The O-A visa is issued to those over 50 years old and provides a long-stay option in Thailand. It’s often referred to as a “retirement visa”. This visa is applied for in your home country, at a local Thai embassy or consulate. The application can usually be done by mail and takes a minimum of…Read More

If you want to study in Thailand, you will need an education visa, officially known as a Non-Immigrant O Visa (ED). This visa applies to those studying Thai, training to become a Buddhist monk, interning at a company, or attending a training or university course. While there are multiple options for study, learning Thai at…Read More

If you’ve got questions about the mandatory retirement visa health insurance requirement (O-A visa), this FAQ will answer those questions, and much more. I’ll cover the following Why you need health insurance. Who the approved companies are. How much you can expect to pay. How to get it cheaper than advertised. And how you can…Read More

In the past week I have heard from two people who have been refused entry into Thailand at a border crossing. The reason given by the immigration officer was having too many in/out border runs. This can be a distressing situation, particularly if you have a loved one waiting for you inside Thailand, or all…Read More

This post will provide you with all the information you need to obtain your retirement visa, and answer all the nagging questions to which you have seen conflicting answers for all over the Internet. Let’s get started. What is a Retirement Visa? In truth, there is no such thing as a retirement visa, per se.…Read More

If you’re new to Thailand then you probably don’t know too much about overstaying your visa. If you’ve made a few trips back-and-forth already, you may have heard the term but probably aren’t  au fait with the rules. Either way, it’s something every visitor and expat should familiarise themselves with. So in this post I…Read More

For those who have decided to make Thailand their long-term (or semi-long-term) home, there’s always the issue of balancing your visa type with the frequency you’d like to leave the Kingdom. And while it’s not the most exciting topic, I know that the visa re-entry question can cause plenty of confusion. To simplify your re-entry…Read More

A new visa has been launched and is dividing opinion across the expat community. It’s called the Non-Immigrant O-X (long stay). Technically it is a “new” retirement visa because it shares very similar properties with the Non Immigrant O-A visa, commonly known as the ‘retirement visa’. In this post I’ll run you through all you…Read More