The stamp in the passport is the moment you want to exhale and close every visa tab. We get it — we celebrate every approval ourselves. But nearly every unpleasant surprise of DTV life happens after approval, not before, and people come to us with one and the same phrase: “why did nobody tell me sooner.” So we’re telling you now: seven things, in order — from airport trifles to what’s worth knowing before the move.
1. 180 days doesn’t mean “five years ahead”
Every entry gives you 180 days — after that, either an extension on the spot or an exit and re-entry. Both routes work; nothing to be scared of here. The nuance is elsewhere: extension rules differ noticeably from province to province — in one place it’s a formality, in another it’s a quest of its own with extra requirements. So find out how it works in your province ahead of time and plan the extension calmly, not three days before the deadline.
2. TDAC — before you board the plane
The TDAC is the electronic arrival card Thailand has introduced for incoming travellers: you fill it in online before entry. A small thing — right up until you learn about it at the airport, at which point it turns into a bundle of nerves. The cure is simple: before flying to Thailand, check three things — tickets, passport, TDAC.
3. TM30 — a duty your landlord doesn’t know about
The TM30 is a notification of a foreigner’s place of residence — and it’s filed not by the foreigner but by the landlord. That’s the law. In practice the landlord often files nothing, and the one left holding the bag on your next trip to immigration is you: without this registration you can be refused service. Which is why the question “do you file the TM30?” gets asked at move-in, not on the day you’ve already been turned away.
4. A report every 90 days
Live in Thailand for more than 90 days in a row and you notify immigration of your address every 90 days. This isn’t an inspection or an exam — it’s a routine procedure: not hard, just easy to forget. Set a recurring reminder in your calendar and this whole point ceases to exist.
5. A Thai bank account — surprise number one
Let’s say it plainly: opening a Thai bank account on a DTV is extremely hard. Since 2025 banks have tightened up across the board on long visas without work in Thailand, and for those who learn this after the move, it’s the biggest surprise of the whole list. Your financial life — cards, transfers, paying for housing — needs designing before the move, not after the fact. Workable options exist, but they’re individual: this is one of the topics people bring to us most often once they already have the visa. If you’re reading this before the move, you’re right on time.
6. After 180 days in a year you’re a Thai tax resident
Spend more than 180 days in Thailand in a calendar year in total and you’re a tax resident — and bringing money into the country can have tax consequences. The cheerful posts about “a 5-year visa” don’t mention this. It’s a complicated subject, every profile looks different, and no universal advice exists here. There’s one general rule: learn about it before the move, not from a letter from the tax office.
7. Your passport will run out before the visa does
The DTV is issued for 5 years (some posts — until the passport expires), and it can’t be transferred into a new passport. Sounds alarming, but it isn’t a problem: flying with two passports is a standard, widespread arrangement, and the visa in the old passport keeps working. All that’s required of you is to plan the replacement ahead — we broke down exactly how in the article on replacing a passport with a DTV.
Everything on this list is the reason the workshop’s contact stays with a client for all five years of the visa, not just until the stamp lands in the passport. The visa is what we solve most often, but far from the only thing. Run into any point on this list — message us: we’ll take it apart step by step and answer in minutes, not in a day.