Retirement Visa
The retirement route, from first question to annual renewal
The retirement route is designed for foreigners aged 50 and over who want to live in Thailand without working. In practice it is less a single visa than a sequence: an initial entry, a one-year extension of stay granted inside Thailand, and then an extension each year for as long as you continue to meet the requirements.
Who it is for
- You are 50 or older on the date you apply.
- You can show the financial requirement, through money held in a Thai bank, a regular income from abroad, or a combination.
- You do not intend to work in Thailand.
- Depending on the exact route, you may need health insurance that meets immigration's criteria.
Two ways in
Applying from your home country. You obtain a long-stay entry from a Thai embassy or consulate before you travel, then complete the yearly extension in Thailand once you are here. Cleaner for people who like everything arranged before they fly.
Converting inside Thailand. If you are already here on a tourist entry or another status, it is often possible to change to a long-stay status at immigration without leaving the country. Timing matters, because each step has a window.
Documents, in plain terms
The exact list depends on your route and nationality, but it usually comes down to four groups:
- Identity and status: passport, entry stamp or current visa, arrival card details and passport photographs.
- Money: Thai bank book and a bank letter, or proof of income certified in the way immigration accepts, or both.
- Where you live: proof of address in Thailand, such as a lease and the owner's documents, and the residence notification from your landlord.
- Forms: the application forms themselves, completed correctly, with the right fee.
Where a document comes from overseas, it may need to be certified, legalised or translated. This is where most delays happen, and where we save clients the most time.
What happens each year
Once you have your extension of stay, three things repeat. You report your address to immigration every 90 days. You apply for a re-entry permit before any trip abroad, so your extension is not cancelled when you leave. And each year, before the extension ends, you renew it with updated financial evidence. We track all three for our clients and send reminders.
We deliberately do not publish the current deposit or income thresholds on this page. They are set by immigration, they have changed before, and how you meet them (and for how long the money must be in place before you apply) depends on your route. We confirm the current position in your consultation, in writing.
