The official Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) fee is 10,000 THB per issuance. That is the number on the embassy invoice, and for a lot of applicants it is close to the whole story. But "DTV cost" and "DTV fee" are not the same thing. The total you actually spend depends on whether you extend inside Thailand, how many documents you have to translate and certify, and whether you apply yourself or pay an agent to do it for you.
Here is the full breakdown, with the verified 2026 figures, so you know exactly what the DTV costs before you start.
TL;DR — what the DTV actually costs in 2026
- Official visa fee: 10,000 THB per issuance / entry-permission.
- In-Thailand extension: 1,900 THB to extend one stay from 180 to 360 days.
- 500,000 THB savings: a requirement, not a fee — it stays your money.
- Translation / notarisation: roughly 1,000–5,000 THB depending on your documents and country.
- Criminal record certificate: required since 31 August 2026; you pay whatever the issuing authority charges.
- DIY total: about 10,000–15,000 THB for the first issuance.
- With an agent: the official 10,000 THB plus a service fee — ours is a flat quote up front, no markup, no upsell.
The 10,000 THB official DTV fee
The headline cost is the government fee: 10,000 THB, paid per issuance. This is set by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (TAT Newsroom, July 2024), and every Royal Thai embassy and consulate has taken applications through the e-Visa system since 1 January 2025. The DTV is a 5-year, multi-entry visa, so that single 10,000 THB buys you five years of validity and unlimited entries, each entry granting a 180-day stay.
A few cost details that trip people up:
- It is per entry-permission, not strictly per visa. The 10,000 THB is the fee tied to the issuance. Re-entry on the same valid DTV does not cost another 10,000 THB at the airport — your 180-day stamp is granted on arrival.
- Currency conversion. Most embassies bill in local currency at their own posted rate, so the amount you pay in USD, EUR, or your home currency may drift a little above or below the THB figure on any given day. Some missions set a local fee well above it: the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington lists US$400, the Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City US$340, and the embassy in London £300 (checked September 2026).
- No discount for the savings. Holding 500,000 THB does not reduce the fee. The fee is flat regardless of which DTV category (Workcation or Soft Power) you apply under.
The DTV is one of the cheaper long-stay options Thailand offers, which is exactly why it gets compared against the LTR visa and the Thailand Privilege Card. For a full eligibility and process walkthrough, see our master DTV complete guide for 2026.
The 180-day extension: 1,900 THB
Each DTV entry gives you 180 days. You can extend that once per stay by a further 180 days from inside Thailand at an immigration office, which is where the second cost appears.
The DTV extension fee is 1,900 THB, paid to Thai Immigration. That is the standard fee for any extension of temporary stay (Samut Prakan Immigration fee schedule). Some guides quote 10,000 THB for the extension; that is the visa fee, not the extension fee. The extension takes a single 180-day stay up to a full 360 days without leaving the country. After that you do a border run or fly out and back, and your next entry resets the clock with a fresh 180 days — at no additional visa fee, because your DTV is still valid for the full five years.
So the realistic recurring cost picture looks like this:
| What you're paying for | Fee (2026) | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Initial DTV issuance | 10,000 THB | Once (valid 5 years) |
| 180-day in-country extension | 1,900 THB | Each time you extend a stay |
| Re-entry / new 180-day stamp | 0 THB | On arrival, while DTV is valid |
| Re-issuance after 5 years | 10,000 THB | Once the DTV expires |
If you live in Thailand close to full-time and extend every stay, budget roughly 1,900 THB per year in extension fees (one extension per 360-day stay), on top of the one-off 10,000 THB issuance fee. If you come and go and never extend, your only fee for five years is the original 10,000 THB.
The 500,000 THB is a requirement, not a cost
This is the single biggest source of confusion in every "how much does the DTV cost" search. The 500,000 THB in savings is not a fee. You do not pay it to anyone. It is the financial threshold you must prove to qualify — money that stays in your own bank account and is yours to spend the moment the visa is stamped.
Two things matter about it for budgeting:
- The money is yours. It never leaves your account during the process. It is collateral on paper only.
- It must be seasoned. The 500,000 THB (about US$15,500 at mid-2026 rates) has to sit in your own account for at least 3 months before you apply. Dropping a fresh lump sum in the week before applying is the most common reason DTVs get rejected — a rejection that costs you the 10,000 THB fee with nothing to show. We break down exactly how to avoid that in the 500k seasoning rule guide, and the related pitfalls in why DTVs get rejected in 2026.
So when an agent quotes you a DTV "price" that bundles in the 500k, walk away. Nobody charges you the savings requirement. It is your money the entire time.
Translation, notarisation, and document costs
These are the genuinely variable costs, and the ones most cost breakdowns skip. Depending on your DTV category and the embassy you apply at, you may need:
- Translated documents — employment contracts, freelance agreements, or proof-of-activity letters that aren't in English may need certified translation. Figure roughly 500–1,500 THB equivalent per document.
- Notarisation or certification — some posts want a notarised copy of a contract or a letter confirming remote work. Notary fees vary widely by country, commonly 500–2,000 THB equivalent.
- Bank letters — a few applicants pay a small fee (often under 500 THB) for an official bank statement letter to accompany the standard statements proving the seasoned 500,000 THB.
- Criminal record clearance certificate — required for every DTV application since 31 August 2026, issued by your country of nationality or the country where you apply (MFA announcement, Royal Thai Embassy Vientiane). The fee is whatever the issuing authority charges (an ACRO certificate in the UK, an FBI check in the US). Missions set how recent it must be: London wants one issued within 6 months, the US missions an FBI certificate within 3 months, so an old certificate may mean paying twice.
- Soft Power documentation — Muay Thai, Thai-cooking, or medical-treatment applicants may need an acceptance or booking letter from the Thai provider, which is usually free but occasionally carries a deposit.
For a clean Workcation application with English-language documents, translation costs are often zero. For a more complex file, budget 1,000–5,000 THB, plus the criminal record certificate. None of this is a Thai government charge — it is third-party paperwork cost. Translation is avoidable if your documents are already in English; the criminal record certificate is not.
Where you apply also affects cost. Since 31 August 2026 you must apply through the Thai mission for a country where you are a national or permanent resident, so you pay that mission's local fee. If you live in Thailand or travel without permanent residence anywhere, budget for getting to your home country to apply. See where to apply for a DTV.
DIY vs. agent: the honest pricing comparison
You can apply for the DTV yourself. The e-Visa portal is functional, and for a straightforward Workcation case with seasoned funds and clean documents, plenty of people do it solo for just the 10,000 THB fee plus whatever minimal translation they need.
Where an agent earns their fee is on the cases that get rejected: borderline seasoning, weak proof-of-activity for remote work, Soft Power applications, or embassy-specific quirks. A rejection doesn't just cost the 10,000 THB — it costs weeks of re-seasoning and a second application.
| DIY | With our service | |
|---|---|---|
| Official visa fee | 10,000 THB | 10,000 THB (unchanged) |
| Service fee | None | Flat fee, quoted up front |
| Document review | You decide what's enough | We check it before you pay the embassy |
| Rejection risk | On you | We flag the seasoning/proof traps first |
| Hidden markup | — | None |
Here's the part most agencies won't put in writing: every other agent hides their fees and upsells you on extras. We publish every price, and we'll tell you when you don't even need us. For a clean DTV, that's often the case — apply yourself and save the service fee. When your situation is genuinely messy, we handle the application end to end for a flat fee with no markup on the government cost.
See exactly what we charge on the services page, or get a straight answer for your specific case with the visa finder tool.
How the DTV cost compares to other Thailand long-stay visas
Context helps. The DTV is cheap relative to the premium long-stay routes:
| Visa | Official cost | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| DTV | 10,000 THB per issuance | 5 years, 180 days/stay |
| LTR visa | 50,000 THB | 10 years |
| Thailand Privilege (Bronze) | 650,000 THB membership | 5 years |
| Thailand Privilege (Reserve) | 5,000,000 THB membership | 20 years |
The trade-off is stay length and reporting. The DTV is the lowest-cost option but caps each stay at 180 days (360 with the extension) and is not a residency path. The LTR gives you a continuous 10-year stay with no 180-day reset, and the Privilege Card buys convenience and longevity at a far higher price — see the side-by-side in our Elite vs. LTR comparison and the full Thailand visa costs guide for 2026. If you're weighing the financial thresholds across visas, the financial requirements page lays them all out.
Immigration rules change frequently. The figures above were checked in September 2026, but verify the current DTV fee, extension fee, and document requirements with the Thai embassy handling your application or another official source before you apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the DTV visa cost in total in 2026?
The official DTV fee is 10,000 THB per issuance. For a straightforward DIY Workcation application with English documents, that's close to your full cost — budget 10,000–15,000 THB once you add any translation or notarisation. If you extend your stay inside Thailand, add 1,900 THB per extension. The 500,000 THB savings requirement is not a fee; it stays in your account.
Is the 500,000 THB part of the DTV cost?
No. The 500,000 THB (about US$15,500) is a financial requirement you prove, not money you pay. It must sit in your own bank account, seasoned for at least 3 months, and it remains yours after the visa is issued. Any agent who bundles it into a "price" is misrepresenting the cost.
How much is the DTV extension fee?
The in-Thailand DTV extension costs 1,900 THB, paid to Thai Immigration. That is the standard fee for an extension of temporary stay. It extends one 180-day stay to a full 360 days. You can do this once per stay. Leaving and re-entering on the still-valid DTV gives you a fresh 180-day stamp at no additional visa fee.
Do I need to pay an agent for the DTV?
Not usually. A clean Workcation DTV with seasoned funds and English-language documents is something many people file themselves for just the 10,000 THB fee. An agent is worth it for Soft Power applications, borderline seasoning, or weak remote-work proof, where a rejection costs you the fee plus weeks of delay. We charge a flat service fee quoted up front, with no markup on the government cost.
Does the DTV fee change at different embassies?
The 10,000 THB government fee is the baseline across the e-Visa system, but you pay in local currency and each mission sets its own figure. Some are well above 10,000 THB: Washington lists US$400, Ho Chi Minh City US$340 and London £300 (checked September 2026). You can't shop around for a cheaper mission: since 31 August 2026 you must apply where you are a national or permanent resident. See where to apply for a DTV.
