Buyer guide
Visas and long stays: what property buyers should know
Buyers often assume that a home in Thailand comes with the right to stay in it. It does not. Ownership and immigration are separate, and the visa rules depend on your nationality, your age, your income and what you plan to do in the country. This guide gives the general picture only.
Ownership and the right to stay are separate
You can own a condominium unit without ever holding a long-stay visa, and you can hold a long-stay visa without owning anything. How long you may stay as a visitor depends on your passport, so check with a Thai embassy or consulate for your country.
The main routes, in general terms
- Retirement: for people aged 50 and over who meet financial requirements, granted a year at a time.
- Long-term resident programme: a ten-year visa for defined groups, among them people with substantial assets, pensioners and professionals working remotely or in targeted industries.
- Paid membership: a programme run by a state-owned company that includes a multi-year visa against a one-off membership fee.
- Remote work and longer visits: a multiple-entry visa for people who work for employers or clients outside Thailand, and for some courses and treatments.
- Investment: permission to stay for people who invest a set amount in Thailand and keep it there.
- Work, study and family: visas tied to a job with a work permit, a place at a school or university, or a Thai spouse or child.
Where property comes into it
On some routes, money invested in Thai property can count toward an investment requirement. The conditions are specific: the amount, the kind of property, sometimes whether it is bought new from a developer, and proof that the money came from abroad. Confirm them for your own case before you sign a purchase contract, not after.
What most long stays have in common
- A visa to stay is not permission to work. Working in Thailand needs its own authorisation.
- Most long stays come with a duty to report your address at intervals.
- The conditions must be met for as long as you hold the visa, not only on the day you apply.
- Requirements and fees change, sometimes at short notice.
Where to get advice
SabaiProperty does not process visas. For the rules that apply to you, ask the Thai embassy or consulate for your country, or a licensed immigration lawyer or visa agent. If tax residence is part of your plan, speak to a tax adviser as well: spending much of the year in Thailand has tax consequences there, and may have them at home too.