Foreigners enter Thailand to travel, work, do business, study, marry, retire or invest in the Kingdom — each purpose has its own visa. Below are the outstanding Thai visa options, with their requirements and key figures.
At present, many foreigners have entered Thailand in order to Travel (with a Tourist Visa), Work / Do business (with a Non-Immigrant B Visa), Study (with a Non-Immigrant ED Visa), Get married (with a Non-Immigrant O Visa), Retire (with a Non-Immigrant O / O-A Visa) or Invest (with a Non-Immigrant IM Visa) in the Kingdom of Thailand.
However, most foreigners are still unaware of the actual regulations. Let Siamese Visa Service (SVS) help you find an appropriate visa that matches your qualification and requirement. Below are the outstanding Thai visa options that most foreigners take significant interest in.
Bangkok, Thailand
Travel, work, study, marriage, retirement or investment — each reason for staying in the Kingdom has its own visa and requirements. We help you choose the right one and prepare the paperwork correctly the first time.
Jump to the visa that fits your purpose — full requirements and figures for each are detailed below.
60 days, extendable +30 days for some nationalities. Single or Multiple Entry, plus MICE, SBFT, family-visit and medical purposes.
Requirements →90 days per entry within a one-year period. Work-permit eligible; convertible to Business, Retirement or Marriage Visa in Thailand.
Requirements →For aliens who intend to work or conduct business in Thailand — including teaching at government or private institutions.
Requirements →For applicants aged 50 or older. THB 800,000 in a Thai bank, THB 65,000 monthly income, or a combination totalling 800,000.
Requirements →Married to a Thai citizen, with combined income of THB 40,000/month or THB 400,000 savings in a Thai bank account.
Requirements →For study at schools, universities or institutes. Requires the original acceptance / invitation letter from the institution.
Requirements →For investors transferring not less than THB 10 million into Thailand and investing in a qualifying condominium.
Requirements →For foreigners ineligible for visa types 2–7, or who want a one-year visa with minimal paperwork. Stay around 11–12 months.
Requirements →This type of visa allows you to stay in Thailand for 60 days, and some nationalities can extend for an additional 30 days at Thai Immigration. It can be issued as either a Single or Multiple Entry visa.
The Tourist Visa can also be issued for MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Convention and Exhibition), SBFT (Scuba diving, Boxing training, Football training, Thai massage and culinary training), as well as visiting family and medical treatment purposes. A letter of acceptance from the related institute / organization / hospital must be provided for these purposes at the time of application.
This one-year visa allows you to stay 90 days for each entry within the one-year period. If you would like to stay in Thailand for longer than 90 days, you only have to cross the border or leave Thailand and come back to renew your 90-day stay.
With this One-Year Non-Immigrant Visa obtained from overseas, you will be able to obtain a work permit and apply for the Business Visa in Thailand — or, if you qualify, you can also convert it to a Retirement or Marriage Visa while you are in Thailand, giving you a one-year uninterrupted stay in Thailand.
In addition, if you utilize your visa the last time just before it expires, you will get an extra 3 months — so the total validity of this one-year visa will be nearly 15 months.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Thai embassies & consulates overseas have become more strict in issuing the One-Year Multiple Entry Non-Immigrant Visa. If you would like to get this visa type in your home country, you will have to check with the local Thai embassy / consulate to obtain a pre-approval.
All aliens who intend to work / conduct business in Thailand are required to provide the following documents from companies, affiliates or institutes in Thailand:
The above-listed documents are basic documents which each applicant should be able to provide at the time of application.
If you are 50 years of age or older, you may choose to apply for a Retirement Visa for Thailand. You must be able to show one of the following financial evidences:
If you are an American / British / Australian passport holder and your embassy no longer carries out income / pension verification, and you would like to show the monthly income / pension (above 65,xxx THB per month), it is still possible (when renewing your retirement visa) — but you have to keep transferring the income / pension into your own Thai bank account every single month. Thai immigration will want to verify the last 12 months of credit advice provided by your Thai bank.
If you don't have a Thai bank account, we can also help you set up a Thai bank account while you are in Bangkok.
To apply for a Marriage Visa for Thailand, you need to show your marriage certificate along with financial evidence. This income can be shown as a "combined income" and may include both the husband's and the wife's income.
For the financial evidence, if you choose to show the monthly income of 40,000 THB, this income can be shown as a "combined income" and may include both the husband's and the wife's income:
In order to apply for an Education Visa, you must provide the original acceptance / invitation letter from the schools, universities or institutes in the Kingdom of Thailand, specifying the name of the applicant, passport number, latest educational background and duration of the course. The applicant should also provide the school's / university's / institute's registration, notarized by an authorized director.
If you are an investor, you may be able to apply for the above visa as a one-year or two-year period, if you:
This visa is available for foreigners who ARE INELIGIBLE for all of the above visa types 2 – 7 (One-Year Multiple Entry Non-Immigrant Visa, Business Visa, Retirement Visa, Marriage Visa, Education Visa and Investment Visa). Moreover, the Special One-Year Visa is also ready for foreigners who want to obtain a one-year visa without needing to show a lot of paperwork at the time of application.
You can stay in Thailand for around 11–12 months and are able to renew this special visa (based on the real-time immigration situation). Please check with us on a case-by-case basis.
Other necessary documents will be sorted out and arranged by our service team.
For further information on the processing procedure of each type of visa, you can contact us for additional assistance.
For foreigners who want to know whether they can get a Visa Exemption / Visa On Arrival (only planning to stay in Thailand not longer than 30 days / 15 days), please refer to the charts on our Home page.
Tell us your nationality, purpose and timeline — a real specialist will reply within 24 hours with accurate, up-to-date guidance.
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