Moving to Thailand: your questions, answered.

With a long-stay visa that fits your age, income and plans. The main routes are the Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa, Thailand Privilege membership, the retirement visa for people aged 50 and over, the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) for remote workers, and family or work visas.

Compare them side by side on our routes page, or answer four questions in the Visa Finder to see which ones fit you.

It depends on your age and income. Over 50 with savings: usually the retirement visa. Working online for clients abroad: usually the DTV. Happy to pay to keep paperwork light: Thailand Privilege. High income or pension: the LTR.

The easiest route is the one you clearly qualify for. Read the retirement visa, DTV, Thailand Privilege and LTR guides.

For the usual yearly extension at age 50 or over: 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account, or a monthly income of at least 65,000 THB, or a combination of the two adding up to 800,000 THB a year.

The extension is renewed every year at immigration, with a fee of 1,900 THB. Details, timings and the bank-letter rules are in the retirement visa guide and extension of stay.

Thailand Privilege (formerly Thai Elite) is an official membership that comes with a long-stay visa. Memberships currently start from about 900,000 THB and cover 5 to 20 years, depending on the tier. It does not give permission to work.

The fee is not refundable, so compare it with the routes you already qualify for. Prices and tiers change: check the official price list before you decide. See our Thailand Privilege guide.

Four groups can apply through the Board of Investment: wealthy global citizens, wealthy pensioners, people working remotely from Thailand, and highly skilled professionals. Each group has its own income or asset test, for example a pension or passive income of US$80,000 a year.

The visa is granted for five years and can be extended for five more while you still qualify. Read the LTR guide and check your category on the official LTR portal.

A five-year visa for remote workers and people taking part in eligible activities such as Muay Thai or Thai cooking courses. Each entry allows a stay of up to 180 days, and you must show at least 500,000 THB in funds.

The DTV does not allow work for a Thai employer. You apply online through the Thai e-Visa system to an embassy outside Thailand. See the DTV guide.

Only with a work permit, or on an LTR visa that includes work authorisation. Retirement visas and Thailand Privilege do not allow work. The DTV covers remote work for employers and clients outside Thailand only.

If you plan to work or run a business here, start with the work permit guide and the business visa.

Yes, on most routes. A married spouse and children under 20 can usually join as dependants, each with their own application. Unmarried partners normally need a visa of their own.

Rules differ by route. See family visas and the marriage visa guide.

A free address confirmation you must make to immigration every 90 days you stay in Thailand without leaving. You can report in person, by post or online. Reporting late costs a 2,000 THB fine.

Leaving the country resets the count. Use the 90-day report guide, or let Khun Boon work out your next date with the date keeper on our home page.

TM30 is the notification that tells immigration where a foreigner is staying. The owner or landlord must file it, usually within 24 hours of your arrival at the address. Immigration often asks for the TM30 receipt before an extension.

Ask your landlord for the receipt when you sign a lease. More in the TM30 guide.

Yes, if you hold an extension of stay and want to keep it when you leave Thailand. Without one, your permission to stay ends at departure. A single re-entry permit costs 1,000 THB and a multiple permit costs 3,800 THB.

Get it before you fly, at immigration or at the airport. See the re-entry permit guide.

You pay 500 THB for each day of overstay, up to a maximum of 20,000 THB, when you leave. Longer overstays, or being caught overstaying, can lead to a ban from Thailand of 1 to 10 years.

If you are already over, act early and do not wait for an officer to find you. Read overstay in Thailand.

Pattaya’s immigration office is in Jomtien, on Soi 5, and serves people living across Bang Lamung district. It handles extensions, 90-day reports, re-entry permits and residence certificates.

Opening hours, what to bring and the quietest times to go are in the Pattaya immigration guide.

Yes, a condominium unit, in your own name, as long as foreign owners hold no more than 49% of the building’s total unit area. Foreigners cannot own land. A house is usually bought on a registered lease of up to 30 years.

Using a Thai company or a Thai person to hold land for you (a nominee) is illegal. Read what foreigners can own and try the ownership checker.

The money must arrive in Thailand from abroad in a foreign currency. Your Thai bank then issues a Foreign Exchange Transaction form, which the Land Office needs to register the condo in your name.

Keep every transfer record. The steps from reservation to transfer day are in buying a condo in Thailand.

At the Land Office the transfer fee is 2% of the appraised value, plus taxes that depend on how long the seller has owned the property. Who pays what is agreed in the sale contract.

Check the split before you sign. See the Land Office transfer guide.

Most people rent first. Six to twelve months in a neighbourhood shows you what you like before you commit, and many long-stay visas never require you to own property.

Browse homes for rent and homes for sale, and read renting in Pattaya for deposits and lease terms.

Jomtien and Pratumnak suit people who want the beach and a calmer pace; Wongamat and Naklua are quieter and further north; the estates of East Pattaya offer houses with gardens and pools at lower prices.

Compare areas in living in Pattaya, then see homes in Jomtien, Pratumnak and East Pattaya.

A couple lives comfortably in Pattaya on about 80,000 THB a month, including rent. A single person can live well on less; a large house and a car push it higher.

Build your own budget with the cost of living guide and the cost calculator.

Yes. Most banks want your passport, a long-stay visa or extension, and proof of address. Some branches ask for a residence certificate or a letter from immigration.

Which banks are easier, and what to bring, is in opening a Thai bank account.

Some routes require it, including certain retirement and LTR visas, and everyone living here should have it. Private hospital bills are paid by you or your insurer.

Compare local and international cover in the health insurance guide.

For a short stay, with an International Driving Permit. If you live here, get a Thai driving licence. It is also a useful form of local ID.

Documents, tests and the Pattaya office are in the driving licence guide.

We are a residency concierge in Pattaya. One desk plans your visa route, your documents, your home and your arrival together, agrees the scope and fee in writing, and keeps your reports and renewals on time after you land.

See the three ways to work with us on the concierge page and how a move runs on our approach.

Every engagement has a fixed scope and fee, quoted in writing before any paid work starts. Official visa, membership and government fees are separate and shown in your budget from day one.

Not sure which engagement fits? Read the Second Home Plan or schedule a first conversation.

No, and nobody honest can. The Thai authorities decide. We choose a route that fits your real circumstances and prepare complete, correct documents, which gives your application its best chance.

Be wary of anyone who promises approval, asks for cash without a receipt, or says you do not need to be in Thailand. Our approach explains what we do promise.

No. The best time is before you choose a visa or a home. One conversation often rules out the routes that do not fit and saves months of reading.

Schedule a consultation and tell us who is moving, when and where you would like to live.

No. You can rent or buy anywhere. We still check that the home works with your visa plan and that the ownership is safe before you pay a deposit.

Browse all homes for sale and rent, each with the ownership questions answered.

Yes. People come to us for a route change, a first yearly extension, a property purchase, or simply to hand over their 90-day reports and renewal dates.

Residency Care keeps every date for you. See the concierge page.

Please do not. Keep sensitive documents out of a first enquiry. Once there is a plan, we tell you exactly what is needed and how to share it safely.

How we handle your details is set out in our privacy notice.