Moving to Thailand 2025: The Complete Expat Checklist

Choose your visa category: the main options are Non-O-A (retirement), DTV (remote worker), Non-B (employment), Non-O (marriage), Thailand Privilege Card, or the Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa. LTR is worth a closer look than most first-timers give it — a February 2025 BOI reform removed the income requirement for the Wealthy Global Citizen category and the work-experience requirement for the Highly-Skilled and Work-from-Thailand categories, so it now fits a meaningfully wider range of applicants than it did at launch. Apply for the appropriate visa at your nearest Thai embassy or consulate before departure where required (Non-O-A and Non-B should be obtained before arrival; DTV applicants can also apply in-country in some cases). Gather legalised documents: criminal background check (nationally certified and apostilled), birth certificate, marriage certificate if applicable, academic or professional qualifications for work permit. Legalisation takes 2–6 weeks depending on your home country — start early. Sort health insurance: mandatory for Non-O-A. Strongly advisable for all visa categories. International health insurance covering Thailand: arrange before departure. Notify your home country: update your tax residency status, inform your bank of the move, arrange mail forwarding or a registered address for legal and financial correspondence.

TM.30 address registration: your landlord or host must file a TM.30 form notifying Immigration of your address within 24 hours of your arrival at that address. Most reputable serviced apartments and hotels handle this automatically. Confirm it has been done — you will need the TM.30 receipt for later Immigration applications. SIM card and phone number: AIS, True, and DTAC all offer tourist and long-stay SIM packages. A local number is required for banking and many services. AIS and True offer the best coverage nationally. Open a bank account: Kasikorn Bank (KBank) and Bangkok Bank are the most foreigner-friendly. Bring passport, TM.30 receipt, and proof of address. The Non-O-A visa or a work permit helps — some branches are stricter than others for non-residents.

Work permit (if applicable): your employer initiates this at the Department of Employment. You need the Non-B visa in place first. Processing: typically 7–14 working days. Since 28 July 2026, work permits are issued as digital e-Work Permits rather than the old physical booklet — there is no longer a physical permit to collect from the DOE; your employer receives the digital record and you carry proof of it (a QR-code-linked confirmation) rather than a paper document. Non-BOI employers can also apply for Temporary Work Permits under the same digital system while a standard permit is being finalised. Visa extension (if on initial 90-day Non-Immigrant): apply at your local Immigration office at least 30 days before expiry. Bring all supporting documents for your visa category. Pay 1,900 THB. Register with your home country's embassy: most embassies offer a voluntary overseas registration service. Useful for emergency contact, voting, and obtaining embassy letters for visa applications. Healthcare: register with a local GP or hospital for routine care. Arrange health checks required for visa renewals (medical certificate for Non-O-A). Driving: an International Driving Permit covers the first 90 days. For longer stays, obtain a Thai driving licence at the Land Transport Office (DLT) — requires medical certificate, residence proof (TM.30), home-country driving licence, and passport.

90-day address reporting: every 90 consecutive days, report to Immigration (in person, by post, or online). Set a phone reminder. Annual visa extension: apply 30–45 days before your current permission expires each year. Tax obligations: if you spend 183+ days in Thailand in a calendar year, consult a Thai tax accountant about your assessable income, particularly if you remit overseas income into Thailand. A remittance-timing exemption proposal has been under discussion that would affect how this is assessed for some taxpayers — it is not yet enacted, so plan around current rules and treat any change as a bonus, not something to rely on ahead of time.

Applying for the wrong visa category first. The single most expensive mistake is starting the paperwork for one visa category, realising partway through it doesn't fit your situation, and starting over. A short conversation before you begin — not after you've already gathered documents — is the cheapest insurance available.

Leaving document legalisation too late. Police clearances, apostilles, and consular authentication routinely take 2–6 weeks depending on your home country, and some steps can't be rushed regardless of what you're willing to pay. Starting this the moment you decide to move, well before booking flights, avoids the most common source of delay.

Assuming your landlord filed the TM.30. Not every landlord understands or reliably complies with this obligation, and it's your Immigration record that suffers if it's missing later — not theirs. Confirm the TM.30 receipt exists yourself rather than assuming it happened.

Missing the 90-day reporting window. It's a simple obligation but an easy one to forget once you're settled, and repeated lapses create genuine friction with Immigration over time. A phone reminder set the day you arrive is worth more than remembering to set one later.

Treating a work permit and a business visa as interchangeable. They are two separate documents from two different processes (Immigration for the visa, Department of Employment for the permit), and neither substitutes for the other — both must be current, not just one.

General guidance only, as of August 2026. Sources: Thai Immigration Bureau (immigration.go.th), Department of Employment (doe.go.th).