What the DTV actually cost, and how long it took
The fee
Four hundred US dollars, and the receipt says not refundable on its face. That matters more than it sounds: you are paying for the application to be considered, not for a visa. A refusal costs the same as an approval.
Personal details redacted. What is left is the part that is the same for everyone: the embassy, the date, the visa type, the amount, and the words Visa Fee is not refundable.
The timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 24 Jul 2025 | Fee paid at the embassy |
| 13 Aug 2025 | e-Visa issued — 20 days |
| 22 Aug 2025 | Arrival card filed, landed Bangkok |
One data point, not a service level. Embassies differ and so do months. But it is a real one, which is more than most timelines you will read.
Five years, and the part people miss
Five years of validity, multiple entry. Identifiers removed.
Five years of validity is not five years of stay. The visa lets you keep arriving until 2030; each arrival is a separate permission to stay, and that is the number your lease has to survive — not this one.
Which is where most of the trouble actually starts. A five-year visa and a twelve-month standard lease sound compatible. They are not the same clock.
Send me the three condos that will sign your paperwork
Tell me your dates, budget and which district you are looking at. I will come back with three places whose landlords actually do the documents — and what each one will and will not sign.
Get the shortlist →Next: The lease term nobody advertises · What your lease has to do · What you pay up front
Not immigration or legal advice. This page explains what a landlord and a lease need to do. For the application itself, use a licensed agent or the official channels. We rent condos — that is the part we know.