Thai Long Stay Visas

Long-Stay Visa

Long-term Thailand Visa for Foreigners

Thailand offers numerous types of long-term visas for foreigners who wish to stay in Thailand for a long-term period. Foreigners may apply for the following long term visas:

Thailand Elite Visa
One Year Extension of Stay (Retirement, Marriage)
One Year Non-Immigrant Visa

1. Thailand Elite Visa

The Thailand Elite Visa is a long-term visa given to the Thailand Privilege Card members. It is categorized under Tourist Visa (Privilege Entry Visa “PE”) allowing residency in Thailand along with benefits for a period between 5, 10, or 20 years depending on the chosen package in exchange for a membership fee.

The Thai Elite Visa is a 5-year renewable multiple entry visa with an extendable 1-year length of stay per entry. For membership valid for 10 years and 20 years, the 5-year visa will be issued every 5 years.
The Thai Elite visa holder can have an uninterrupted stay in Thailand without the usual need to leave the country every 90 days as with the other visa types.
The Elite Visa holder will be represented by the Thai Elite staff on the 90-day reporting as required by the Thai Immigration.
Thai Elite Visa holders will receive expedited immigration formalities and passport control processing when arriving in Thailand.

To learn more about staying in Thailand for 5, 10 or 20 years, please check our Thailand Elite Visa page.

2. One Year Extension of Stay

Thai Retirement Visa

The Thai Retirement Visa is a type of long-term Thai visa popular among retirees aged more than 50 years old. To obtain a Thai retirement visa, the applicant must obtain an initial visa called a Non-immigrant O visa. It is valid for 90 days and it can be issued by the Thai consulate or embassy from the country of residence or it can be issued in Thailand. Once the applicant receives this visa, he/she must open a bank account in Thailand and transfer the required funds of 800,000 THB. After 2 months, the applicant may convert to a retirement visa which is valid for 1 year. This type of retirement visa does not require a criminal background check, medical certificate, and health insurance. The extension of stay will be issued at the local immigration office of the applicant.

Thai Marriage Visa

The Thai marriage visa is best suited to foreigners who are married to a Thai national. The marriage must be registered or reported in Thailand in order to obtain the visa. The application starts by obtaining the non–immigrant O visa from the Thai embassy or consulate abroad or in Thailand. After obtaining the non-immigrant O visa, the applicant may convert this visa into a 1-year marriage visa at the local immigration office. The applicant will be required to meet the financial requirement of having 400,000 THB savings in a Thai bank account or having 40,000 THB monthly income transferred into a Thai account or verified by the foreign embassy of the applicant. The marriage visa is valid for 1 year and it can be renewed annually in Thailand.

3. One Year Multiple Entry Non-immigrant Visa

The 1-Year Non-Immigrant Thai visa is issued to foreigners who wish to obtain a long-term visa to stay in Thailand. The issuance of this visa mainly depends on the purpose of the application. This type of visa is valid for use within one year from the date of issue and can be extended to 3 months on or before the visa expiration date.
However, this visa type is only issued by a Thai Embassy or Consulate abroad. This visa cannot be issued inside Thailand. It requires the visa holders to exit and re-enter Thailand every 90 days by air, sea, or land travel.

Eligibility

Applicants under this visa category must travel to Thailand for the purpose listed below:

Education
Visit Thai family; spouse or child
Volunteer Work
Conducting Business

Requirements

Applicants for a 1-Year Multiple-Entry visa must demonstrate that they are neither a public nor a security threat to the Thai government. Furthermore, applicants must be physically present in the country where they lodge their visa application. The general requirements for this type of visa are as follows:

A passport with at least 18-month validity from the date of your intended arrival in Thailand
An invitation or confirmation letter to clarify the purpose of travel issued by the concerned organization.
Additional supporting documents requested by the Royal Thai embassy or consulate.
Proof of financial funds and travel itinerary.
Proof of relationship to a Thai national or foreigner working in Thailand
Embassy fee

The visa applicants are advised to apply for their visa either by mail or in person at the Royal Thai embassy or consulate in their home country.

Visa Application Process

Preparation of the application form and other documents for the applicant.
Submission of the required documents to the Thai embassy or consulate in the applicant’s home country by mail or in person.
Payment of the embassy or consular fees can either be by cash, check, or credit card.
Review and processing of the visa application. The processing time usually takes 5 to 10 business days which depends on the Thai embassy or consulate where the application is lodged.

Thailand Visa COVID

Thailand Entry Requirements

What you need to enter Thailand:

Vaccine certificate, either a printout or the original document (Only for vaccinated travelers)
Thailand Pass Application Form
COVID-19 travel insurance with a minimum coverage of $50,000 USD
Booking confirmation for an ASQ or SHA+ Hotel
COVID-19 test taken no more than 72 hours before departure

Thailand Test and Go and Sandbox Programs

Travelers who are the holders of vaccine certificates, will be allowed to enter Thailand without mandatory quarantine under the Test and Go and the Sandbox programs. Full doses of vaccine must be completed not less than 14 days prior to traveling to Thailand.

At the moment only certain vaccines, approved by World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand, are accepted, namely:

AZD1222 by AstraZeneca/Oxford University (2 doses)
SARS-CoV-2 (CoronaVac) by Sinovac (2 doses)
BNT162b2/CORMIRNATY – Tozinameran by Pfizer/BioNTech (2 doses)
Covishield (ChAdOx1_nCoV19) by the Serum Institute of India (2 doses)
Ad26.COV2.S by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (1 dose)
mRNA-1273 by Moderna (2 doses)
Sinopharm (2 doses)

Self-quarantine is not allowed.