Retirees & expats

Who this is for

You are settling in, not passing through. You need a visa that can be extended, a way to hold Thai baht, and a plan for hospitals. This page does not cover marriage, education, or Privilege visas beyond a one-line pointer.

Visa route: Non-Immigrant O / O-A (50+)

Retirement stays commonly use Non-Immigrant O (issued outside or converted in Thailand) or O-A (long-stay, applied from abroad). You must be 50 or older and show 800,000 THB in a bank account, or 65,000 THB monthly income, or a combination totalling 800,000 THB a year. O-A also needs a criminal record check, a medical certificate and health insurance of at least 3,000,000 THB (100,000 USD), including COVID-19 treatment, for the whole stay (thaievisa retirement, Embassy Oslo O-A). Embassy practice differs.

Other long-stay routes: Thailand Privilege (paid membership visa), LTR visa (BOI, 10-year), Non-O marriage, education visa. Check each on its official page.

Stay-length picker

90-day reporting and TM.30

Long-stay foreigners must report their address to immigration every 90 days. Report online (TM.47) at tm47.immigration.go.th, except your first report of a stay, which is in person (manual). TM.30 is the landlord's address notification (tm30.immigration.go.th).

Money

With a retirement O / O-A (a Non-Immigrant visa), Kasikorn and Krungsri say they open accounts with your passport plus a document for your purpose of stay, and Bangkok Bank reportedly accepts retirement visas. SCB and ttb list a work permit. Compare all six banks in the bank table.

Every major Thai bank has its own mobile banking app for QR (PromptPay) payments, transfers and bills, once you have an account (bank comparison). PromptPay (phone-number or national-ID QR) is how markets, street food, and a lot of rent get paid.

Banking and money

Insurance and healthcare

O-A needs health insurance of at least 3,000,000 THB (100,000 USD), including COVID-19 treatment, for the whole stay (Embassy Oslo). Private hospitals are where most expats go for anything serious; public hospitals are cheaper and busier. Pharmacies are widespread for simple meds. Keep a policy that states motorbike, pre-existing conditions, deductible, and evacuation in plain language.

Insurance · Healthcare notes

Long-stay checklist

• Current O / O-A document list from your embassy
• Deposit or income evidence that matches the official threshold
• Health cover that matches O-A rules if you use that visa
• 90-day reporting method chosen
• Landlord knows about TM.30
• KBank document check via LINE @doccheck