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Created in 2011, ThaiVisa News provides immigration information, immigration news, and travel guide and updates for people wishing to visit Thailand. The gateway to detailed information and requirements about Thai Visa application, whether researching travel opportunities, seeking information on travel restrictions, or looking for advice and assistance on how to move into Thailand. The comprehensive information of this website means that all answers to your immigration questions are at your fingertips.
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The Thai ID system serves as a certificate of citizenship. This identity card contains the “population identification code” which is assigned to each Thai citizen at birth or upon receiving citizenship. It is issued by the Department of Provincial Administration of the Ministry of Interior.
Each card has a code of 13-digit string in format:
x-xxxx-xxxxx-xx-x
The first digit would show the Type of citizenship Second to Fourth digit would show the office where the number was issued 6th to 12th digit would be a group and sequence numbers last digit - check digitThe whole population of Thai national is recorded and contained in a central database system. Each ID card contains electronic fingerprint and facial image data which serves as the citizen’s record. The ID card system is issued by the government, controlled and maintained by the Interior Ministry.
In the event that the national ID card has been stolen, damaged or expired, it can now be replaced at Thai Consulates and Embassies of the Thai citizen’s country of residence making it more accessible for Thai nationals living overseas. Royal Thai Consulates and Thai Embassies in Sydney, Singapore, Berlin, Taipei, Los Angeles, and New York are ready to implement this.
Only in the event that you will be securing your Thai ID for the first time, it can only be submitted and processed in Thailand, so for first time applications there is still a need to process it back home.
Most foreign nationalities would like to stay in Thailand for a longer period. While they arrive in Thailand with the initial visa (such as tourist visa), if they wish to stay in Thailand for more than 30 days or if they are planning to come to Thailand and their purpose of visit is business, they can apply for a One year Thai visa or 90-day Thai visa.
One year non-immigrant Thai visa
You can apply for a 1-year multiple entry non-immigrant visa which will allow you to stay in Thailand and travel in and outside the country for 1 year. This one year thai visa is issued for applicants who wish to enter Thailand to perform official duties or religious activities, conduct business or investment, work, and study, visit the family and other activities. This type of visa can be extended for 3 months on or before the visa expiration date.
90 day Thai visa
If you intend to stay in Thailand for more than the normal tourist visa, the 90 day non-immigrant visa is the best option which will allow you to stay 90 consecutive days. 90 day non-immigrant visa to Thailand for foreign citizens is issued to applicants who wish to enter Thailand to perform official duties or religious activities, conduct business, work, and study, visit the family and other activities for a period of 90 days with the ability to extend their stay for 7 days.
If you are a foreigner and legally married to a Thai national, there is one type of visa that you could file.
Thai Marriage Visa is a type of visa suitable for you if you wish to stay in Thailand for long term. This visa can be renewed without leaving Thailand.
With the Thai marriage visa, you are allowed to apply for a work permit.
To process the One Year Marriage Visa in Thailand, you need to show your marriage certificate and you need to meet the financial requirements.
Financial requirements for the Thai Marriage Visa
An amount of at least THB 400,000 must be deposited in a Thai local bank for 2 months before you process the visa application (A letter from the bank is needed to verify this)
OR A monthly income of at least THB 40,000 (A letter from the embassy is needed to verify this income) OR a combination of bothPrior to obtain this One Year Marriage Visa, you need to obtain first a 90-day Non Immigrant Visa from the Thai Embassy in your home country so you can enter Thailand. The whole process will take 5 to 8 business days.
Requirements for the initial Thai visa
- Passport
- Passport size photos
- Embassy fee
- Siam Legal documents
- Copy of marriage certificate/registration
The immigration will accept your marriage visa application on the last 21 days of your 90 days Non-Immigrant visa so you can travel around Thailand. Therefore, we can start the conversion of your 90 days Non Immigrant Visa to One Year Marriage Visa when there's 30 days left on your 90-day Non-Immigrant 'O' Visa.
The Kingdom of Thailand is a beautiful country with its white sand beaches, green mountains and warm weather. Most foreigners who come to Thailand fall in love with the country, culture and food. Because of these they want to settle and retire in the Kingdom.
Thailand is a good place to retire. The people are hospitable and the cost of living is low that you can maintain a comfortable lifestyle without spending a lot of money.
If you are at least fifty years old and you can meet the financial requirements then you are qualified for a Thailand Retirement Visa. This Retirement Visa is good for one year and can be renewed without leaving Thailand. You can also travel outside the country if you want but you have to secure a re-entry permit.
With the Retirement Visa you need to report your address at the nearest immigration office every ninety days. This ninety-day reporting will let the immigration officers know that you are safe at the location you are staying. When the time has come to renew your Retirement Visa make sure that you renew it one week before it expires.
It is not complicated to process the One Year Retirement Visa in Thailand. You do not need to show the Medical Certificate and the Criminal Certificate.
Requirements to obtain a Retirement Visa
- Must be 50 years of age or older.
- Must be able to show your financial evidence between:
- Bank account showing THB 800,000 (must be able to show the evidence of transfer the money to your Thai Bank account and this sum of money must be deposited in your bank account at least 2 months); OR
- Monthly income/pension of at least THB 65,000 (must present a letter from your embassy to prove the pension and the letter from the government or social security).
Visa Application Procedure
Thai 90-day Non Immigrant Visa from the Thai embassy in your home country to enter Thailand. We will provide the documents that you need for this visa application. The whole process will take 5 business days.
We will help you open a bank account in Thailand in your name so that you can transfer at least 800,000 Baht into this account. After 2 months, we need to get a letter from this bank.
We can also help you get the letter confirming your income from your embassy in Bangkok.
You can travel around Thailand because the immigration will accept your retirement application on the last 21 days of your 90 days Non-Immigrant visa. Therefore, you will have to visit us again once you have a minimum of 30 days left on your 90-day Non-Immigrant 'O' Visa.
To proceed with the conversion of your 90 days Non Immigrant Visa to Retirement Visa, our Thai Visa specialist will accompany you to the Immigration office for processing. You can obtain the One Year Retirement Visa within a day.
A foreign national who is interested in entering Thailand whether to study, work, marry or retire is required to obtain a visa from a Royal Thai Embassy or a Royal Thai Consulate-General. There are nationals of certain countries that do not require a visa if they meet Visa Exemption requirements which are as follows:
- Nationals of countries which are exempted from visa requirements when entering Thailand for tourism purposes. Such nationals will be permitted to stay in Thailand for a period of not exceeding 30 days.
- Nationals of countries which hold bilateral agreements with Thailand on the exemption of visa requirements.
More than 40 countries including US and UK are not required to obtain a visa when entering Thailand for tourism purposes and will be permitted to stay in Thailand for a period of not more than 30 days on each visit. Foreigners who enter Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption category may re-enter and stay in the country for an additional duration of stay of not exceeding 90 days within any 6-month period from the date of first entry.
Nationals of the following countries may apply for Visa on Arrival:
Period of Stay: 15 daysAndora, Bhutan, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine
Nationals of the following countries may enter Thailand without a Visa (Both Tourism and Bilateral Agreement) :
Period of Stay: 14 days Cambodia Period of Stay: 30 daysAustralia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Monaco, Mongolia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, The Philippines, Poland, Portugal, USA, Vietnam, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, UK, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia, Vietnam
Period of Stay: 90 days Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Korea, Peru- Tourist Visa Exemption does not apply to foreigners holding Travel Document for Foreigners issued by the countries listed above.
- Foreigners entering Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption category must possess adequate finances for the duration of stay in Thailand.
According to Thai Immigration Law B.E. 2522 (1979) Immigration Act of Thailand, any foreign citizen who wishes to enter the Kingdom of Thailand is required to obtain a Visa from a Royal Thai Embassy or a Royal Thai Consulate-General prior to entering Thailand.
If you are a foreigner and you want to visit Thailand for tourism purposes, here is how to get a Tourist Visa:
Documents required:- have a passport or travel document with validity of not less than 6 months;
- Visa application form completely filled out
- recent passport photos
- flight itinerary
- the applicant must possess means of living expenses amounting to 10,000THB per person and 20,000THB per family accordingly.
Validity of Visa:
Upon entering Thailand by plane, you have to check whether your country belongs to Visa on Arrival or Visa Exemption Scheme category as it varies per nationality. The earlier, you will get 15 days (Visa on Arrival), while the latter you will get a maximum of 30-day period of stay. The Visa on Arrival is applied at the Immigration checkpoint at the airport. If your country belongs to Visa Exemption, you will automatically get 30-day visa. If your country doesn't belong to the two categories, you have to go to Thai Embassy and apply for tourist visa. If you want to extend your period of stay beyond that date, you have to do Visa Extension, or you may need to apply for an appropriate visa validated by a Royal Thai Embassy or a Royal-Thai Consulate General depending on your purpose of stay.
Foreign citizens that come by road from a neighboring country shall obtain only 15 days instead of 30 days of visa exemption. This restriction does not apply to Malaysian citizens who will receive 30 days visa even if they come by road.
If you want to stay in Thailand at a longer period, you can apply for another type of visa: 90- Day Thai Visa or a 1-Year Non-immigrant Visa.
90- Day Thai Visa
The validity of this type of visa would be one visa for one entry (single entry visa)- it will allow you 90-day duration of stay from date of arrival to Thailand.
1-Year Non-immigrant Visa
It will give you multiple entries to Thailand. From the date of arrival to Thailand, you can stay for a period of 90 days per entry. You can go to the nearest border (about 4 hours away from Bangkok) so you can renew your stay for another 90 days in Thailand. The period of validity of this type of visa would be one calendar year.
Thai Elite Visa
Thailand Elite visa is a special visa aimed for high networth businessmen, digital nomads, retirees, investors, high income individuals, and families looking to move in to Thailand. The Elite member or card holder has special privileges such as VIP treatment at the airport, exclusive spa and golf courses, special discount at major department stores and shopping malls, elite personal assistance, and many more. To learn more if Thailand Elite Visa is the most suitable long term visa for you, just click the link below.