Retiring in Thailand on the LTR visa

The Long-Term Resident visa's Wealthy Pensioner category runs for ten years and changes the administration entirely.

What it requires

Applicants must be 50 or over and show passive income — pension, dividends, rental income. Employment income does not count. Two routes: USD 80,000 a year in passive income; or USD 40,000 a year, combined with USD 250,000 invested in Thailand. Health insurance and the usual documentary requirements apply.

What it gives you

• Ten years of permission to stay, as two consecutive five-year terms, with a re-verification of qualifications between them.
• An exemption from Thai personal income tax on foreign-sourced income remitted into Thailand. This is the substantive benefit. Since January 2024, foreign income remitted by a Thai tax resident has generally been assessable at 5–35%. The LTR exemption sits outside that.
• One annual address confirmation instead of the 90-day report — filed in person, or by an authorised representative, at the Immigration Bureau's One Bangkok office. It falls due only if you stay a full year without leaving; a re-entry resets the clock.
• Unlimited re-entry without a separate permit, and fast-track immigration lanes at the major airports.

A registered lease counts toward the USD 250,000

This is the part most people get wrong, so here is what the Board of Investment actually publishes. Its document checklist for Wealthy Pensioners, in the version dated 6 November 2025, sets out three property cases:

• Freehold — the condominium title deed, and the Land Department sale and purchase agreement.
• Leasehold — the leasehold agreement issued by the Land Department, with at least ten years remaining at the date of application, together with the title deed.
• Construction — the construction agreement stating the purchase value, plus the construction permit. Whether BOI adds a build cost to a lease value or treats the two as alternatives, it does not publish; ask before you rely on the combination.

The BOI's published FAQ says the same in prose, and expressly includes land being leased, not only buildings on it.

Four conditions do the real work:

1. The lease must be registered at the Land Office. The document BOI asks for is the Land Department's, not a private contract.
2. It must be in your own name. A lease or title in a spouse's or a company's name does not count, and jointly held assets are divided by the number of names on them.
3. The investment must already be in place before you apply, not arranged afterwards.
4. The documents must be fresh. BOI will not take the copy in your drawer: the leasehold agreement and the title deed must each be a Land Department copy issued within the last six months.

One thing worth ruling out: a Thai bank deposit is not a qualifying investment. A balance of USD 100,000 held for twelve months is an accepted substitute for the health insurance requirement, and nothing more.

What BOI does not publish is how a leasehold is valued against the USD 250,000 — whether that is the premium paid, an appraised figure, or something else. Nor do the law firms. Endorsement decisions are also discretionary and, in BOI's own words, final, and the conditions must be maintained through the visa's life. So confirm your own numbers with BOI or your counsel before you commit.

Why this matters for where you live, and where it does not

The LTR does not care which beach you are on. It is a national visa with national criteria.

People often assume that living somewhere less established means a harder immigration position. It does not. The requirements are identical in Sichon and in Patong.

Where location does matter is everything the visa does not cover: the hospital, the flights, the schools, whether there is anything to eat. Those are set out honestly in Living at Sichon.

Where Sichon fits

We hold 241 rai on the mainland Gulf coast — 1,014 metres of continuous titled beach frontage on a single contiguous parcel — offered on registered lease of up to thirty years, including for a private estate on part of the holding.

Foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. A lease registered at the Land Office, paired with rights over the building you put up, is the lawful and bankable route that most foreign-owned homes and resorts here use, and it avoids the nominee company structures Thai authorities have spent recent years unwinding. The mechanics are in the 30-year lease guide.

Questions we are usually asked

Does a leasehold count toward the USD 250,000?

Yes. The Board of Investment's document checklist for Wealthy Pensioners, in the version dated 6 November 2025, accepts a leasehold agreement issued by the Land Department with at least ten years remaining at the date of application, together with the title deed. The BOI's published FAQ expressly includes land being leased, not only buildings on it.

Does money in a Thai bank count?

No. A Thai bank deposit is not a qualifying investment. A balance of USD 100,000 held for twelve months is an accepted substitute for the health insurance requirement, and nothing more.

How is a lease valued against the threshold?

The BOI does not publish this — whether it is the premium paid, an appraised figure, or something else. Nor do the law firms. Confirm your own numbers with the BOI or your counsel before you commit.

Does living somewhere less established make the visa harder?

No. The LTR is a national visa with national criteria. The requirements are identical in Sichon and in Patong.

General information as at September 2026. Not legal, tax or investment advice. Confirm everything with independent Thai counsel before committing.