Thailand Retirement Visa: Requirements, Fees, How to Apply
The three routes from age 50, the ฿800,000 money test and how long the money must stay, health insurance, applying online from home, why switching inside Thailand is now a fallback, and the yearly extension in Chiang Mai.
Thailand's retirement visa is for people aged 50 and over who show ฿800,000 in the bank, ฿65,000 a month of income, or a mix of both. There are three routes: the O-A, applied for from home with health insurance; the Non-O, then a yearly extension in Thailand; and the ten-year O-X for 14 nationalities. Each yearly extension costs ฿1,900, and none of the money rules changed in 2025 or 2026. What changed is the way in, and since 15 September 2026 that means applying from home. This guide takes each route from the application to the yearly extension in Chiang Mai, with every rule dated and sourced at the end.
The three routes
There are three, and all start at 50. The Non-Immigrant O (Non-O) for retirement is a 90-day visa that you turn into a one-year stay at an immigration office in Thailand. The O-A is a one-year visa from your home country, with police and medical certificates and health insurance. The O-X is a five-year visa, extendable to ten, for 14 nationalities with ฿3,000,000 in a Thai bank.
| Non-O | O-A | O-X | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who | 50+, any passport | 50+, living in the country where you apply | 50+, citizens of 14 countries |
| Visa | 90 days, single entry | 1 year, multiple entry | 5 years, plus 5 more |
| Money | ฿800,000, ฿65,000 a month, or both | Same | ฿3 million in a Thai bank |
| Police and medical papers | No | Yes | Yes |
| Insurance | None at most embassies | USD 100,000 or ฿3 million | A Thai policy |
| Fee abroad | US$80 | US$200 or €175 | US$400 or €350 |
| Then | Yearly extension, ฿1,900 | Yearly extension with insurance, ฿1,900 | Yearly check, 90-day reports |
The Non-O gives 90 days and becomes a one-year stay through the yearly extension in Thailand. The O-A, open to any nationality, is valid for a year with multiple entries, each giving up to a year; for it you must be 50 on the day you apply and live permanently in the country where you apply. After the first year, an O-A holder extends in Thailand with insurance or applies for a new O-A from home. The O-X runs five years from your first entry and can be extended once, for five more. Both the O-A and the O-X ask for a police and a medical certificate, and the O-X a short biography too. The visa fees in the table are those of the US missions and of The Hague; the full list is under What it costs.
The Non-O and the O-A lead to the same one-year stay. It is granted under clause 2.22 of Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568, "กรณีใช้ชีวิตในบั้นปลาย" (living out one's later life), for not more than one year at a time and with no cap on how often. The difference is what you carry into it: the O-A brings its insurance with it every year, the Non-O does not.
The ten-year O-X
The O-X is open to citizens of Japan, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. That is the list of the embassy in Washington (1 September 2026), the Immigration Bureau, the embassy in The Hague and the Thai insurers' association. The consulate in Los Angeles lists 18 countries on a page updated 1 October 2026; no notice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms a change, so ask your embassy before you rely on a longer list.
The money goes into a Thai bank in Thailand before you apply, even from abroad: ฿3,000,000, or ฿1,800,000 plus ฿1,200,000 a year of income with the deposit topped up to ฿3,000,000 within the first year. Opening that account takes a visit to a branch in Thailand (only UOB publishes a route through its offices abroad), and Thailand's deposit protection covers ฿1 million per person at each bank. The money stays there a year, then never falls below ฿1,500,000, and may be spent only in Thailand, on uses such as medical treatment, a condo, a car or children's education. Insurance must come from a Thai insurer: ฿40,000 out-patient and ฿400,000 in-patient a year at most embassies, more at some, so follow yours. Holders report every 90 days and attend a check at their immigration office once a year. Inside Thailand, the O-X is applied for on form TM.89 for ฿10,000, more than 15 days before your current stay ends.
Outside those 14 nationalities, the other ten-year routes are the Long-Term Resident visa for wealthy pensioners and a Thailand Privilege Platinum membership. The LTR asks for USD 80,000 a year of pension or passive income, or USD 40,000 plus USD 250,000 invested in Thailand, for ฿50,000 once if collected in Thailand (more at an embassy), with an address report only after each full year without leaving instead of every 90 days, and for US$50,000 of health insurance covering treatment in Thailand, or Thai Social Security, or US$100,000 held for a year. Platinum costs ฿1,500,000 for 10 years with no age, money or insurance test; you still extend each year and file 90-day reports. Our Retire in Chiang Mai guide compares it with the other routes.
The money test
You need ฿800,000 in the bank, ฿65,000 a month of income, or income and savings that together reach ฿800,000 a year. For the visa from abroad, most embassies accept your home bank, in their own currency. For the yearly extension in Thailand, the money must sit in a Thai bank for two months before you apply and three months after approval, and never fall below ฿400,000 after that.
| Way to qualify | Amount | How long it must stay | Lowest balance after that |
|---|---|---|---|
| Savings | ฿800,000 or more in a bank in Thailand, in your own name | 2 months before you apply and 3 months after approval | ฿400,000 |
| Income | ฿65,000 a month or more | — | — |
| Both together | A year's income plus Thai savings, ฿800,000 or more on the day you apply | Savings: 2 months before and 3 months after | Half of the savings |
The rule is two months before you apply; many keep the money there three, to be safe. The holding rules date from 1 March 2019, when they were brought in to end the faking of bank statements, and the order of January 2025 kept them. Keep it in an account in your own name: Immigration's checklist for switching to a Non-O asks for your sole name, and the 2025 order for the yearly extension does not say whether a joint account counts, so ask the office before you rely on one. Lower amounts, ฿200,000 or ฿20,000 a month, apply only to people retired in Thailand continuously since before 21 October 1998.
Keep the balance up all year. Under clause 6 of the order a stay ends by itself when you no longer meet its conditions, and read literally, a balance below the floor is a condition no longer met.
Health insurance
The O-A needs it: cover of at least USD 100,000 or ฿3,000,000 for the whole stay, from a Thai or a foreign insurer, for the visa and again at every yearly extension. The O-X needs a Thai policy. The Non-O, and the yearly extension that starts from it, need none at most embassies, which makes it the route for people insurers turn down. Cover is still wise.
| Route | Cover required | Insurer |
|---|---|---|
| Non-O, then yearly extension | None at most embassies; none for the extension | — |
| O-A | At least USD 100,000 or ฿3,000,000 for the whole stay, for the visa and every extension | Thai or foreign; a foreign insurer signs the Foreign Insurance Certificate |
| O-X | At least ฿40,000 out-patient and ฿400,000 in-patient a year at most embassies; some ask more | Thai only, for every family member |
A Thai policy for the O-A can be bought online through the insurers' association's long-stay site, longstay.tgia.org, which lists about 14 insurers. A foreign policy needs the Foreign Insurance Certificate, completed, signed and stamped by the insurer; for an extension in Thailand, the order adds that it must be certified by that country's embassy in Thailand, or notarised and authenticated. If insurers refuse you, ฿3,000,000 held in a Thai bank for at least two months counts instead, or savings and partial cover that add up to it. Money you show for the ฿800,000 test cannot be counted twice.
Older figures still circulate. The Immigration Bureau's 2019 handbook for the retirement extension, which Chiang Mai Immigration still links, gives the O-A ฿40,000 out-patient and ฿400,000 in-patient. The 2025 order replaced them; those figures are right today only for the O-X.
Retire in Chiang Mai
Areas, rents, hospitals, health cover after 70, pensions and Thai tax for retirees.
Read the retirement guideHow to apply from abroad
You apply online at thaievisa.go.th, to the Thai embassy or consulate that covers the country where you live, and you stay in that country until the visa is issued. You create an account, fill in the form, upload your documents, pay by card and receive the e-Visa by email. Apply one to two months before you travel, and not more than 90 days ahead.
- Pick the mission that covers where you live. The US is split between Washington, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago by state; in Australia, New South Wales residents apply to Sydney and everyone else to Canberra.
- Create an account at thaievisa.go.th with your email and a password; one account can apply for up to ten family members.
- Fill in the form: your passport, where you are now, the mission, the visa type and entries, then your passport page, photo and travel details. Scans go up as JPG files of up to 3 MB.
- Upload the documents for your route (table below), and check them first: a submitted application cannot be edited.
- Pay the fee by card. It is not refunded, even if the visa is refused.
- Answer any request for more documents, then receive the e-Visa by email and print it for the airline and the immigration officer.
Two conditions run through every step. You must be in the mission's country for the whole process: The Hague rejects applicants who are already in Thailand, and Washington cannot issue visas to people there. And the O-A and O-X need proof that you live permanently in that country. Answer requests quickly, too: The Hague cancels an application, without refund, when requested documents do not arrive within 45 days. Before you fly, file the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC), which replaced the paper arrival card on 1 May 2025, in the three days before you land.
Documents by route
| Document | Non-O | O-A | O-X |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passport validity | Set by your embassy | Often 18 months | Often 18 months |
| Photo | Within 6 months | Same | Same |
| Address | Any proof of address | Proof of permanent residence | Same as O-A |
| Money | 3 months of statements | Same; some want a bank letter | ฿3 million in a Thai bank |
| Police certificate | No | Yes, under 3 months old | Yes |
| Medical certificate | No | Yes, under 3 months old | Yes |
| Insurance | No, at most embassies | USD 100,000 or ฿3 million | Thai policy |
| Other | Some: flight and stay | Some: own form, trip record | Short biography |
Passport validity is set by each embassy: Washington asks six months for the Non-O and 18 months from travel for the O-X, and many embassies ask 18 months for the O-A. For the Non-O, any document showing your current address will do: a driving licence, bank statement, utility bill or lease. The money is ฿800,000, ฿65,000 a month or both, usually shown on three months of statements; for the O-X it is ฿3,000,000, or ฿1,800,000 plus ฿1,200,000 a year, in a Thai bank, with a letter from the bank. Police and medical certificates should usually be no older than three months, and the O-X police certificate comes from your countries of nationality and residence. Some embassies add items of their own: a flight booking and where you will stay for the Non-O, their own form and a record of your trips for the O-A.
Where embassies differ
Embassies turn the baht test into their own money and their own banks, so check your embassy's page for the local amount. Only the O-X needs the money in a Thai bank before you apply.
| Embassy or consulate | How the money is shown | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Washington DC (1 July and 19 October 2026) | Three months of statements with at least US$30,000 at each month-end, or at least US$2,500 a month of income | Apply at least 30 working days and at most 90 days ahead |
| Los Angeles (1 October 2026) | ฿800,000, or ฿65,000 a month of income, or both; an original bank letter for the O-A | At least 15 business days |
| London (4 April 2024) | A UK or Irish bank statement: £18,000, or £1,500 a month for 3 months; no screenshots. For the O-X, a Thai bank only | Not stated |
| The Hague (2022–2025) | A ฿800,000 statement, or an original certificate of ฿65,000 a month of income, or both | 5–10 working days; apply 1–2 months ahead, not more than 90 days |
| Canberra; New South Wales: Sydney | Set in the online portal | At least 10 business days, up to 4–6 weeks |
The Hague asks for the most paperwork: birth and population-register extracts and the police and medical certificates, each legalised by the Dutch foreign ministry and then by the embassy, and none older than three months.
What it costs
Each embassy sets its visa fee in its own currency, and none refunds it. Inside Thailand, the fees come from one schedule in baht.
| Embassy or consulate | Non-O | O-A | O-X |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington DC (1 July and 1 September 2026) | US$80, single entry | Not on the pages read | US$400 |
| Los Angeles (1 October 2026) | US$80 single, US$200 multiple | US$200 | US$400 |
| London (4 April 2024) | Not published on its page | Not published on its page | Not published on its page |
| The Hague (30 November 2022) | Not on the pages read | €175 | €350 |
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Non-Immigrant visa, single entry: the baht base embassies convert | ฿2,000 |
| Non-Immigrant visa, multiple entry for one year | ฿5,000 |
| Change to a Non-O inside Thailand | ฿2,000 |
| Yearly extension of stay, form TM.7 | ฿1,900 |
| Re-entry permit, single or multiple | ฿1,000 or ฿3,800 |
| O-X applied for inside Thailand, form TM.89 | ฿10,000 |
| Overstay | ฿500 a day, up to ฿20,000 |
The baht schedule is why the ministry quotes ฿5,000 for an O-A while Los Angeles charges US$200: each mission converts it. On the O-A, the yearly health policy costs more than any fee.
Switching inside Thailand
You can, on paper: a visa-free arrival can be changed to a 90-day Non-O at an immigration office for ฿2,000, filed in person with more than 15 days left on your stamp and the money already in a Thai bank. Since 15 September 2026 visa-free entry gives only 30 days, which leaves about two weeks. Apply from home instead, and treat this as a fallback.
| Item | What the checklist requires |
|---|---|
| Form | TM.86 for a tourist or transit visa; TM.87 for a visa-free entry |
| Copies | Passport photo page, last entry stamp, visa and extension stamps, arrival record |
| Photo | One, 4 × 6 cm |
| Fee | ฿2,000 |
| Money | A Thai bank book and a bank letter, in Thai, to the Immigration Commissioner, showing at least ฿800,000 in your sole name with proof it came from abroad, updated to the day you apply; or an embassy letter certifying a pension of ฿65,000 a month; or both together reaching ฿800,000 |
| Housing | Lease, a copy of the house registration, a location map and rent receipts for the past three months |
| Conditions | In person; your landlord's TM30 receipt; sign every page; bring originals; no application after an overstay |
| Day | What has to happen |
|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive visa-free; your permission ends on day 30 |
| 1–14 | Open a Thai bank account, bring in ฿800,000, have your landlord file the TM30, collect the lease and house papers |
| About 14 | The last day to file with more than 15 days left |
| About 14–28 | Under consideration; the Immigration Bureau's handbook gives 15 days in all |
| About 28 | A Non-O stay of up to 90 days begins; the money now has to sit two months for the yearly extension |
Three things make this hard for a newcomer. The checklist asks for three months of rent receipts, which no one has after two weeks, and no official page says whether Chiang Mai accepts a new lease instead. Opening a Thai account within days is uncertain: Kasikornbank refuses visa-exempt arrivals by name, SCB and ttb ask for a work permit, UOB's list for retirees needs a non-immigrant visa or an embassy letter, and Bangkok Bank and Krungthai leave it to the branch. And no official 2026 notice says whether the new tourism-only entry can still be converted; the checklist dates from 2022. If you are already here with a funded Thai account, call Chiang Mai Immigration on 053 201 755 before you count on it.
The yearly extension in Chiang Mai
You can renew it every year, with no limit: each extension gives up to one year, costs ฿1,900, and is granted as long as you still meet the age and money tests and, on an O-A, the insurance. In Chiang Mai, retirement extensions are made in person at the main immigration office on Airport Road.
Chiang Mai Immigration publishes no retirement checklist of its own. Its site links the Immigration Bureau's handbooks of 8 November 2019, which still cite a repealed order and the old O-A insurance figures. The rules that bind are those of Order 12/2568; the list below puts the order and the handbook side by side.
What to bring
- Form TM.7 with one 4 × 6 cm photo.
- Your passport, with signed copies of the photo page, visa, latest entry stamp and latest extension.
- The signed acknowledgement of the overstay penalties, a form the office provides.
- A letter from your Thai bank certifying the deposit and your bank book, updated close to the day you apply; or your proof of income. A standard bank certificate costs at most ฿100 since 1 July 2026; a letter in a format Immigration sets may cost more.
- On an O-A: the insurance certificate, or proof of the ฿3,000,000 held instead.
- Your landlord's TM30 receipt and proof of your address. They are not on the order's list, but offices ask for them.
- ฿1,900, in cash to be safe.
The calendar
More applications are decided by the calendar than by the documents.
| When | What | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| At least 2 months before you apply (3 to be safe) | ฿800,000 in a Thai bank account in your own name | Clause 2.22(4) |
| Shortly before | The bank letter; the bank book updated | Clause 2.22, documents |
| Before your stamp ends | File the extension with the documents above and ฿1,900 | Clause 2.22; fee schedule |
| Same visit, or a return date | The one-year stamp, or an "under consideration" stamp | Clause 3 |
| If refused | Leave Thailand within 7 days of the end of your permission | Clause 4 |
| 3 months after approval | You may draw the balance down to ฿400,000 (combined route: to half the savings) | Clause 2.22(4)–(5) |
| The rest of the year | Never below the floor; on an O-A, keep the policy in force | Clauses 2.22 and 6.2 |
| Before any trip abroad | A re-entry permit, ฿1,000 single or ฿3,800 multiple | Fee schedule |
| Every 90 days in Thailand | The address report, in person, by post or online | Immigration Bureau |
The order sets no filing window: nothing in it says how early you may apply. Apply before your current stamp ends, and ask the office how early it takes applications. If it needs time to decide, it stamps a date to come back. That is a defined state, not a favour: clause 3 lets you stay while it decides, for no more than 30 days after your old permission ends. Wait for the one-year stamp before you travel, because a re-entry permit protects only the permission you hold when you buy it.
A re-entry permit keeps your stay alive across a trip; without one, the extension ends when you leave. It costs ฿1,000 for one trip or ฿3,800 for several, on form TM.8 with one photo. Every retirement stay also needs the 90-day address report: free, in person, by post or online at tm47.immigration.go.th. An O-A holder who stays past the first year extends here with the policy renewed each year, or applies for a new O-A from home.
Chiang Mai Immigration is at 71 Moo 3 Airport Road, Suthep, Chiang Mai 50200, telephone 053 201 755, call centre 1178. In 2026 the office posted several times about a priority channel for older and disabled applicants at extension time; ask at the counter.
The Chiang Mai Immigration Office guide
Both counters, opening hours, queue numbers, the 90-day report and re-entry permits.
Read the immigration guideRefusal and how to avoid it
A retirement visa is not difficult to get if you meet the written tests, which are the same for every nationality: 50 or over, a Non-Immigrant visa, and ฿800,000, ฿65,000 a month or both. Applications fail on four things: money that has not sat in a Thai bank long enough or has dipped below the floor, an O-A without the required insurance, a past overstay or deportation, and a criminal record.
A refusal follows written rules. Under clause 4 of the order, an applicant who does not meet the criteria must leave within seven days of the end of their permission; one who has already overstayed pays the fine first. Clause 5 lets a senior officer refer an exceptional case to the Commissioner, which is discretion, not a route. Clause 6 ends a stay already granted, by itself, when it is used for another purpose or when you no longer meet its conditions.
| How the overstay ends | Overstay | Ban on returning |
|---|---|---|
| You surrender | Over 90 days | 1 year |
| You surrender | Over 1 year | 3 years |
| You surrender | Over 3 years | 5 years |
| You surrender | Over 5 years | 10 years |
| Arrested and prosecuted | Under 1 year | 5 years |
| Arrested and prosecuted | Over 1 year | 10 years |
Staying without permission is also a criminal offence under section 81 of the Immigration Act, punishable by up to two years in prison, a fine of up to ฿20,000, or both. Section 12 keeps out anyone without appropriate means of living, with a past deportation or with a prison record for more than a petty offence.
- Keep the money in the Thai account for two months before you apply (three to be safe) and three months after, then never below ฿400,000.
- On an O-A, renew the policy before it runs out, for at least USD 100,000 or ฿3,000,000.
- File before your stamp ends, and never overstay, even by a day.
- Use your own documents. Forged bank papers can end in refusal, the loss of your stay and criminal charges, even if someone else made them.
- Buy a re-entry permit before every trip.
The warnings about agents are official. In 2014, after finding passports with fake extension stamps, the Immigration Bureau advised anyone using an agent to ask for Immigration's official receipt for the ฿1,900. In August 2026, after seizing forged bank stamps at a Bangkok visa office whose clients were Thais applying for European visas, officials warned that using forged documents, "even if the traveller did not create them", can affect visa decisions and lead to criminal liability.
What changed in 2025–2026, and what did not
The money test has not changed since 2019: ฿800,000, ฿65,000 a month or both, from 50, with the Thai-bank holding rules in force since 1 March 2019. The rules were reissued as Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568 on 23 January 2025. What changed is the way in: online applications since 1 January 2025, the digital arrival card since 1 May 2025, and 30-day, tourism-only visa-free entry since 15 September 2026.
| Date | Change | Status |
|---|---|---|
| January 2019 | The US, British and Australian embassies stop certifying income for Thai immigration | In force |
| 1 March 2019 | Savings held 2 months before and 3 months after, then at least ฿400,000 | In force, kept in the 2025 order |
| 1 October 2021 | O-A health cover of USD 100,000 / ฿3,000,000 | In force |
| 1 January 2025 | Visa applications online at every Thai embassy and consulate | In force |
| 23 January 2025 | Order 12/2568 replaces the 2023 order: the same money test; O-A insurance at every extension; the combined route's floor at half the savings | In force |
| 1 May 2025 | The Thailand Digital Arrival Card replaces the paper form | In force |
| 15 September 2026 | Visa-free entry of 30 days, for tourism only | In force |
| 30 September 2026 | A bill that would let the police decide whether to keep the 90-day report passes the House, 403 to 0 | Before the Senate, not law (28 October 2026) |
| 1 October 2026 | Los Angeles lists 18 O-X nationalities | Not confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| Draft | Tax relief for foreign income brought into Thailand within a year | Not law |
No official announcement, draft or Cabinet decision to change the ฿800,000, the ฿65,000 or the age of 50 had been published by 26 October 2026.
For US and UK retirees
Yes, Americans and Britons can retire in Thailand on the same rules as everyone else, and both can also apply for the ten-year O-X. Apply online to the mission covering where you live: Washington, Los Angeles, New York or Chicago by state in the US; London in the UK. Neither the US nor the British embassy in Thailand certifies income any more, so the simplest proof is ฿800,000 in a Thai bank.
The US Embassy and the consulate in Chiang Mai "do not notarize income affidavits for any purposes". The British Embassy stopped income letters on 1 January 2019 and says it cannot help with Thai visa applications; Australia stopped on 7 January 2019. Germany's embassy still issues a pension and income certificate for Thai immigration, for €36, the first time in person in Bangkok by appointment. The order asks only for "evidence of income such as a pension, interest or dividends"; which other evidence Chiang Mai accepts is not published, so ask the office before you rely on income.
| United States | United Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|
| Income letter from your embassy in Thailand | No, "for any purposes" | No, since 1 January 2019 |
| Visa fees abroad | Non-O US$80, O-A US$200 (Los Angeles), O-X US$400 | Not published on London's page |
| Money shown for the visa | Washington: US$30,000 at each month-end for 3 months, or US$2,500 a month | London: £18,000, or £1,500 a month for 3 months, on a UK or Irish statement |
| Ten-year O-X | Eligible | Eligible |
| State pension in Thailand | Social Security keeps paying US citizens | Paid every 4 or 13 weeks into a Thai or UK account; frozen at the rate first paid |
| Tax on the state pension | Taxable only in the US (treaty Article 20(2)) | No article in the treaty; both countries may tax it, and Thailand credits UK tax (Article 23) |
| Private pensions | Taxable where you live (Article 20(1)); the US still taxes its citizens | No article; each country's own law |
| Government-service pensions | Taxable only in the US (Article 21(2)) | Taxable only in the UK, unless you are a Thai national living in Thailand (Article 19(2)) |
| Tax return at home | Worldwide income; automatic extension to 15 June; FBAR for foreign accounts over the threshold | Ask HMRC or a tax adviser |
A UK State Pension paid in Thailand does not rise each year: the increase is paid only in the EEA, Gibraltar, Switzerland and countries with a UK social security agreement, and Thailand is not among them. GOV.UK's line that the treaty means you do not pay tax on the same income twice describes a credit, not an exemption.
On the Thai side, Revenue Department Order Por. 161/2566 taxes a Thai tax resident, anyone in Thailand 180 days or more in a tax year, on foreign income in the year it is brought into Thailand, for money brought in from 1 January 2024. Order Por. 162/2566 exempts income that arose before 2024, and the department's own questions and answers add that income earned in a year you were not resident, and capital as opposed to its interest or gains, is not taxed when you bring it in. A proposed relief for income brought in within a year had not become law by 26 October 2026. Ask a tax adviser before you move your visa deposit.
The DTV, if you are under 50
The five-year Destination Thailand Visa for remote workers and Thai cultural courses such as Muay Thai: who qualifies and what it costs.
Read the DTV guideSources, read by 28 October 2026
- Order 12/2568 on extensions of stay, with its annex: clauses 2.20, 2.22 and 3–6 (in Thai) · Immigration Bureau, posted by Chiang Rai Immigration, 23 January 2025
- Types of visa and required documents (codes O2, OA, OX, O7) · Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 31 August 2026
- House of Representatives: committee on the Immigration bills (in Thai) · Royal Gazette, Vol. 143, Part 134 Ngor, 10 September 2026
- The House passes the Immigration bill, 403 to 0 (news, in Thai) · Prachatai, 30 September 2026
- Work closed to foreigners and the penalties (in Thai) · Chiang Mai Provincial Employment Office, via Chiang Mai PRD, 4 April 2024
- Standard documents for the O-A and O-X visas · Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 March 2024
- Non-Immigrant Visa O-A (long stay) · Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 30 November 2022
- Thai e-Visa at every mission from 1 January 2025 · Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 17 December 2024
- Guide to the Thailand e-Visa application · Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Non-O (retirement) · Royal Thai Embassy, Washington DC, 1 July 2026
- Non-Immigrant O-X (long stay) · Royal Thai Embassy, Washington DC, 1 September 2026
- Visa information: jurisdictions and the 30-day exemption · Royal Thai Embassy, Washington DC, 19 October 2026
- Visa fees and validity · Royal Thai Embassy, Washington DC, 19 May 2025
- Non-Immigrant O (volunteer) · Royal Thai Embassy, Washington DC, 1 July 2026
- Non-Immigrant Type O (retirement) · Royal Thai Consulate-General, Los Angeles, 1 October 2026
- Retirement visa · Royal Thai Embassy, London, 4 April 2024
- Non-Immigrant Visa O-A (long stay) · Royal Thai Embassy, The Hague, 30 November 2022
- Non-Immigrant Visa O-X (long stay) · Royal Thai Embassy, The Hague, 30 November 2022
- e-Visa general conditions · Royal Thai Embassy, The Hague, 11 February 2025
- Applying for visas with the embassy · Royal Thai Embassy, The Hague
- Visa · Royal Thai Embassy, Canberra
- Non-Immigrant Visa O-A: insurance since 1 October 2021 and the re-entry permit · Royal Thai Embassy, Ottawa, 22 July 2024
- Non-Immigrant O (retirement) checklist in German, undated, first version · Ministry of Foreign Affairs server
- Non-Immigrant O (retirement) checklist in German, undated, second version · Ministry of Foreign Affairs server
- Non-O to accompany a Thai national: checklist · Royal Thai Embassy, Seoul (Ministry of Foreign Affairs server), 26 January 2024
- Fees, including extensions and re-entry permits · Immigration Bureau, 8 November 2022
- Service fees for foreigners · Government portal thailand.go.th, 2 March 2023
- Change of visa for retirement, 50 years old (Non-O): checklist · Immigration Bureau, February 2022
- Change of visa type: service handbook (in Thai) · Immigration Bureau, 8 November 2019
- Change of visa type for retirement · Government portal thailand.go.th
- Non-Immigrant Visa O-X · Immigration Bureau, February 2022
- O-X service handbook (in Thai) · Immigration Bureau, 8 November 2019
- Extension for retirement, clause 2.22: service handbook · Immigration Bureau, 8 November 2019
- Extension as a family member, clause 2.20: service handbook · Immigration Bureau, 8 November 2019
- Re-entry permit: service handbook · Immigration Bureau, 8 November 2019
- The 90-day report · Immigration Bureau, 14 August 2026
- O-X insurance guideline · Thai General Insurance Association
- Insurers in the long-stay scheme · Thai General Insurance Association
- Front page: 90-day reports online · Chiang Mai Immigration Office, 14 October 2026
- Contact · Chiang Mai Immigration Office
- Service handbooks linked by the office (in Thai) · Chiang Mai Immigration Office, 18 April 2025
- Priority service for older and disabled applicants (in Thai) · Chiang Mai Immigration Office, 22 June 2026
- New 30-day and 15-day visa exemption rules from 15 September · Tourism Authority of Thailand, 1 September 2026
- Thailand Digital Arrival Card · Tourism Authority of Thailand, April 2025
- Overstay measures from 20 March 2016 · Royal Thai Embassy, Abu Dhabi, 24 November 2022
- Immigration Act B.E. 2522, English translation of the 1979 text (sections 12, 37, 81) · ecoi.net
- Long-Term Resident visa · Board of Investment
- TM30 notification · Bangkok University International Center
- Notarials · U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Thailand
- Living in Thailand · GOV.UK, 11 December 2025
- Consular FAQs · Australian Embassy, Thailand
- Pension and income certificate for Thai immigration (in German) · German Embassy Bangkok, 2 July 2026
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- United States–Thailand income tax convention · IRS, 26 November 1996
- US citizens and resident aliens abroad · IRS, 20 October 2026
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- Tax on your State Pension abroad · GOV.UK
- Countries where the State Pension's annual increase is paid · GOV.UK, 9 June 2014
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- New tax laws (to 14 October 2026) · Revenue Department
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Frequently asked questions
Can I work on a retirement visa in Thailand?
No. Thai immigration law bars anyone on a temporary stay from working without permission, the O-A is issued on condition that employment of any kind is prohibited, and a retirement stay ends if it is used for another purpose. Volunteering as the purpose of your stay has its own Non-Immigrant O (volunteer) visa, with a letter from a Thai government body or a registered foundation or association. The Council of State held in 2019 that unpaid volunteering at a charity is not work under the labour law, but no official text says whether you may volunteer on a retirement stay, so ask Immigration first. Teaching needs a Non-B visa and a work permit. Working without a permit can mean a fine of ฿5,000 to ฿50,000, removal from Thailand and a two-year bar on a work permit.
Can my spouse come with me if they are under 50?
Yes. A husband or wife of any age can stay with a retiree as a family member, one year at a time, if the marriage exists both in law and in fact; unmarried partners do not qualify. Your spouse first gets a Non-Immigrant O to stay with family, then extends at the same office as you with the marriage certificate, for ฿1,900. Married to a Thai national? A separate route needs ฿400,000 kept in a Thai bank for the past two months, or ฿40,000 a month, or both combined; as the order is written, the test falls on a foreign husband, or on either partner in a same-sex marriage.
Can I get a Thai retirement visa without funds?
No. Every retirement route requires the money test: ฿800,000, ฿65,000 a month, or both together. Lower amounts apply only to people retired in Thailand continuously since before 21 October 1998. An offer of a retirement visa without money means someone else is supplying the money or the papers, and forged bank documents can bring refusal, the end of your stay and criminal charges.
Is there a 10-year retirement visa in Thailand?
Yes, for 14 nationalities: the O-X, for people aged 50 or over from Japan, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, Canada and the US. It gives five years, extendable once to ten, and needs ฿3,000,000 in a Thai bank (or ฿1,800,000 plus ฿1,200,000 a year of income) and a Thai health policy, with a yearly check and 90-day reports. For any nationality, the Long-Term Resident visa's pensioner category also runs ten years, for US$80,000 a year of pension or passive income.
Can I get a retirement visa if I am under 50?
No. Every retirement route starts at 50, and for the O-A and O-X you must be 50 on the day you apply. Under 50, you can stay as the spouse of a retiree or of a Thai national; on another long-stay visa such as the Destination Thailand Visa, for remote work and Thai cultural courses such as Muay Thai, not retirement; on the education (Non-ED) visa if you will study; or with a Thailand Privilege membership, from ฿650,000 for five years. The education visa and Privilege have no age limit.
The DTV guideHow long is a Thai retirement visa good for?
A Non-O for retirement gives 90 days. An O-A is valid for a year with multiple entries, each giving up to a year. An O-X gives five years, extendable once to ten. On the Non-O and the O-A you then stay a year at a time through the yearly extension, as often as you like, as long as you still meet the money test and, on an O-A, the insurance.
Which retirement visa needs health insurance?
The O-A: cover of at least USD 100,000 or ฿3,000,000 for the whole stay, from a Thai or a foreign insurer, at the visa and at every yearly extension; ฿3,000,000 held in a Thai bank counts instead if insurers refuse you. The O-X needs a Thai policy. The Non-O and its yearly extension ask for none at most embassies.
Will my UK State Pension rise while I live in Thailand?
No. It is paid to you in Thailand, into a Thai or a UK account every four or thirteen weeks, but the yearly increase is paid only in the EEA, Gibraltar, Switzerland and countries with a UK social security agreement. Thailand is not one of them, so the pension stays at the rate first paid.
Can I travel while my extension is under consideration?
Wait until the one-year stamp is in your passport. An "under consideration" stamp only lets you stay while the office decides, for at most 30 days past your old permission, and a re-entry permit protects only the permission you hold when you buy it. Once the extension is granted, buy a re-entry permit before you leave: ฿1,000 for one trip, ฿3,800 for several.
Is Thailand visa-free for US passport holders?
For tourism, yes: since 15 September 2026 US citizens, like travellers from many other countries, can enter without a visa for up to 30 days. That entry is for tourism only and leaves about two weeks to switch visa inside Thailand, so apply for a Non-O or an O-A online before you travel.
Do I need a visa agent for a retirement visa?
No. You apply for the visa yourself at thaievisa.go.th, and you file the yearly extension in person at your immigration office. If you use a service anyway, follow the Immigration Bureau's own advice: ask for Immigration's official receipt for the ฿1,900 extension fee.