Thailand retirement visa

If you’re 50 or over, you can live in Thailand on a one-year retirement visa that you renew each year, as long as you can show 800,000 THB (about A$34,000) in a Thai bank or an income of 65,000 THB (about A$2,800) a month. You can’t work on it. The main choice is whether you apply from home before you go, or sort it out once you’re in Thailand.

O-A or O: which route to take

Both routes end in the same place: a year’s permission to stay, renewed each year at your local immigration office.

Non-Immigrant O-A, from your home country. You apply online through the Thai e-Visa website before you leave, to the Thai embassy or consulate that covers where you live. It’s valid for a year with multiple entries, and you get a year’s stay on arrival. It needs more paperwork: health insurance, a police check and a medical certificate. Each embassy sets the fee in its own currency, and the e-Visa site shows the exact amount before you pay.

Non-Immigrant O, extended in Thailand. You get a 90-day Non-Immigrant O (or in some cases convert in Thailand), then apply at your local immigration office for a one-year “extension of stay based on retirement”. Immigration doesn’t currently require health insurance for this route, which is why many people choose it.

The O-A suits you if you want everything settled before you fly. The O suits you if you’d rather avoid the insurance rule or the police check, and don’t mind a few visits to immigration in your first months.

Consulates and immigration offices apply the rules a little differently, so confirm with the office you’ll deal with.

Who qualifies and how much money you need

Documents for the O-A

Apply on the Thai e-Visa website. From Australia, the Canberra embassy handles every state and territory except New South Wales, which goes through the Sydney consulate. Elsewhere, use the embassy or consulate for your country of residence. Expect to upload:

• your passport (with plenty of validity left) and a recent photo
• your national police check (the AFP check in Australia, ACRO in the UK, an FBI check in the US)
• a medical certificate
• evidence of money: a bank statement showing the equivalent of 800,000 THB, or proof of a pension or income of 65,000 THB a month
• the health insurance certificate, on the official form if your insurer is overseas
• your flight booking and where you’ll stay

The health insurance rule

For the O-A, you need cover of at least US$100,000 or 3,000,000 THB, including COVID-19, for the length of your stay. You’ll still see the old “40,000 THB outpatient / 400,000 THB inpatient” figure quoted all over the internet. It no longer applies to O-A applicants.

Thai insurers sell policies built for this, and the Thai General Insurance Association’s long-stay site lists them. Overseas insurers are accepted if they complete the Foreign Insurance Certificate. Home-country public cover such as Medicare or the NHS doesn’t count.

On the O route, immigration doesn’t ask. Insure yourself properly anyway: a big hospital bill in Thailand can wipe out your savings. The healthcare and health insurance guide explains what cover to buy and what it costs.

How to renew each year in Thailand

1. Apply at your local immigration office up to 30 days before your current permission ends. Some offices, including Chaeng Watthana in Bangkok, let you start earlier.
2. Bring your passport, the TM.7 form, photos, a bank letter and updated passbook (or proof of income), proof of address and your TM30 receipt. Some offices also ask for a year of statements.
3. Pay 1,900 THB (about A$81).
4. You’re often stamped “under consideration” for a few weeks, then collect the one-year extension.

90-day reports, TM30 and re-entry permits

These three catch people out more than the visa itself.

• 90-day report. Every 90 days of continuous stay you report your address, online, in person or by post. It’s free. Online filing opens 15 days before the due date. Reporting late can bring a fine of up to 5,000 THB (about A$210).
• TM30. Your landlord must notify immigration within 24 hours of you moving in. Many offices won’t process your renewal without the receipt.
• Re-entry permit. Leaving Thailand without one cancels your extension. It’s 1,000 THB (about A$43) for one trip or 3,800 THB (about A$160) for unlimited trips during the extension.

If the retirement visa doesn’t fit

• LTR Wealthy Pensioner. For people 50 and over with passive income of at least US$80,000 (about A$110,000) a year, or US$40,000 plus a US$250,000 investment in Thailand. Ten years, one annual report instead of 90-day reports, no re-entry permits. The fee is 50,000 THB (about A$2,100).
• Thailand Privilege (formerly Thailand Elite). A paid membership with no age, income or insurance requirements. Bronze is 650,000 THB (about A$28,000) for 5 years, Gold 900,000 THB (about A$38,000) for 5 years, Platinum 1,500,000 THB (about A$64,000) for 10 years and Diamond 2,500,000 THB (about A$110,000) for 15 years.
• Destination Thailand Visa. If you’re under 50 or still doing some remote work, the DTV gives five years of 180-day stays. See how to move to Thailand.

The Philippines SRRV is worth a look too. It starts at 40, and it gives permanent residence for an annual fee rather than a yearly application at immigration.