Routes we hold for Thailand
What each rule states, as we encoded it from the source. A money threshold that grows with the size of the household is shown for the reference household named under the costs.
Long-Term Resident Visa — Wealthy Global Citizen
Draft — not checked by us yet
We built these rules from the country’s own sources and have not finished checking them line by line.
Never checked · limit 45 days
| Requirement | Rule says | Type |
|---|
| Health insurance covering medical expenses in Thailand | This requirement can be met in more than one way: | Mandatory |
| Health insurance that covers you in Thailand | Must be Yes | — |
| Savings worth at least USD 100,000, held for a year | At least €88,066.93100,000 USD, converted at the ECB euro reference rate for the US dollar (0.880669 EUR/USD, effective 29 September 2026) = €88,066.93 | — |
What the authority states and we cannot test
Quoted in the authority’s own words rather than summarised. No rule of ours tests these.
Provide evidence of financial status including domestic and foreign assets, with total value appraised for at least USD 1 million as of the date of application.
Stated by Office of the Board of Investment of Thailand — Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 of 4 February 2025, "Qualifications, Criteria, and Conditions for Long-Term Resident Visa", issued under section 13 of the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977). The Office's own PDF and its pdftotext extraction, both hashed in the snapshot. The Office publishes it headed "(Unofficial Translation)", so the English is the authority's own rendering of its Thai announcement rather than the operative text., Item 3.1.2, lines 62–64
Provide evidence of investment in Thailand in the name of the applicant of at least USD 500,000. The applicant must invest or hold ownership in one or several of the following investments before the date of application: (1) Thai Government bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance with a remaining time to maturity of at least five years as of the date of application; (2) Direct investment in a private limited company or public limited company or investment in a venture capital company or a private equity trust company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or certified by the relevant authorities; (3) Property.
Stated by Office of the Board of Investment of Thailand — Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 of 4 February 2025, "Qualifications, Criteria, and Conditions for Long-Term Resident Visa", issued under section 13 of the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977). The Office's own PDF and its pdftotext extraction, both hashed in the snapshot. The Office publishes it headed "(Unofficial Translation)", so the English is the authority's own rendering of its Thai announcement rather than the operative text., Item 3.1.1, lines 47–58
or evidence of social security benefits covering medical expenses in Thailand
Stated by Office of the Board of Investment of Thailand — Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 of 4 February 2025, "Qualifications, Criteria, and Conditions for Long-Term Resident Visa", issued under section 13 of the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977). The Office's own PDF and its pdftotext extraction, both hashed in the snapshot. The Office publishes it headed "(Unofficial Translation)", so the English is the authority's own rendering of its Thai announcement rather than the operative text., Item 3.1.3, lines 67–68
Not possess prohibited characteristics pursuant to the laws on immigration.
Stated by Office of the Board of Investment of Thailand — Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 of 4 February 2025, "Qualifications, Criteria, and Conditions for Long-Term Resident Visa", issued under section 13 of the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977). The Office's own PDF and its pdftotext extraction, both hashed in the snapshot. The Office publishes it headed "(Unofficial Translation)", so the English is the authority's own rendering of its Thai announcement rather than the operative text., Item 3.1.4, line 71
applicant must apply for e-Visa via a specific Embassy/Consulate conforming with his/her consular jurisdiction and residency. The applicant is required to upload documents that can verify his/her current residency.
Stated by Office of the Board of Investment of Thailand — LTR Visa Unit, "Visa issuance information", Visa Issuance Info — note on e-Visa issuance overseas
Long-Term Resident visa — Wealthy Pensioner
Draft — not checked by us yet
We built these rules from the country’s own sources and have not finished checking them line by line.
Never checked · limit 45 days
| Requirement | Rule says | Type |
|---|
| Aged 50 or over | At least years | Mandatory |
| Passive income of at least USD 80,000 a year* | At least €5,871.13 per month6,667 USD, converted at the ECB euro reference rate for the US dollar (0.880669 EUR/USD, effective 29 September 2026) = €5,871.13 | Mandatory |
| Health insurance of at least USD 50,000, or a deposit instead | Must be Yes | Conditional |
Long-Term Resident visa — Work-from-Thailand Professional
Draft — not checked by us yet
We built these rules from the country’s own sources and have not finished checking them line by line.
Never checked · limit 45 days
| Requirement | Rule says | Type |
|---|
| Remote-work income of at least USD 80,000 a year* | At least €5,871.13 per month6,667 USD, converted at the ECB euro reference rate for the US dollar (0.880669 EUR/USD, effective 29 September 2026) = €5,871.13 | Mandatory |
What the authority states and we cannot test
Quoted in the authority’s own words rather than summarised. No rule of ours tests these.
SMART Visa "I" — investor in technology-based business
Draft — not checked by us yet
We built these rules from the country’s own sources and have not finished checking them line by line.
Never checked · limit 45 days
We have encoded no rule for this route yet.
What the authority states and we cannot test
Quoted in the authority’s own words rather than summarised. No rule of ours tests these.
Minimum investment of either of the following amounts: Directly investing in technology-based business in the targeted industries in Thailand, as an individual investor or through a venture capital company in Thailand for a total amount of at least 20 million Baht. Directly investing as an individual investor for a total amount of at least 5 million Baht in a startup or an incubation or accelerator program endorsed by relevant agencies.
Stated by Office of the Board of Investment of Thailand — SMART Visa Unit, "SMART I (Investor)": qualifications, criteria and privileges, "Qualifications and Criteria"
The business to be set up or invested in must be certified as technology-based in manufacturing or delivering services in the targeted industries by relevant government agencies such as the National Innovation Agency (Public Organization), Digital Economy Promotion Agency.
Stated by Office of the Board of Investment of Thailand — SMART Visa Unit, "SMART I (Investor)": qualifications, criteria and privileges, "Qualifications and Criteria"
SMART Visa "S" — technology startup entrepreneur
Draft — not checked by us yet
We built these rules from the country’s own sources and have not finished checking them line by line.
Never checked · limit 45 days
| Requirement | Rule says | Type |
|---|
| Savings at least the deposit this route requires* | At least €20,496.11600,000 THB, converted at the ECB euro reference rate for the Thai baht (0.026277 EUR/THB, effective 29 September 2026) = €15,766.24, plus €4,729.87 for the rest of the reference household = €20,496.11 | Mandatory |
| Health insurance covering the whole stay in Thailand | Must be Yes | Mandatory |
What the authority states and we cannot test
Quoted in the authority’s own words rather than summarised. No rule of ours tests these.
Having established a startup company in Thailand, certified as being the ones in the targeted industries by relevant government agencies such as the National Innovation Agency (Public Organization) and Digital Economy Promotion Agency. Holding no less than 25% of the company’s registered capital or a position of a director of the abovementioned company.
Stated by Office of the Board of Investment of Thailand — SMART Visa Unit, "SMART S (Startup)": qualifications, criteria and privileges, and the Office’s own document checklist for qualification endorsement (PDF, with its pdftotext extraction hashed against it in the snapshot), "Qualifications and Criteria", 2-year track
Health insurance policy covering entire course of stay in Thailand, with coverage for hospitalization treatment of no less than 500,000 Baht
Stated by Office of the Board of Investment of Thailand — SMART Visa Unit, "SMART S (Startup)": qualifications, criteria and privileges, and the Office’s own document checklist for qualification endorsement (PDF, with its pdftotext extraction hashed against it in the snapshot), Document checklist item 4, lines 197–198
A month here, for a reference household
Reference household: two adults aged 38 and 37, a one-bedroom home, no children.
Residence fees and health cover are those of Long-Term Resident Visa — Wealthy Global Citizen. The low, middle and high figures are the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles where a publisher states them; each line says who published it.
illustrative Money figures on this page are illustrative unless the figure names its publisher. The illustrative ones are arranged so the shape is right — a larger flat costs more than a smaller one, and the expensive cities are the expensive ones — and they are accurate in nothing. Do not plan on them.
| City | P25 | P50 | P75 |
|---|
| BangkokThis total does not include Building or service charge, Statutory levies and licences, Residence permit renewals and Domestic help, which nobody publishes for this city. It is the sum of what we hold, not of what the household will pay. | not published | €1,639 | not published |
| Chiang MaiThis total does not include Building or service charge, Statutory levies and licences, Residence permit renewals and Domestic help, which nobody publishes for this city. It is the sum of what we hold, not of what the household will pay. | not published | €1,194 | not published |
| Hua HinThis total does not include Building or service charge, Statutory levies and licences, Residence permit renewals and Domestic help, which nobody publishes for this city. It is the sum of what we hold, not of what the household will pay. | not published | €1,337 | not published |
How this country is governed
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2024, on a 0–100 scale the Bank publishes itself. They describe the country, not any city in it.
- Political stability and absence of violence
- 54the World Bank governance score for political stability
- Rule of law
- 53the World Bank governance score for rule of law
- Control of corruption
- 37the World Bank governance score for control of corruption
