.

Foreigners intending to work either by employment through an existing company or, by starting your own business in Thailand, may apply for a Non-Immigrant B [Business] Visa. The stages that each/every applicant must undertake in order to obtain a business visa and work permit are listed below:

1. 1. Prior to arrival in Thailand you should apply for a Non B [Single Entry] 3 Month Visa from the Thai Consulate nearest your residing address in your home country then, enter Thailand and,
   2. Once you’ve arrived in Thailand with a Non B [Single] Visa, we’ll need to apply for a Work Permit on your behalf. Once issued, this allows the permit holder to legally ‘work’ [we’ll explore what this actually means later], in Thailand and,
   3. Now that you have a valid Non B [Single] Visa and a Work Permit, we can prepare paperwork for you to obtain either:
      • a Non B [Multiple Entry] 12 Month Visa [again, by leaving Thailand and visiting a Thai Consulate] or
      • a Non B Extension w/ Re-entry Stamp [issued directly from Immigration on Samui].

Note: although other prerequisites may be necessary to obtain a business visa, the most pertinent of these are included in Point 2 above.

Foreigners intending to retire in Thailand, may apply for a Non-Immigrant O [Retirement] Visa. The stages that each/every applicant must undertake in order to obtain a retirement visa are listed below:

1. 1. Prior to arrival in Thailand you should apply for a Non O [Single Entry] 3 Month Visa from the Thai Consulate nearest your residing address in your home country then, enter Thailand and,
   2. Once you have arrived in Thailand with a Non O [Single] Visa, you’ll need to:
      • open a Thai Bank Account and deposit at least 800,000 baht in this account within the first thirty (30) days of your entry into Thailand or,
      • show evidence of at least 65,000 baht [per month] in passive income, ideally from a pension fund, social security, superannuation etc and,
      • you must also purchase Private Health Insurance through an insurer and select a policy that meets the minimum criteria for this visa and,
   3. Now that you have a valid Non O [Single] Visa, deposited funds into your Thai bank account and purchased the appropriate insurance, we can prepare paperwork for you to obtain either:
      • a Non O [Multiple Entry] 12 Month Visa [again, by leaving Thailand and visiting a Thai Consulate] or
      • a Non O [Retirement] Extension w/ Re-entry Stamp [issued directly from Immigration on Samui].

Note: although other prerequisites may be necessary to obtain a retirement visa, the most pertinent of these are included in Point 2 above.

Foreigners with a spouse who is intending to work or retire in Thailand, may apply for a Non-Immigrant O [Dependent] Visa. The stages that each/every applicant must undertake in order to obtain a dependent visa are listed below:

1. 1. Obtain a Non O [Single Entry] 3 Month Visa prior to arrival in Thailand from the Thai Consulate nearest your residing address in your home country then, enter Thailand and,
   2. Now that you’ve arrived in Thailand with a Non O [Single Entry] 3 Month Visa, your ‘working’ or ‘retiring’ spouse [husband or wife] must either:
      1. WORKING SPOUSE: apply for a Work Permit. Once issued, this allows your spouse, the permit holder to legally ‘work’ [we’ll explore what this actually means below], in Thailand then, you can ‘piggy-back’ their retirement visa application to obtain a dependent visa or,
      2. RETIRING SPOUSE: open a Thai Bank Account and deposit at least 800,000 baht in his/her account within the first thirty (30) days of entry into Thailand and, he/she must purchase Private Health Insurance with an insurer and a policy that meets the minimum criteria for the retirement visa then, you can ‘piggy-back’ their retirement visa application to obtain a dependent visa and,
   3. Once your ‘working’ spouse has obtained their Work Permit or, your ‘retiring’ spouse has 800,000 baht deposited in their Thai bank account then:
      1. WORKING SPOUSE: we can now prepare paperwork for you, at the same time as your spouse, to obtain either:
         • a Non O [Multiple Entry] 12 Month Visa [again, by leaving Thailand and visiting a Thai Consulate] or
         • a Non O [Dependent] Extension w/ Re-entry Stamp [issued directly from Immigration on Samui] in combination with your spouses’ Non B [Business] Visa.
      2. RETIRING SPOUSE: we can now prepare paperwork for you, at the same time as your spouse, to obtain either:
         • a Non O [Multiple Entry] 12 Month Visa [again, by leaving Thailand and visiting a Thai Consulate] or,
         • a Non O [Dependent] Extension w/ Re-entry Stamp [issued directly from Immigration on Samui] in combination with your spouses’ Non O [Retirement] Visa.

Note: although other prerequisites may be necessary to obtain a dependent visa, the most relevant of these are included in Point 2 above.

Foreigners who are legally married [in any country] to a Thai national may apply for a Non immigrant O [Marriage] Visa in Thailand. The stages that each/every applicant must undertake in order to obtain a marriage visa are listed below:

1. 1. Prior to arrival in Thailand you should apply for a Non O [Single Entry] 3 Month Visa from the Thai Consulate nearest your residing address in your home country then, enter Thailand and,
   2. Once you’ve arrived in Thailand holding a Non O [Single] Visa, you’ll need to open a Thai Bank Account and deposit at least 400,000 baht in this account within the first thirty (30) days of your entry date into Thailand and, you must also show evidence of 40,000 baht [per month] income and,
   3. Now that you have a valid Non O [Single] Visa, deposited funds into your Thai bank account and have evidence of your income, we can prepare paperwork for you to obtain either:
      • a Non O [Multiple Entry] 12 Month Visa [again, by leaving Thailand and visiting a Thai Consulate] or
      • a Non O [Marriage] Extension w/ Re-entry Stamp [issued directly from Immigration on Samui].

Note: although other prerequisites may be necessary to obtain a marriage visa, the most relevant of these are included in Point 2 above.

Foreigners intending to retire in Thailand, may be eligible for a Non-Immigrant O-A [Retirement] Visa from the Thai Consulate, in your home country, prior to arrival in Thailand. You must confirm specific requirements with the consulate in which you will lodge your application however, usually it would be as follows:

1. 1. 1. Apply for a Non O-A [Retirement] 12 Month Visa prior to arrival in Thailand from the Thai Consulate nearest your residing address in your home country and, as part of this application you must:
         • Have at least 800,000 baht in your bank account [in your home country] and,
         • Have Private Health Insurance through an insurer and a minimum IPD [in-patient] and OPD [out-patient] that meets the criteria for this visa and,
         • Obtain a Criminal Background Clearance from the appropriate police department in your home country and,
         • Obtain a Medical Certificate from your local doctor/hospital, ensuring that any specific criteria for this visa are included in the doctor’s report.

Note 1: although other prerequisites may be necessary to obtain this visa, the main criteria is included above.

Note 2: this visa allows the holder to 90 day report [at local immigration] rather than border bouncing [leaving Thailand] every 90 days as well as the possibility of extending the visa for almost another year by border bouncing one time close to the expiry date of the visa.

Foreigners investing 10+ million baht in Thailand, may apply for a Non-Immigrant O [Investment] Visa. The stages that each/every applicant must undertake in order to obtain a retirement visa are listed below:

1. 1. Prior to arrival in Thailand you should apply for a Non O [Single Entry] 3 Month Visa from the Thai Consulate nearest your residing address in your home country then, enter Thailand and,
   2. purchase a Condominium unit to the value of 10+ million baht in a new development or, purchase Thai government or Thai state Enterprise Bonds to the value of 10+ million baht or, deposit funds in a Fixed Deposit Account in a Thai Bank to the value of 10+ million baht and,
   3. Once you have arrived in Thailand with a Non O [Single] Visa and met any of the conditions above, we can prepare paperwork for you to obtain either:
      • a Non O [Multiple Entry] 12 Month Visa [again, by leaving Thailand and visiting a Thai Consulate] or
      • a Non O [Investment] Extension w/ Re-entry Stamp [issued directly from Immigration on Samui].

Note 1: foreigners applying for a Non Immigrant Investment Visa may be permitted to invest in a combination of the aforementioned assets, on a case-by case basis, in Koh Samui.

Note 2: the applicant [investor] may purchase two (2) condominium units costing five (5) million baht each or one four (4) million baht condo and deposit the remaining six (6) million baht in a Fixed Deposit [Thai Bank] Account; just as long as the minimum investment requirement of ten 10+ million baht is fulfilled. It’s important for potential investors to understand that:

• • investment visas do not allow foreigners to work in Thailand,
  • applicants must already hold a Non-Immigrant Visa to qualify and,
  • as stated above, condo investments can only be made in new projects and purchased directly from the licensed developer.

Holders of Thai investment visas shall be granted a one-year visa that may be renewed on an annual/yearly basis and the immediate family of the Investment Visa holder, spouse and/or children, are also eligible for a supporting Non Immigrant O [Dependent] Visa above.

Note: although other prerequisites may be necessary to obtain an investment visa, the most pertinent of these are included in Point 2 above.

The Smart Visa offers an alternative long-term stay option for highly skilled foreigners desiring to live and work in Thailand without some of the other requirements that come with more traditional ‘working’ visa options in Thailand.

A Smart Visa does come with its own challenges though, the classification of an ‘expert’ or a ‘high-level executive’ is not clearly defined, giving complete discretion to the official(s) assessing the application. Also, some conditions may be challenging for applicants to meet like, the necessity for a fixed savings amount of 600,000 baht for a one (1) year duration, for the Smart S Visa.

• • Smart T Visa: Highly skilled technical professionals
  • Smart I Visa: Investors
  • Smart E Visa: Senior executives
  • Smart S Visa: Foreign startup entrepreneurs
  • Smart O Visa: Spouse and children of holders of the other types of Smart Visa

Documentation is cumbersome and application to approval time-frames tend to be lengthy as each application must pass through the Board of Investment [BOI]. Although this is not intended as a deterrent, it’s worth considering all applicable visa options, whilst considering a Smart Visa.