Moving to Thailand

Pick your visa before you do anything else, because it decides how long you can stay, whether you can open a Thai bank account and what insurance you need. Since 15 September 2026 most Western visitors get only 30 days visa-free, so “turn up and sort it out later” no longer works.

This is the order I’d do things in if I were moving to Thailand today. I use Australia for the home-country examples, but the same steps apply if you’re leaving the UK, the US, Canada or New Zealand.

Step 1: Choose your visa

Arriving without a visa, Australians and most Western passport holders now get 30 days, not 60. Check your own nationality on the TAT list. You can extend once at immigration for another 30 days (1,900 THB, about A$81), and you can only enter over land on the exemption twice a calendar year. Before you fly, fill in the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card online. Ignore look-alike sites that charge for it.

To actually live there, you need one of these:

If you’re 50 or over and not working, the retirement route is the standard one. You can get the O-A from your home country before you go, or arrive on a Non-Immigrant O and extend it in Thailand each year. The Thailand retirement visa guide covers both.

If you’re under 50 and work remotely for an overseas employer or your own clients, the DTV is the obvious choice. From Australia it costs about A$600 through the Thai e-Visa website. Since 31 August 2026 you have to apply in your country of citizenship or permanent residence and include a police clearance, so the old trick of applying from Laos is gone. The DTV doesn’t let you work for Thai companies, and many Thai banks won’t open an account on it.

The LTR suits high earners and wealthy retirees. It runs for 10 years, swaps 90-day reports for an annual one, and costs 50,000 THB (about A$2,100).

Step 2: Sort out tax, super and accounts at home

Most of the expensive mistakes happen here, before you leave. These are the Australian versions. If you’re from elsewhere, ask the same questions of your own tax office, pension and health system.

• Tax residency. Leaving Australia can change your tax residency, which changes how your rent, dividends, shares and home sale are taxed. Thailand also taxes foreign income you bring in if you live there 180 days or more in a year. Read the Australian expat tax guide and see a registered tax agent who handles departures.
• Super. Leave it where it is. Check whether the insurance inside your fund still covers you overseas.
• Medicare. It never covered you in Thailand, and you lose it once you no longer live in Australia. Plan your health insurance around that.
• Bank accounts. Some accounts are for Australian residents only. Check each one before you rely on it. See the expat banking guide.
• Your home. If you might sell, get advice first. Selling while you’re a foreign resident can cost you the main residence exemption.
• Mail and phone. Set up Australia Post mail redirection, and keep an Australian mobile number on a cheap plan so security codes still reach you.

Step 3: Find somewhere to live

Book a serviced apartment or monthly Airbnb for your first four weeks, then look in person. Don’t sign a 12-month lease from overseas for a place you haven’t seen.

Typical asking rents for a one-bedroom condo:

Your landlord must report you to immigration within 24 hours of you moving in (the TM30 form). Ask who’s doing it, because you’ll need the receipt later. The apartment-hunting guide covers viewings, contracts and scams.

Step 4: Open a Thai bank account

You’ll want one for rent and bills, and on a retirement visa it holds the money the visa requires. Kasikorn (KBank) and Bangkok Bank are the usual choices.

Banks have tightened up since 2025 because of scam “mule” accounts. They generally want a non-immigrant visa (not a visa exemption stamp, and often not a DTV), your passport, a home-country ID such as a driver’s licence, and sometimes proof of address or a letter explaining why you’re in Thailand. Some branches ask for more, so if one says no, try another.

To move money across, use a transfer service rather than a bank SWIFT transfer. The money transfers guide compares them.

Step 5: Buy health insurance

If you apply for the O-A from home, you must show health insurance with at least US$100,000 (3,000,000 THB) of cover for your whole stay. The old 40,000 / 400,000 THB minimum you’ll see quoted online no longer applies to O-A applicants. Policies from overseas insurers are accepted if the insurer fills in the official certificate.

Buy cover even if your visa doesn’t require it. Thailand’s private hospitals are excellent but charge for everything, and a serious illness without insurance can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The healthcare and health insurance guide explains what cover to look for and what it costs.

A six-month timeline

For what daily life costs once you’re there, see the Thailand vs Vietnam cost of living guide.