Bring your family on your DTV

The Destination Thailand Visa is issued to one main applicant, the person who qualifies through remote work, a Thai soft-power activity such as Muay Thai or Thai cooking, or medical treatment. Once that visa is approved, the holder's immediate family can apply alongside it on the DTV Dependant route.

This page covers the family side: your legal spouse and your unmarried children under 20. If you still need your own visa, start with our main DTV service and we'll plan the whole family together.

Your legal spouse

The marriage must be registered with a civil authority and backed by an official marriage certificate. A religious ceremony, engagement or years of living together does not count on its own.

Thailand's Marriage Equality Act took effect on 22 January 2025, so a legally registered same-sex marriage should be treated the same as any other. Consulate practice is still catching up in some places, particularly where the marriage was registered in a country that doesn't recognise it. Talk to us before you book, and we'll point you to a consulate that is processing these files smoothly.

Your children under 20

Children must be unmarried and not yet 20 on the day of application. A child aged 19 years and 11 months is eligible; a child who turned 20 last week is not, and there is no flexibility on this.

Adopted children qualify with a formal adoption order. Stepchildren qualify only where you are named as a legal parent on the birth certificate or an adoption order. A married child under 20 is treated as their own household and cannot be your dependant.

Who doesn't qualify

• Unmarried partners, fiancés and long-term partners, even if you share children.
• Common-law spouses without a registered marriage.
• Parents, grandparents and in-laws.
• Children aged 20 or over, even if they live with you and rely on you financially.
• Brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins.

If a family member falls outside these rules, there is usually a better visa for them. We'll tell you which one during your free eligibility check.

Yes. Every dependant application points back to an approved main DTV, so the order is fixed:

1. The main applicant files and receives an approved DTV.
2. Your spouse and each child then file their own dependant applications, each referencing that approved visa.

Some consulates let you submit the whole family in the same window so approvals land together, but dependants are never approved ahead of the main holder. Files sent in too early simply wait or are returned. Migrify lines up your family's applications behind yours so nothing is wasted.

There's no single family file. Your spouse and each child need a complete set of their own, even if you submit on the same day.

Everyone

• A passport valid for at least six months from your travel date, with at least one blank visa page.
• A passport-style photo taken in the last six months, meeting your consulate's size and background rules.
• A completed DTV application, usually through the Thai e-Visa portal at thaievisa.go.th.
• A copy of the main holder's passport photo page and approved DTV.
• Proof of the family relationship (see below).

For your spouse

A marriage certificate legalised for use in Thailand. Thailand is not part of the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille alone is usually not enough. The standard chain is:

1. Certify or notarise the certificate in the country that issued it.
2. Authenticate it with that country's foreign affairs ministry or equivalent.
3. Legalise it at the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in that country.
4. If it isn't in English or Thai, add a certified translation that is legalised too.

A few consulates accept a recent English-language certificate without the full chain, but that is at the officer's discretion. We treat full legalisation as the default unless your consulate confirms otherwise in writing.

For your children

A birth certificate naming both legal parents, or an adoption order, legalised in the same way. If only one parent is travelling with the child, bring a notarised consent letter from the other parent, especially after divorce or separation. It's far easier to carry it and not need it than to be turned away.

Adult dependants and police clearance

Police clearance certificates became part of the DTV requirements from 31 August 2026. Ask us whether your consulate expects one from an adult spouse as well as from you, and we'll match the right certificate to their nationality.

• Names that differ between the marriage certificate, passports and the main holder's passport, often after a name change, divorce or remarriage.
• Birth certificates showing a parent under a maiden name with no document explaining the change.
• Translations by someone the consulate doesn't recognise, or without an official stamp.
• Laminated certificates, which most consulates treat as altered.

Your Migrify case manager checks every one of these before submission, because none of them can be fixed once the file is in the consulate's queue.

It depends on the consulate, and we won't promise more than the rules allow.

The strict reading

The DTV funds requirement is ฿500,000 per applicant. Taken literally, a family of four would need to show ฿2,000,000 in total, and some consulates apply it exactly that way.

What often happens in practice

• The main applicant shows the full family amount in their own account, with a covering letter confirming the funds support the listed dependants.
• Couples use a joint account showing both names and a balance covering the combined amount.
• The main applicant signs a sponsorship letter for minor children, supported by their own bank statements.
• Older teenagers are sometimes asked for their own funds even when younger siblings aren't.

This flexibility isn't written into every consulate's guidance, and it varies from one post to the next. If you can show ฿500,000 per person, do it and the question disappears. If you can't, share your real figures with us and we'll recommend the consulate and document structure that best fits your evidence.

Like the main DTV, dependant visas are applied for from outside Thailand. There is no route that starts at a Thai immigration office. You can apply:

1. Online through the Thai e-Visa portal at thaievisa.go.th, which most Royal Thai embassies and consulates now use.
2. In person or by post at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate, in the few cases the e-Visa system doesn't cover.

Each dependant pays the consulate's DTV fee, normally ฿10,000 per person, sometimes charged in local currency. Families can usually file in parallel at the same consulate and travel together once approved. If family members live in different countries, each can apply where they are, as long as every file references the same approved main visa.

A DTV Dependant mirrors the main visa: five years of validity, multiple entries and up to 180 days per entry. Each stay can be extended once inside Thailand for up to another 180 days at a local immigration office. The extension fee is usually ฿1,900; confirm the current figure before you go.

After that, the dependant leaves Thailand and re-enters for a fresh 180-day stamp. This can repeat for the life of the visa, as long as the main holder's DTV stays valid.

Stay periods run per person, not per family. If your spouse and children arrive on different dates, their stamps will fall out of step. We help you line up entries so extensions and reporting stay simple.

Dependant status relies on the main visa. If that DTV is cancelled, expires or is revoked, expect each dependant's status to be reviewed and, in most cases, to lose its basis. They could generally stay until the end of their current stamped period, then would need to leave or move to a different visa.

Consulate websites don't spell out every detail, and outcomes can vary. If this happens, contact us straight away. We'll work out whether the main visa can be restored, whether your family can change category, or whether a planned exit and re-entry is the safer option.

• A clear answer on which family members qualify, and the best visa for anyone who doesn't.
• One coordinated plan covering you, your spouse and your children, sequenced in the right order.
• Preparation and review of every document, including legalisation, translations, sponsorship letters and bank evidence.
• Consulate selection based on your family's evidence and current processing patterns.
• Help with each e-Visa submission, replies to any consulate requests, and support once you arrive.

Your family is looked after by one dedicated case manager, Amphan, Sai or Rin, from our base on the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi.

Every family is different, so we'll confirm your total before any work begins. The first step is always a conversation, not an invoice.

• A marriage certificate that is apostilled or notarised but not legalised by the Thai embassy.
• Names that don't match across documents, with no name-change paperwork to connect them.
• A child's birth certificate that doesn't name the main holder as a parent, with no adoption or custody papers.
• A child's date of birth that puts them over 20, or differs between passport and birth certificate.
• Filing a dependant before the main DTV is approved.
• Not enough funds shown for the family where the consulate applies ฿500,000 per person.
• Trying to apply from inside Thailand.
• A relationship outside the rules, such as an unregistered partnership or a religious-only marriage.

Almost all of these are avoidable with careful preparation. Never submit altered or borrowed documents: document fraud can lead to refusal, blacklisting and prosecution.

No. Only your legal spouse and unmarried children under 20 qualify, even if your parents rely on you financially. Depending on their age and budget, a retirement visa, a Non-O long-stay visa or Thailand Privilege may suit them.

No. At 20 the dependant route closes. Options include an education visa if they're studying, their own DTV if they qualify, or a tourist visa for shorter stays. We can plan this as part of your family consultation.

Only if the other parent is also the DTV holder's legal spouse. Otherwise, each adult needs to qualify for a DTV in their own right.

Thailand has recognised same-sex marriage since 22 January 2025, so a properly legalised foreign marriage certificate should be accepted. Because some consulates are still adjusting, speak to us first so we can choose one that is processing these applications without friction.

They don't qualify, however long you've been together. You can register the marriage before applying, or your partner can enter on another visa and apply as a dependant once you're married.

The requirement is savings, normally ฿500,000 per applicant in an accessible account. Dependants don't need their own income, though steady income on the main holder's side helps show the family's funds are realistic.

Not for a Thai employer. A DTV Dependant is not a work permit. Remote work for employers outside Thailand is the safe interpretation. If your spouse wants a local job, they'll need a Non-B visa and work permit, which we can advise on.

Yes. International schools regularly accept students holding DTV Dependant visas, and the school doesn't need to sponsor the visa as long as it's valid.

No. What matters is that it's an original or official certified copy from a recognised authority and that it goes through the full legalisation chain, ending at the Royal Thai Embassy in the issuing country.

No. All DTV applications, including dependants, are made from outside Thailand. The simplest approach is a short trip to a nearby country with a Thai consulate on the e-Visa system. We'll plan the exit, application and return as one trip.