What are the best steps for obtaining a visa for a long-term stay in Thailand before moving there officially?

Thai visa application NON-O visa visa extension moving to Thailand Thailand immigration Thai Embassy guidelines

Sep 18, 2024

3 months ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

Planning to visit Thailand for a few weeks next month. Leaving for the holidays and planning to officially move by the new year. Any suggestions on how to go about getting a visa. say I do leave and fecide to really get the process going for the visa in January will I be able to get an extension upon my last 30 day visit?

872

views

likes

all likes

replies

images

users

TLDR : Answer Summary

Planning to visit Thailand for a few weeks next month and moving by the new year, it's advised to obtain a proper long-term visa from the Thai embassy before your final visit. Without a long-term visa, you may face difficulties in opening a bank account, which is needed for visa applications. It's recommended to check the Thai Embassy website for specific instructions and consider alternative countries if facing difficulties.

NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES

Go to the Retirement Visa Section for information on requirements, including age restrictions, financial requirements, and necessary documentation.
For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
Explore recent discussions by using the Non-O Retirement Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
Join the Thai Visa Advice Facebook Group to ask your questions, and get advice from others.

Guddu *************

More difficult and impossible rules . Consider Vietnam etc

3 months ago

Bonnie *********

Please check the Thai Embassy website for your location.

3 months ago

Brandon ************

If you plan on moving to Thailand, then you should get the proper visa from the Thai embassy BEFORE you go to Thailand the final time. For a long-term visa you need a bank account, and you won't be able to open that without a long-term visa already.

3 months ago

Chabian ***********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Brandon ***********

I seen some people get 6 month digital nomad visa or Muay Thai visa these were the ones I was looking to do. Not the 5 year one from the beginning

3 months ago

Deni ******

@Chabian **********

Hey, I'd recommend you do more research on this before deciding to move. The different visa types, what your consulate needs for the application, and what you're allowed to do or not do with it. Find the Thai e-visa website, or go to your local consulate site and look up the differences. They just released information on their 60 day on a arrival stamp for members of certain countries and you don't need a visa for it, and can extend it once. But after that, doing border runs can be risky if immigration seems to catch on that you're attempting to live in Thailand. So I would recommend researching your options of things before coming here. A lot of folks are catching strays from social media about moving and living in Thailand and its not the correct information.

3 months ago

Chabian ***********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Deni *****

I am and realized I misworded. So I seen online a while back that you could do it in person through an agency a while back and this is what I plan to do. To have them do the process for me and id pay them. But I was just trying to figure out out if I should do it then or could I wait till my second visit. My first trip is only 18 days so I’d still have 42 days left on my visa to talk to them once I come back the second time. But I wanted to do it through an agency to make sure I’m going about the process right

3 months ago

Brandon ************

@Chabian **********

you can't "save" days on your visa. You won't have 42 days left for your second trip. You get a new stamp when you return.

3 months ago

Chabian ***********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Brandon ***********

okay I think my best bet will be to talk to an agency while I’m there on my first trip to get everything sorted out. In advanced

3 months ago

Reply to

Chabian ***********

Robert *****

@Chabian **********

get that from your own country. Thru the embassy website. First.

3 months ago

Brandon ************

@Chabian **********

The "digital nomad" visa IS the 5 year DTV visa. Same goes for Muay Thai.

None of those are for "moving to Thailand." For that people use retirement visas or marriage visas.

3 months ago

Reply to

Brandon ************

Thai Visa Advice and Everything Else

... members · 60% approval rate

The Thai Visa Advice And Everything Else group allows for a broad range of discussions on life in Thailand, beyond just visa inquiries.

Join the Group

Thai Visa Advice and Everything Else

View the Conversation

Thai Visa Advice and Everything Else

What steps do I need to take to move permanently to Thailand from the USA?

228 comments