Suwanvara Law Firm — Separate Engagement
Staying in Thailand, set out plainly.
Foreign buyers ask about living here within minutes of asking about the unit. These pages describe the routes to a long stay — factually, with the criteria and the sources — so you can see where you might fit before you engage anyone.
Read this first
Owning a condominium is not a right to live here.
It is a common and understandable assumption: buy a condominium in Thailand and you may live in it as long as you like. It is not so. Freehold ownership of a unit within the foreign quota is a property right — it is not an immigration status and it confers no right to reside.
To stay long-term you need a visa and, in most cases, an annual extension of stay, granted on its own criteria by the Board of Investment or the Immigration Bureau. Your unit can be your registered address and can support some applications, but it does not replace the visa.
We set this out at the start because it is the first thing to get right. The routes below are the honest options — choose by your circumstances, not by the purchase.
The routes
Four routes, described in full.
Each route page sets out the eligibility criteria, the documents, the process and timeline, the government fees, and — as plainly — what the firm does and does not do, against dated sources.
01
Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa
A ten-year visa under the BOI programme, for four published qualifying categories.
Read the route02
Thailand Privilege
A membership-based long-stay programme run by Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd.
Read the route03
Retirement & Marriage Extensions
Non-Immigrant O / O-A retirement and marriage-based annual extensions of stay.
Read the route04
Residency Essentials
TM30 reporting, 90-day reporting, the Certificate of Residence and work-permit questions.
Read the routeHow we work
The lines we hold on every immigration page.
We prepare and file. We do not guarantee any visa approval, company registration, transfer date, price or other legal result — approvals rest with the Thai authorities and are discretionary.
Rules, fees and processing times change — confirm the current requirements with us.
This page describes services and general information. It is not legal advice on any person's situation.
Legal work is a separate engagement with Suwanvara Law Firm under its own professional fee, never bundled into a brokerage fee. You remain free to appoint another adviser at any time.
We describe only lawful routes to hold property in Thailand — a registered lease, a genuinely operating company with real business substance, ownership by a Thai spouse with the statutory declaration, or condominium freehold within the 49% foreign quota. We do not arrange Thai nominee shareholders or nominee owners, which is unlawful under the Land Code and the Foreign Business Act, and we will decline such instructions.
Engagement follows a conflicts check and a written engagement letter that sets out the scope, the fee and each side's obligations.
Visa & residency enquiry
Tell us where you are, and we will tell you the routes that fit.
A visa and residency enquiry goes to Suwanvara Law Firm as a separate engagement, quoted in an engagement letter after a conflicts and scope check. Immigration outcomes rest with the Thai authorities.