5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Get The Destination Thailand Visa

So, you’ve seen the new Digital Nomad Visa for Thailand – the Destination Visa, and it seems like it could be everything you dreamed of. Well, it might not be as great as you initially thought, and in this article, I’ll show you why it might not be for you, and a better, cheaper option that is pretty much the same visa. Now this doesn’t mean I am against the DTV visa in any way. It is a great option for many people, if they are going to use it for the benefits, but for single, digital nomads, it seems there are better options.

Let’s jump in.

1. It’s Just A Fancy, Dressed Up Tourist Visa

The main attraction of this Visa was to allow foreigners who want to stay in the kingdom longer, more access to residential services. This visa provides you no more access than an ED Visa, Elite Visa, or alternative. You can rent a condo, and get a residency certificate all on a tourist visa. So, if you just want to try out living in Thailand, it makes no sense to deposit the $15,000 USD into a Thai bank account to qualify.

For a small example, to give you an idea of the problems you may run into – if you have a Thai driving license, usually the Department Land of Transport will only give you a temporary 2-year license when you are on a visa THAT ISN’T considered a non-immigrant visa.

This visa ISN’T considered a non-immigrant visa, therefore you cannot get a full, 5-year license or international permit.

There are many other non-immigrant visa benefits, that the DTV does not allow you to qualify for. Essentially making it a fancy, dressed-up, more expensive tourist visa.

2. It’s Not Really a 5-year Visa

While it may tell you on the website that it’s valid for 5 years, if you look at it, it’s really not. The visa allows you to stay in Thailand for 180 days until you have to report to Immigration Division 1, exit and re-enter the country. Upon doing this, you can extend the visa for a further 180 days, but for a fee (10,000 THB).

This gives you a full year in the Kingdom, but if you want to extend further, this has to be approved and CAN be approved for UP TO 5 years. It’s not necessarily concrete.

3. You Still Have To Do Border Runs

As mentioned above, you have 180 days until you have to renew the visa. This requires you to exit the country and re-enter, so you are essentially still having to do border runs (something you might do on a tourist visa), while paying extra for a few, small benefits.

One of these benefits is being able to exit and re-enter the country as many times as you like, provided your visa is still valid. You additionally don’t have to ask immigration to leave, which is one of the great downsides of having an cheaper alternative such as the ED visa

4. You Have To Store 500,000 THB in a Thai Bank Account

While this may not be a problem monetarily for most people applying, it disqualifies quite a few who would want to apply. Firstly, you need to open a Thai bank account, which is impossible to get on a tourist visa without a pricey agent. Now, I’m sure Thailand has a way around this, and upon approval, you will be given a bank account, but the information is still unclear.

If you do have the money, and are willing to store it in a Thai bank account, you will have to do so for the entire duration of your stay. So you are essentially locking up $15,000 USD in an unstable currency for however long you might stay in the Kingdom.

If that’s not a lot of money for you, it could be fine. But, if it is, there are better options for you to stay in Thailand.

5. There Are Minimal Benefits For The Cost

While there are some fantastic benefits for the visa, they are fairly minimal when compared with other non-immigrant visas. If you can apply for a visa such as the retirement visa, this is a far better option, and actually provides you access to residential services. Currently, there are no other visas that provide the same benefits as the retirement visa, apart from the work permit but, for this, you will need to hold a job at a Thai company, which defeats the whole purpose of being a digital nomad.

The benefits of the DTV visa are great, but only in a few cases:

1. Length and Flexibility

  • DTV:
  • 5-year validity period
  • Multiple entries permitted
  • 180 days per stay with extension options
  • No mandatory in-country study requirements
  • ED Visa:
  • 90-day initial validity
  • Regular renewal needed
  • Must maintain student status
  • Tied to educational enrollment

2. Administrative Requirements

Requirement TypeDTVED Visa
ReportingLess frequentRegular check-ins
DocumentationOne-time applicationOngoing school documentation
AttendanceNone requiredMust maintain attendance
LocationFreedom to moveMust stay near school

3. Financial Considerations

  • DTV Requirements:
  • ฿500,000 in bank (one-time verification)
  • Proof of income for 6 months
  • Single application fee
  • ED Visa Costs:
  • School fees
  • Regular visa renewal fees
  • Re-entry permit costs
  • Ongoing course payments

4. Purpose and Activities

  • DTV Allows:
  • Remote work for foreign companies
  • Business meetings
  • Networking events
  • Travel throughout Thailand
  • Multiple business activities
  • ED Visa Restricts To:
  • Study activities only
  • Must attend classes
  • Limited travel flexibility
  • No business activities

Why The ED Visa is A Better, Cheaper Option (For Most)

Having personally gone through the process of getting an ED Visa myself, I can tell you it is incredibly easy to obtain. While you will have to attend Thai school, Muay Thai class or something else, the cost of this is relatively low ($300 USD) and you get to learn a new skill in the process.

This visa initially allows you 3 months in the Kingdom, upon completing those 3 months you have to complete a 90-day report at Immigration Division 1, where you can extend the visa for another 3 months, depending on your course length.

Along with the 90-day tourist visa on arrival you’ll receive, you can do 2 land border runs, which gives you up to 6 months in the kingdom already, free of charge. With the ED Visa on top of this can get 9 months in Thailand from a mere $300 USD payment upfront for a language school, which is why I think it is better for most who are looking to test moving to Thailand.

With the Destination Visa, you need to pay ฿500,000 ($15,000 USD) upfront into a Thai bank account (which disqualifies most people already), then on top of that the price ranges anywhere between ฿9,835 to ฿38,389 ($300 – $1200 USD), depending on your country.

Now, you can keep that money, and get it back. However, with the Destination Visa (if you want to keep it), you will have to have that money stored in your Thai bank account for the duration of your stay.

And while that may seem fine, the THB is a pretty volatile currency to store your money in, especially a fairly sizeable amount.

To top this all off, everything you’re allowed to do on the DTV Visa, you’re allowed to do with the ED Visa. You can:

This honestly, makes the entire process of getting this visa pointless, unless you don’t want to have to spend time in an educational institution during your stay here, and you don’t want to have to report to immigration more frequently.

To Conclude The DTV is Great (For Certain Cases)

Having said all this, I do believe the DTV visa is a great option for people who want to stay in Thailand longer. You don’t have to deal with as many administrative procedures, as many border runs, you can take family, and it’s a more secure visa to get if you want to return to Thailand in the future.

For instance, with the ED visa, upon returning to Thailand, you’re often looked at with scrutiny, because immigration officials know that most people don’t bother going to lessons or attending the course they said they would. This is not a problem if you’re not going to abuse the system and actually take your course, which is why I believe it’s a better, cheaper, lower barrier-to-entry option for most people wanting to try Thailand out.

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