Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing this thing they're calling the destination Thailand Visa I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from The Pattaya News, that is thepattayanews.com, the article is titled: Thai Government Introduces Destination Thailand Visa for Digital Nomads and Long-Term Workers.

I want to preface the analysis of what we get into here by saying, this is early days. We haven't seen this actually implemented; we are right on the cusp of June which is apparently when this is going to come into force. Also this is another one of those where they are talking a lot about certain things but I happen to know that under the surface, these folks that are talking about some of the aspects of this possible new Visa, I'm not sure where they get the authority to do it. As we have discussed in the past regarding certain visas that claim work authorization, I've never figured out where they get the authority to claim to be able to confer work authorization because it's my understanding that can only be done through a Work Permit; that's just one example. My point being, and the thing to really understand about this is don't start thinking we know what this thing looks like, we know all the ins and outs, we know all the nuances. It's going to take a few months probably for this thing to come, it sort of propagates through the system if you will for the folks that are in the institutions that have to deal with the visa to get their sort of regulatory guidance in how they need to proceed, it's going to take a minute and it remains to be seen whether or not a lot of these are going to be issued, whether or not it's even all that feasible. There are a lot of variables here, so it's very early, I want to be clear on that. I don't even really love making these videos right at this moment because when it comes to this Immigration stuff, yes I like to have sort of a news component but I like to be able to analyze things after we have started seeing it in practice and as of yet we haven't because it actually hasn't come out yet. That said, let's dig in.

Quoting directly: "A new Visa category, the Destination Thailand Visa will be introduced for Long-Term Immigrant workers," - well first of all they are not Immigrants, they are Non-immigrants, okay? Permanent Residence holders in Thailand have an Immigrant Visa, they are Immigrants. These are Non-immigrants. These are people that are only allowed in Thailand for short bursts of time. Quoting further: "long-term immigrant workers and digital nomads, allowing states of up to 180 days with a Visa issuance fee of 10,000 Baht, valid for 5 years." But then you get into this and it's deeper; it reminds me of the old multi-entry, one year visas. That's kind of what this is looking like to me; it just has sort of a longer sticker validity for lack of a better term. Quoting further: "DTV holders can extend their stay once for an additional 180 days with another 10,000 Baht fee and may request to change the type of Visa within the country, although this will terminate the DTV. DTV applicants must provide financial evidence of a supporter or guarantor with a credit limit of at least 500,000 baht." Apparently there more to it than that, there's like a bond associated with this. I have another video I am making contemporaneously with this when we get into the analysis of that. Stay tuned. Quoting further: "There is also likely to be more requirements for this visa, including potential proof of valid employment with a registered company, released in early June."

Again, a lot of this is up in the air; we don't know exactly how this is going to look. It's going to take a little time for it to play out for us to be able to provide practical guidance. Quoting further: "The DTV Visa does NOT allow "any" digital nomad to stay in Thailand for 5 years, as incorrectly noted by some media. To be clear," and we are not real clear, okay? So everybody, I get it, in good faith is trying to clarify what is going on here and we are all trying to figure it out. It hasn't happened yet. That is part of the problem. Again, it’s why I have been kind of late to the party chiming in on this because it's a lot of speculation until we actually see it implemented. Quoting further: "To be clear, once obtained, it can be used within a 5-year period, for 180 days, and extended once for another 180 days, with a 10,000 Baht filing fee each time. After being used twice, the DTV Visa would expire." So in a sense, it's a multiple entry 5-year Visa that only allows two entries for 180 day increments a piece. Quoting further: "As stated, additional requirements will be released in the near future by the Thai Government and are subject to change." 

Yeah, again this is very nebulous right now. We're not real sure how exactly this is going to look, nor how exactly this is going to play out. We will certainly keep you updated on this channel as it evolves. But bear in mind, you're going to hear a lot of nonsense on the internet from a lot of folks that claim that they are the guru of Immigration and all of this good stuff. Again it's why I have been late to kind of chime in on this because I don't like talking about this stuff in a really kind of speculative manner. I prefer to have some, at least some for lack of a better term, kind of boots on the ground knowledge, at least some experience having dealt with the actual travel document before doing a lot of commentary on the ins and outs and the nuances of it. The fact is it doesn't exist yet. Everything right now remains speculation but again stay tuned as we will keep you updated on this channel as things progress.