What are the options for retiring in Thailand if I cannot qualify for a retirement visa?

Check out United Healthcare SafeTrip!! Awesome coverage at the lowest premiums I could find, and I researched the heck out of it. Depending on where you live in the US, you can get a policy for up to 6 months.

I would highly suggest watching the following video from my YouTube channel that will provide you with a massive amount of information, most of which my guess is you haven’t even thought about yet. It’s loaded with great information that I have learned throughout my travels.

BUDGET TRAVEL - Slow Travel - Affordable Travel



Also, note that Malaysia is Visa Free for U.S. citizens for 90 days. It’s an easy way to do a visa hop when your Thai tourist visa need renewed. But now that it’s 60 days visa free for Thailand, extendable for 30 it’s not so much an issue.

Good luck!!

I think travel insurance has its limits in terms of length of stay and coverage. You cannot simply extend and stay in Thailand indefinitely without a retirement visa but you can travel to Malaysia or Vietnam for 90 days. They are also quite nice and in fact my preference to staying just in Thailand.

Look at previous postings or the Thailand DTV group.

DTV is a new 5 year visa category with a lower income requirement, no insurance requirement. We are seeing many postings about people getting it for medical treatments, etc.

as you get older your medical needs will increase, you should obtain a comprehensive medical insurance policy. TIT

Question: can you get a retirement visa AND still work as a digital nomad?

I am over 55, have more than enough to meet the economic requirements but I am in discussions about working on contract 10-20 hrs a week.

I looked at the other visa option but I don’t have the history of the funds coming and/or I don’t plan to pull those funds (other than 800k baht ) for the visa into the country

You don't have to earn a pension to get the retirement visa if you deposit 0B

You also check for new DTV Visa where you can stay upto 6 months at a time. and valid for 5 years and who knows by 2026 things will be more lenient. as many suggested you do a test visit few times before 2026 before making final call. You could also consider Cambodia or Laos - Cambodia has retirement visa, Laos doesnt have retirement visa as such, but easy to get long term visa. Laos and Cambodia hospital services are not so great compared to Thailand, but worth exploring because of the kind people and prestine nature and laid back living.

Before deciding to retire in Thailand, make testruns at least 3 month on the available budget, since everyday life can be very different from holiday life.

Which visa / visa excempt to use, is way to early to decide, so long time before, it may change several times in that period.

Be wary of travel insurance time restrictions..

Hope it all works out for you I bet you miss Them both

If you private message me I will steer you in the right direction with this solution that works for you

It's means if you enter Thailand you will get 60 days VISA exempt. You can then extend that by another 30 days (1900 baht) , so giving you 3 months in total ..if you want you can then leave Thailand to neighbouring country and then re- enter getting another 60 days exempt. I'm sure if I'm incorrect, I'll be corrected