Visa & Residency — Retirement & Marriage
Staying on, year to year — the retirement and marriage routes.
Two of the most common long-stay routes rest on retirement or on marriage to a Thai national. Each is an annual extension of stay granted by the Immigration Bureau against a financial test and, for the O-A visa, a health-insurance requirement. We prepare and file the extension; the grant is Immigration's.
What this is
What these routes are
A foreigner aged 50 or over may hold a Non-Immigrant O visa extended annually on the basis of retirement. A Non-Immigrant O-A visa is a similar long-stay visa applied for from abroad, which additionally requires qualifying health insurance. A foreigner married to a Thai national may instead extend annually on the basis of marriage.
Each is an extension of stay, renewed year by year, and each rests on meeting a financial test at the time of application and maintaining the conditions during the stay — including 90-day address reporting and, if you travel, a re-entry permit to keep the extension alive.
We prepare and file the extension and advise on maintaining the conditions. The grant of an extension is a decision of the Immigration Bureau against the criteria in force; it is not ours to promise.
Eligibility criteria
The financial and insurance tests
The thresholds below are the published criteria at the date checked and are indicative only. Immigration offices apply detailed conditions (for example how long funds must be seasoned in the account) that change and vary in practice — confirm the current requirements with us.
Retirement — Non-Immigrant O extension (aged 50+)
- A Thai bank deposit of THB 800,000 seasoned for the period Immigration requires before and after the application, or
- A monthly income of at least THB 65,000 evidenced as Immigration requires, or
- A combination of deposit and annual income meeting the required total
Non-Immigrant O-A (applied for from abroad)
- The retirement financial test above, plus
- Qualifying health insurance meeting the coverage the Thai authorities require for O-A applicants
- A criminal-record clearance and a medical certificate from your country of application
Marriage extension (married to a Thai national)
- A Thai bank deposit of THB 400,000 seasoned as Immigration requires, or a monthly income of at least THB 40,000
- Evidence of a genuine, subsisting marriage to a Thai national
- A home visit or evidence of the relationship, as the local office requires
Documents typically required
- Passport with the current visa or entry stamp and the departure card
- Bank statements and a bank letter evidencing the required deposit or income
- For O-A, the qualifying health-insurance policy and the required medical and police-clearance certificates
- For a marriage extension, the marriage certificate, the Thai spouse's identity and house-registration documents, and relationship evidence
- Proof of address in Thailand and the TM30 address notification receipt
- Application forms and photographs as the local Immigration office specifies
Government fees & disbursements
These are third-party costs paid to the authorities and providers, separate from the firm's professional fee. Amounts are indicative at the date checked and change — confirm current figures with us.
- Immigration fee for a one-year extension of stay
- Re-entry permit fee (a single or a multiple re-entry permit) where you will travel
- 90-day report — filed without a government fee, in person, by post or online
- For O-A, the health-insurance premium paid to the insurer; certified translations where required
The process
How the process runs
01
Assess
We confirm which route fits and check the financial test, insurance and documents against the criteria your Immigration office applies.
02
Prepare
We prepare the application, the bank evidence and, for a marriage extension, the relationship evidence, and check the seasoning of funds.
03
File
The extension is filed at the Immigration office for your address; we attend or assist as the office requires.
04
Maintain
We remind you of the 90-day reporting cycle and the re-entry permit you need before travelling, and prepare the next annual extension.
Typical timeline
An extension is applied for near the end of the current permitted stay and, on grant, runs for one year. Immigration may grant a short under-consideration period first. Processing depends on the office and on complete, correctly seasoned evidence; we do not guarantee a grant or a timeline.
What the firm does / What the firm does not do
What the firm does
- Confirms the route and checks the financial, insurance and document requirements
- Prepares and files the annual extension of stay
- Advises on 90-day reporting, re-entry permits and keeping the extension alive
- Prepares each year's renewal in good time
What the firm does not do
- Guarantee that an extension is granted — the decision is the Immigration Bureau's and is discretionary
- Set or waive the financial thresholds, seasoning periods or insurance requirement
- Arrange a deposit that is not genuinely yours, or evidence a marriage that is not genuine, which we will not do
- Promise a processing time
Sources
- Immigration Bureau — Non-Immigrant O extensions of stay and reporting · checked 2026-07-20
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (e-Visa) — Non-Immigrant O-A long-stay visa · checked 2026-07-20
Read this first
Buying a condominium does not by itself confer any right to live in Thailand. A long stay rests on a visa granted on its own criteria — approvals rest with the Thai authorities, and rules change frequently; confirm current requirements with us.
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.
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.