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Contents
- In short
- Which visa fits your move?
- How do you rent a home, and what must you report to immigration?
- How do you open a bank account, get a SIM and a licence?
- What does life cost for a family, and what do schools cost?
- What paperwork should you bring from home?
- What should you do in your first 30 days?
- What next
Start with why you are moving, not with a flight. Your purpose decides the visa, and the visa decides whether a Thai bank opens an account, whether you can get a Thai licence and how long you can stay without leaving. The 30-day visa exemption is for tourism only, so residents choose a DTV, a retirement, marriage, work or education visa, or the LTR or Thailand Privilege programmes. Rules are as of 6 October 2026.
In short
- UK, US, Australian and most EU passports get 30 days visa-free for tourism only, with one 30-day extension for THB 1,900 at the office's discretion. You cannot live or work on it.
- Pick the visa by purpose (table below). A DTV is applied for before you arrive, as a national or permanent resident of the country where you file.
- A bank account follows a long-term visa. Banks in practice mostly refuse DTV and visa-exempt visitors.
- Your landlord files TM30, and on a long-term visa you file the 90-day report.
- On Numbeo's crowd-sourced figures, a family of four needs about THB 118,000 to 148,000 a month (USD 3,550 to 4,450) for housing and daily life. School is a separate line, from THB 150,000 a year per child.
- Documents from home pass a chain through your foreign ministry and the Thai embassy. An apostille starts working on 28 February 2027.
Which visa fits your move?
Remote work for foreign clients fits a DTV. A retiree aged 50 or over uses Non-O, O-A or O-X. Marriage to a Thai national supports Non-O on marriage. A job needs Non-B and a work permit. Large assets point to LTR or Thailand Privilege. The exemption only buys time to choose.
| Purpose | Visa | Conditions | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Look around | 30-day exemption, one extension | Extension of 30 days, THB 1,900 | Tourism only; two exempt land-border entries a calendar year |
| Remote work | DTV | 5 years, 180 days per entry, THB 500,000 in the account (about USD 15,000), police certificate | Apply only as a national or permanent resident; no Thai clients; a bank account can be hard to get |
| Retirement, 50+ | Non-O, O-A, O-X | Non-O: THB 800,000 in a Thai account or THB 65,000 a month; O-X: THB 3,000,000 on deposit | No work; O-A needs health insurance; O-X covers 14 nationalities, including UK, US, Canada and Australia |
| Marriage to a Thai | Non-O on marriage | THB 400,000 in a Thai account or THB 40,000 a month | The marriage must be registered |
| A job | Non-B and work permit | Employer guide: THB 2 million capital, four Thai staff per foreigner | e-Work Permit mandatory since 13 October 2025 |
| Large assets | LTR, Thailand Privilege | LTR: 10 years, THB 50,000 fee; Privilege: from THB 650,000 for 5 years on the official site, 6 October 2026 | Privilege gives no right to work, own land or claim tax relief |
Table sources: Royal Thai Embassy London (8 September 2026), Siam Legal and Vialto (the exemption extension, September 2026), ThaiLawOnline (DTV, 5 October 2026; retirement visas, 28 September 2026; marriage visa, 2026), Thaiger (work permit benchmarks, 24 September 2026), Aniday (e-Work Permit, 7 September 2026), BOI (LTR, 6 October 2026), Thailand Privilege (6 October 2026).
On the entry cap: Siam Legal, Dejudom and Vialto read the two exempt entries a year as applying to land checkpoints, while the Royal Thai Embassy London notice (8 September 2026) says only that eligible passport holders may enter under the exemption "only twice within a calendar year", without naming the border type. Air arrivals have no numeric cap, but officers can refuse entry if they suspect misuse. Confirm with Immigration before you plan repeat entries.
On a DTV your spouse and unmarried children under 20 apply as dependants, and each pays the full fee: GBP 300 in London, USD 400 in Washington (ThaiLawOnline; Thaiger, 30 July 2026).
How do you rent a home, and what must you report to immigration?
Under a Consumer Protection Board notification in force since 4 September 2025, a landlord with three or more residential units may not take more than three months' rent as deposit and advance together, must return the deposit within 7 days (14 with damage) and may not charge above government tariffs for electricity and water (Tilleke & Gibbins, 26 August 2025).
The same notification bans mid-term rent rises, renewal fees, locking the tenant out without lawful termination, and inspections without notice outside emergencies. Rent for a year, in writing.
TM30 is a notice to immigration about your address. The owner, landlord or hotel manager, not you, must file it within 24 hours of your arrival; a landlord who does not risks a fine of up to THB 2,000 (ThaiLawOnline, 7 September 2026). Ask for the receipt on move-in day: the bank and the licence office will want it.
After that you report yourself. Holders of a DTV or of a retirement, marriage, work or student visa file a 90-day report (TM.47): the window opens 15 days before the due date, you file online at tm47.immigration.go.th, and a late filing usually costs THB 2,000 (Thaiger, 8 September 2026). LTR holders report once a year. With an extension of stay you need a re-entry permit before each trip (THB 1,000 single, THB 3,800 multiple) or the extension is cancelled (ThaiLawOnline, 28 September 2026).
How do you open a bank account, get a SIM and a licence?
Banks usually open an account only for a long-term status: Non-B with a work permit, Non-O, ED, Elite or LTR. They tend to refuse a tourist visa, visa exemption and DTV, though no law says so (Zagdim, 9 June 2026).
Advisers report this as practice, and we saw no written bank policy. Visa Manager (6 March 2026) names a minority of branches that do open accounts for DTV holders, including Bangkok Bank in Kata. Bring a passport valid for six months or more, your visa, proof of address, a Thai phone number and an explanation of large deposits. You register a SIM in person at a branch or authorised dealer with your passport. Under rules in force since 16 May 2026, a foreigner may hold at most three SIMs per provider, each activated within 60 days of registration (Tilleke & Gibbins, 19 May 2026).
Licence: after 60 days on a non-tourist visa you need a Thai one, and the steps are in Driving licence in Thailand for foreigners.
What does life cost for a family, and what do schools cost?
A family of four needs about THB 118,000 to 148,000 a month for housing and daily life, before school (USD 3,550 to 4,450 or GBP 2,650 to 3,300). That is THB 77,800 for living costs without rent plus THB 40,500 to 70,000 for a three-bedroom flat (Numbeo, 2 October 2026). Numbeo collects prices from its users, 472 entries from 41 contributors over 12 months for Phuket, so the figures give an order of magnitude, not a price list. Budget school separately.
| Item | THB a month | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Living costs for a family of four, without rent | about 77,800 | Numbeo |
| Three-bedroom rent, outside the centre / in the centre | 40,500 / 70,000 | Numbeo |
| International school, one child | 12,500 to 79,000 (150,000 to 950,000 a year) | iSchoolAdvisor, 13 July 2026 |
USD and GBP figures are rounded and use about THB 33 and THB 44.6, the September 2026 averages on x-rates.com; rates move. At the top end, British International School Phuket charges THB 489,000 to 982,700 a year in 2026/27 (USD 14,700 to 29,600), plus a placement fee of THB 200,000 per family (THB 250,000 for more than one student) and a refundable THB 150,000 bond (BISP fee schedule, April 2026).
What paperwork should you bring from home?
It depends on the visa: a DTV needs a police certificate, a marriage visa the marriage certificate, and a family proof of relationship. Foreign documents for Thailand pass notarisation, your foreign ministry, the Thai embassy and a Thai translation. From 28 February 2027 an apostille replaces the embassy step for states that do not object (HCCH, 6 October 2026).
Thailand deposited its accession on 30 June 2026, and the window for other states to object runs to about 30 December 2026, so do not plan around the apostille (Federal Apostille, 29 September 2026).
If you are coming from the UK, US or Australia
Rules differ by Thai mission, so read your embassy's page. London asks for a police certificate under six months old (ACRO or an Irish certificate) and proof of permanent residence in the UK, Ireland or a British Overseas Territory (Royal Thai Embassy London, 8 September 2026). Washington and Los Angeles ask for an FBI check under three months old (ThaiLawOnline). Australians should check the mission that covers them.
A US citizen stays taxable in the US on worldwide income and claims a foreign tax credit for Thai tax, and the US-Thailand treaty keeps a savings clause that preserves this (HLB Thailand and terms.law summaries; we have not read the treaty text). Ask a tax adviser about both countries.
What should you do in your first 30 days?
Go in order: TDAC just before you fly, move in with a TM30, then a SIM, a lease, a bank and a visa plan before the exemption ends. The table assumes you arrive on the 30-day exemption. On a long-term visa, the last rows shift.
| When | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Within 72 hours before arrival | Fill in the TDAC at tdac.immigration.go.th, which is free | You can be denied boarding without it |
| Day 1 | Take the 30-day stamp; the hotel or landlord files TM30 | Your address reaches immigration |
| Days 1 to 3 | Register a SIM in person with your passport | The bank wants the number |
| Days 3 to 10 | View homes, check the deposit and utility tariffs, sign the lease | Deposit and advance together stay within three months' rent |
| Days 10 to 20 | On a long-term visa: bank, certificate of residence, health insurance | A bank needs a long-term status |
| Days 20 to 25 | Extend the exemption by 30 days (THB 1,900) or apply for another visa abroad | A DTV cannot be started inside Thailand |
| Days 25 to 30 | Note your first 90-day report date and day 180 of the year | 180 days make you a tax resident |
What next
Choose a visa: Stay in Thailand longer than 30 days, Visa extension in Phuket, the DTV visa for Thailand and Thailand visa options in 2026. After you arrive, read TM30 and the 90-day report and Driving licence in Thailand for foreigners. See also A 30-day exemption extended in Phuket in one visit. If you cannot pick a visa, describe your situation in the form below.
Rules checked as of 6 October 2026.
