The United States and Thailand are celebrating 190 years of formal friendly relations. If you’re an American thinking about relocating to Thailand, this video will cover some of the many possibilities to stay long term in the kingdom. This includes making Thailand your home, home for just a while, or as your part time base of travel in Southeast Asia.
Now, the reason you’re looking at Thailand likely includes the favorable cost of living. You can also think about living in Thailand as a yes and opportunity. Yes, the cost of living is compelling, and Thailand offers world class comforts, including travel, infrastructure, and healthcare. Yes, you’ll experience an ancient and exotic culture.
And you can enjoy a large and dynamic American expat community, as well as cuisines from around the world. And yes, this includes some good New York style pizza. So let’s jump into the three ways you might relocate to Thailand. First, we’ll cover what I call our super tourist visas with multi year terms.
Next are the more traditional residency visas that can be extended annually. And finally, there’s a visa for successful folks looking for a program offering tax advantage. Now, a super tourist visa is ideal if your goal is coming and going as you please, but you’re not quite ready to consider Thailand your permanent residency.
You can work remotely on these visas, even if you’re self employed, and they’re available to anyone over the age of 20. There’s the new Destination Thailand or DTV visa. This is an incredibly cost effective five year solution that allows for stays up to 180 days at a time. Some are calling this the digital nomad visa, but it’s also for folks engaging in Thai cultural immersion, such as cooking or Muay Thai school.
or receiving medical or wellness treatments here. At a higher price point is the Thailand Privilege, formerly called Thailand Elite. This program offers 5, 10, and 15 year visas. You can stay as long as you like, and you can open a Thai bank account, something you can’t currently do with a DTV visa. You’ll also enjoy concierge like service, and also a points program similar to those offered by premium credit card products.
Next are the more traditional residency visas that can be extended indefinitely for one year terms. These are also cost effective options that allow you to make Thailand home by opening a bank account, obtaining a driving license, and purchasing a car or condo. For anyone over the age of 50, there is the non retirement visa, a popular choice with the expat community.
It requires that you maintain a balance of 800,000 Thai Baht in a Thai bank account. about 23,000 U.S. dollars to assure the Thai government that you’ll have the means to support yourself. Next, if you have a Thai spouse or children, you can qualify for a non O dependent or marriage visa, which has similar benefits to the non O retirement visa, but also allows you to get a work permit if you were ever offered a job with a Thai company.
You may also qualify for this non O visa as the parent of your American children. if they are enrolled in school here under a non ED or education visa. Finally, if you’re over 50 and succeeded in creating a healthy retirement or pension fund, you may qualify for a 10 year long term resident or LTR visa.
Because Thailand is looking to attract successful or high net worth individuals and families, this program offers myriad benefits including tax exemption, on income you earn in American or overseas markets, and you can include up to four dependents on your visa. Now, these are just some of the long term stay opportunities.
At bottom, as an American wanting to spend significant time in Thailand, you have good choices to consider. For that reason, we always like to start with a free consultation so you can talk through your options with a Thai legal professional to better make informed decisions. If you’re ready to take a deeper dive into relocating to Thailand, you can schedule a time with a member of our Thai legal team through the link below or through our website.
Our website also offers a number of helpful links to Thai government and other resources, and there are a number of good Facebook Thai visa groups that you can join for more information. Thanks for watching today, and if you found this helpful, please like and subscribe, and And please share with anyone you know who may be considering Thailand as their next home.
