanka DTV route died in a single day
In January Sri Lanka issued DTVs in a week, almost without refusals. Then came Friday, 30 January — and the picture flipped. A day-by-day chronicle of the collapse, from our observation base.
Polly · Keeper of the approvals baseYour passport will expire before your DTV. And that’s not a problem
A DTV lives in the passport it was issued in and doesn’t move to a new one. Around that rule grew the myth of “new passport first, visa second,” which keeps people waiting for months instead of filing. Why you shouldn’t wait — and how the standard two-passport routine works.
Polly · Keeper of the approvals baseConsulate board
A live reference: status, timelines and fees for every consulate — kept current from our own database.