Every Type of Visa in Thailand | Travel to Thailand

Standard tourist visa

The Visa type is the Standard tourist visa which is also the most popular visa type for foreigners traveling to Thailand.

Like the Special tourist visa, the standard tourist visa is also only issued for tourism purposes and you are prohibited from employment in Thailand. This visa is also single entry only and is valid for a maximum of 60 days.

In order to apply for the standard tourist visa you need:

• A passport with over 6 months of validity.
• Flight bookings for traveling in and out of Thailand.
• Proof of finance such as a bank statement with over 20,000 THB (600 USD) per person or 40,000 THB (1,200 USD) per family.
• Hotel bookings after quarantining, health insurance with a coverage of at least 100,000 USD for COVID-19 for the entire duration of your stay.

The fee for the single-entry standard tourist visa is around 30 USD. This visa also has the possibility to be converted to another form of visa such as the Student visa as long as you meet all the additional requirements for each visa category.

Non-Immigrant Visas

There are two types of Non-immigrant business visas in Thailand one for business and the other for employment. These visas are for anyone who wants to work in Thailand.

Both of these visas allow you to stay in Thailand for a maximum of 90 days and you can get an extension of stay and re-entry permit once at the immigration office in Thailand.

In order to apply for either of these visas you need:

• A passport with a validity of 6 months.
• Health insurance with a coverage of at least 100,000 USD for COVID-19 for your entire stay in Thailand.
• Round trip flight booking to Thailand.

In addition to this there are additional requirements depending on the type of business visa you are applying for. If you are applying for business purpose you will also need:

• Documents from the company in Thailand such as the letter of invitation, stating the period of stay in Thailand and the objective.
  • The Thai company’s tax registration.
• Letter from your current employer stating your current position, salary and the objective of your visit to Thailand.
  • Current employer’s company registration
  • Letter of sponsor in case your current employer is sponsoring you all your expenses.
• If you are self-employed then you need a bank statement with a deposit amount of at least 500,000 THB (14,800 USD) in the last 6 months.

If you own a condominium with a value of 3 million THB (100,000 USD) or more then you will also need a copy of your title deed or ownership documents along with your bank statements.

And if you invested in government bonds in Thailand or have a savings account with at least 100,000 USD in Thailand then you will also need the evidence of money transmission and your bank book copy along with your bank statements for the last 6 months.

On the other hand, additional documents required If you’re applying for employment purpose are:

• Invitation letter from your Thai employer with all details such as salary, position, length of contract if any.
• Approval letter from the ministry of labor in Thailand.
• Evidence of your qualifications such as bachelor’s degree or evidence of previous employment.

The application fee for both these business visas are around 2,000 THB (60 USD) for single entry and around 5,000 THB (150 USD) for multiple entry.

Non-Immigrant Visa-ED

If you want to study in Thailand then you will have to apply for the Non-Immigrant Visa-ED or the education visa. This visa is also valid for 90 days and can be extendable to 1 year provided that you have passed all the requirements.

In order to apply for the Thai education visa you will need:

• A Passport with at least 6 months of validity left.
• Letter with a letterhead from the educational institution that you applied to in Thailand.
• A copy of the school’s license which must be approved by the ministry of education in Thailand.
• Your Bank statement with at least 3,500 USD in the past 3 months.
• Health insurance with a coverage of at least 100,000 USD for COVID-19 for your entire stay in Thailand.
• Flight tickets traveling to and from Thailand.

The application fee for the student visa is around 2,000 THB (60 USD) and extensions for another 90 days are also priced similarly.

The Non-Immigrant O-A and O-X visa

If you wish to retire in Thailand, there are two types of visas that allow you to do that. The Non-Immigrant O-A and O-X visa. These visas are issued for foreigners aged 50 and older who want to retire in Thailand for 1 year with no intention of working. Employment is strictly not allowed with this visa.

In order to apply for the O-A visa, you need:

• A passport with over a year and a half of validity.
• A deposit of 800,000 THB (around 24,000 USD) in a Thai bank account which can be used for your expenses living in Thailand.
• A letter from the authorities staging that you have no criminal record.
• A medical certificate proving that you have no prohibitive diseases such as leprosy etc.
• Medical insurance with a coverage of at least 40,000 THB (1,188 USD) outpatient care and 400,000 THB (11,880 USD) inpatient care. 
• Flight tickets to Thailand.

If you want to apply for the O-X visa, you will need the following in addition to what was mentioned earlier:

• Must be nationals from eligible countries such as Japan, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA and Canada.
• You must have a deposit of at least 3 million THB (around 90,000 USD) in a Thai bank account which can be used for your living expenses once you are here.

The O-A visa is valid for a maximum of one year and the O-X visa is valid for a maximum of 10 years. The visa fee for the O-A visa is 5,000 THB (around 150 USD) whereas the visa fee for the O-X visa is 10,000 THB (around 300 USD). Both of these visas offer multiple entries which means that you do not have to apply for a re-entry permit everytime you leave Thailand.

Non-Immigrant Visa-O (spouse)

For those of you who have a Thai wife, the Non-Immigrant Visa-O (spouse) allows you to travel to Thailand for 90 days if you apply for single entry, and 1 year if you apply for multiple entry.

In order to apply for the spouse visa, you will need:

• Passport with 6 months of validity.
• Marriage certificate, passport and identification of your Thai spouse.
• A letter from your Thai spouse.
• Bank statement with at least 400,000 THB (11,830 USD) in the past three month.
• Health insurance with a coverage of at least 100,000 USD for COVID-19 for your entire stay in Thailand.
• Your flight tickets to Thailand.

The visa fee costs 80 USD for single entry and 200 USD for multiple entry.

SMART visa

Thailand’s board of investments also recently introduced a SMART visa, which is specially designed to attract highly skilled workers, investors, executives and entrepreneurs who want to work or invest in Thailand.

The benefits of the SMART visa include:

• Maximum validity of 4 years.
• No work permit necessary and no re-entry permit required.
• Spouses and children are also permitted to stay and work in Thailand.
• 90 day reporting is extended to one year which saves you a lot of time.
• Priority lanes at International airports in Thailand.

There are 5 categories of SMART visas and each of them have different requirements.

These categories are:

• T- Talent: For those who have high expertise in science and technology.
• I-Investor: for those of you who want to invest in a technology based business.
• E-Executives: for those of you with more than 10 years of experience in your field.
• S-Startup: for those of you who want to start a tech-based company in Thailand.
• O-Others: This is for the spouse and children of the SMART visa holder.

In order to check the exact requirements for each category, make sure you visit the Thai embassy website of your country. 

The visa fee for the smart visa is 10,000THB (295 USD) per year.

Except for tourism and employment, Thailand is also a popular place for medical treatments due to the quality and relative affordability of medical treatments as compared to other countries. If you want to travel to Thailand for medical reasons then you will need to get a Tourist MT Visa (Medical Treatment).

The Thai medical visa also allows up to three accompanying persons to travel with you. In order to be able to apply for the medical treatment visa, you will need to contact an accredited hospital in Thailand and ask them to send a request to the Department of health service support (HSS) as well as a confirmation letter, affidavit of support, summary forms and other related documents.

If approved by the HSS, you can go to the Thai embassy/consulate in your country along with up to three other people to apply for the visa and COE. In order to apply for the visa, you will need:

• Confirmation letter with stamp from MOPH confirming your admission as a patient to the hospital and confirmation of quarantine arrangements for at least 14 days.
• Passport with 6 months or over of validity.
• Evidence of adequate financial ability to cover costs of living in Thailand such as bank statements.
• Affidavit of support letter with stamp from MOPH for accompanying persons.

The cost of the Thai Medical Treatment visa is 40 USD.

Elite Visa

Finally, we have the Elite Visa. This visa is for those who hold the Thailand Privilege Card. If you are a holder for the Privilege card, you simply have to contact Thai Elite to request for authorization, once you have had the authorization, you can take the approval letter along with your elite card, passport, COVID health insurance and flight itinerary directly to the Thai/Embassy in your country to apply for a visa and COE.

As you can see there are many different types of visas depending on your purpose to travel to Thailand. Make sure you apply for the visa that matches your intentions to avoid any trouble or being blacklisted in the future. Please also check the website of the Thai embassy to get a better idea of the documents required and get the most up to date information. We hope you found this video very useful.