Moving to Bangkok as a Brit: the visa routes that actually work

Getting into Thailand is easy for a Brit; living there means picking the right visa before you fly, because the visa-free stay is now short and strictly for holidays.

The short version

• Since 15 September 2026, British passport holders get up to 30 days without a visa, for tourism only. The old 60-day exemption has gone [3].
• The FCDO says visa-free entry doesn't cover business, and anyone planning to work, study, retire or live in Thailand must get the right visa before travelling [1][2].
• The realistic routes are a job with a Thai employer (Non-Immigrant B plus a work permit), retirement from 50 (Non-O or O-A), remote work on the five-year Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), the Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa for higher earners, study, and family [4][5][6][7][8].
• Applications from the UK are online only, through the Thai e-visa system, and take about 15 working days [4].
• Once you're in, you report your address every 90 days and need a re-entry permit before trips abroad on most visas [1].

First, the 30-day rule

From 15 September 2026, Thailand cut its visa exemption from 60 days to 30 for 60 countries, the UK among them [3]. It's for tourism, and entries over land are generally limited to two a calendar year [3]. The FCDO adds that you may be asked to show at least 10,000 baht (about £222) per person, or 20,000 baht (about £443) per family, plus an onward or return ticket, and that Brits have been turned away without them [2]. Your passport needs at least six months left on arrival [2].

Since 1 May 2025, every foreign arrival also fills in the Thailand Digital Arrival Card online, within three days before landing [2]. Overstaying costs 500 baht a day up to 20,000 baht (about £11 a day, capped at about £443), and can bring detention, deportation and a ban of up to 10 years [2].

So the days of "fly in, have a look round, sort the visa later" are mostly over. Thailand isn't in the EU, so there's no Withdrawal Agreement or 90/180-day rule to lean on either: what you get is whatever stamp is in your passport.

The routes, side by side

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = THB 45.1092); dollar figures use the same day's rate (£1 = USD 1.3476).

A job in Bangkok

This is the classic route for teachers, engineers and anyone posted by a firm. Your employer gets approval from the Department of Employment first, and the embassy then wants that letter (the WP32) with your application for a Non-Immigrant B visa [7]. The visa lets you in for 90 days; your work permit and a one-year extension follow in Thailand. Teachers also need an ACRO police certificate no older than six months [7]. Our guide to working in Thailand covers the permit and the jobs foreigners can't do.

Retirement

From 50 you can retire to Thailand on a Non-O, which gives a 90-day stay you then extend a year at a time in Bangkok, or on an O-A, a one-year multiple-entry visa issued from London that needs health insurance [6]. The money test is 800,000 baht (about £17,735) or 65,000 baht a month (about £1,441); the embassy gives its own figures of £18,000 and £1,500 [6]. Worth knowing: the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week works out at roughly £1,046 a month, so it doesn't meet the income test on its own. Our retirement visas guide goes through both.

Remote work and the higher-end visas

The DTV is the one most new arrivals ask about. It costs £300 in London, lasts five years with multiple entries, and allows 180 days per entry plus one 180-day extension [5]. London now asks for proof that you live permanently in the UK or Ireland and a police certificate under six months old [5]. The LTR is a ten-year visa endorsed by the Board of Investment for wealthy pensioners, investors, remote workers at big overseas firms and highly skilled professionals [8]. Our DTV and LTR guide compares them.

Study and family

Non-ED visas cover students at Thai universities and other approved schools and colleges; short courses in Muay Thai or Thai cookery now often go through the DTV instead [5]. If your partner is Thai, the Non-O for family lets you stay with them, and our guide to marrying in Thailand covers that route and the UK side if you later move home together.

How to apply from the UK

1. Pick your route and gather the evidence: bank statements must be official UK or Irish statements showing your name and address, and screenshots aren't accepted [6][7].
2. Apply online at the Thai e-visa website. The Royal Thai Embassy in London no longer accepts paper applications [4].
3. Stay put. You must be physically in the UK, Ireland or a UK territory while it's processed. You can apply up to 90 days before you travel, and it usually takes about 15 working days [4].
4. Fill in the digital arrival card in the three days before you fly [2].
5. Fly in and keep every stamp. Your permitted stay is stamped on arrival, and extensions are done at the immigration office in Thailand [1].

Your first months in Bangkok

The admin is very Thai: lots of forms, lots of photocopies, and you'll want a pen. Bangkok's main immigration office is Immigration Division 1 at the Government Complex on Chaengwattana Road.

• Address notification. Your landlord or hotel reports where you're living (the TM30). Without it, extensions and 90-day reports can stall.
• 90-day reports. Every 90 days of continuous stay, you tell immigration where you live [1]. It's free if you're on time.
• Re-entry permits. On most single-entry visas and extensions, leaving Thailand without one cancels your permission to stay. Our guide to 90-day reporting, TM30 and re-entry permits has the forms and fees.
• Health insurance. Thailand has no healthcare agreement with the UK, so the NHS and your GHIC are no use here [1].
• Driving. You can use or convert a foreign licence, or apply for a temporary one-year Thai licence through the Department of Land Transport [1].

Don't forget the UK end

Tell HMRC you're going (usually on form P85), check the Statutory Residence Test, and keep the UK–Thailand double taxation agreement in mind [1]. The big one for retirees: Thailand isn't in the EEA and has no social security agreement with the UK, so your UK State Pension is frozen at the rate when you first claim it there or leave [9]. Our moving abroad checklist has the rest.

Thailand doesn't recognise dual citizenship, so taking Thai nationality may mean giving up your British one [1]. The British Embassy in Bangkok gives consular help but can't advise on Thai visas [1]. When we checked on 8 November 2026, the FCDO travel advice for Thailand was still current at 7 November 2026 and was last updated on 12 October 2026, with new information on entry requirements [10]. It advises against all but essential travel to the far south near Malaysia and to within 20 km of the Cambodian border [10].

Want to hear how the e-visa and the first extension really went? Our community group for Brits in Thailand has plenty who've just done it.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Thailand (last updated 11 December 2025)
2. GOV.UK (FCDO): Thailand travel advice – entry requirements (updated 12 October 2026)
3. TAT News: Thailand introduces new 30-day and 15-day visa exemption rules from 15 September (1 September 2026)
4. Royal Thai Embassy, London: Visa general information (last updated 4 November 2026)
5. Royal Thai Embassy, London: Destination Thailand Visa (last updated 8 September 2026)
6. Royal Thai Embassy, London: Retirement visa (Non-O and O-A) (last updated 4 April 2024)
7. Royal Thai Embassy, London: Business visa (Non-Immigrant B) (last updated 9 September 2026)
8. Board of Investment: Long-Term Resident visa (checked 8 November 2026)
9. GOV.UK: State Pension if you retire abroad – rates
10. GOV.UK (FCDO): Thailand travel advice (still current at 7 November 2026, updated 12 October 2026)

Keep reading

• Thailand's retirement visas for Brits: Non-O and O-A
• The Destination Thailand Visa and the LTR visa
• Renting in Bangkok
• Moving abroad checklist for Brits