Thailand is calling. Find the visa that fits.
Tell Uncle Pong how you want to live, work or retire. In about three minutes, the finder weighs all 18 legal routes and shows your strongest options—with real costs, requirements and catches.
No sales pitch. No account. Your answers stay on your device.
Your visa shortlist in four easy moves.
No embassy maze and no spreadsheet gymnastics. Tell Pong what matters, then see which routes genuinely fit your life.
Tell Pong your plan
Share your age, passport group, work, family situation, budget and ideal length of stay.
Check every route
The finder screens all 18 options for hard limits, financial proof, work rights and practical fit.
See your best fits
Get a ranked Good / Better / Best shortlist with honest advantages, drawbacks and costs.
Know your next move
Leave with the application path, documents to prepare and official sources to verify.
One Thailand. Very different ways to stay.
Most people arrive with two or three visas in mind. Pong checks those—and the routes you may not know about—without steering you toward a paid service.
DTV & remote routes
Longer stays for overseas work, soft-power activities and qualifying professionals.
Explore the DTV → Age 50+Retirement routes
Compare Non-O, Non-OA, Non-O-X and LTR options by funds, insurance and hassle.
Compare retirement → Family in ThailandMarriage & family
Routes for Thai spouses, parents of Thai children and qualifying dependants.
See family routes → Working locallyWork & specialist
Non-B, SMART and LTR routes for legal work with the right employer or profession.
See work routes →Browse all 18 legal routes.
One kingdom, very different lives
Bangkok's blue-glass towers, Chiang Mai's cool-season mornings, the Andaman's limestone bays, Isaan's easy warmth. Answer the finder honestly and Uncle Pong matches your visa and your city.
Bangkok
$1,900–3,300 / mo
Chiang Mai
$1,400–2,200 / mo
Phuket
$2,000–3,500 / mo
Koh Samui
$1,800–3,100 / mo
Pattaya
$1,600–2,700 / mo
Hua Hin
$1,500–2,500 / mo
Krabi
Limestone & slow days
Khon Kaen
$1,200–1,800 / mo
Most long-stayers try two or three before settling
The finder scores every hub on pace, budget, healthcare, air quality, expat scene and more — then names the three spots that fit how you actually want to live. Want the full tour first?
Latest Thailand visa news
All 57 reports →-
Thai Visa
Auto Gates Head to Don Mueang and Phuket
Thai visa news: automated passport control is going beyond Suvarnabhumi to Don Mueang and Phuket, and daily use has...
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Moving to Thailand
Moving to Thailand? New 5 Million Baht Cash Rules
Moving to Thailand?
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Thailand Visa
Thai Visa News: Belarus Added to Visa-Free Plan
Thai visa news: Belarus joins the visa-free plan for Mexico, Colombia and Uzbekistan.
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Thailand Visa
Thailand Visa: Visa-Free Plan for Mexico, Colombia
Thailand visa: the tourism minister wants 15-day visa-free entry back for Mexico, Colombia and Uzbekistan.
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Living in Thailand
100 Baht Travel Vouchers for Foreign Residents
Living in Thailand?
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Living in Thailand
Flood Relief Package: What Expats Can Claim
Living in Thailand?
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Moving to Thailand
Nationwide Nominee Land Crackdown
Moving to Thailand?
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Moving to Thailand
Bangkok Condo Glut: 65,300 Unsold Units Favour Renters
Bangkok has built far more condos than it can sell.
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Living in Thailand
Expat Emergency Plan: Wills, Contacts and Consent
A British consul in Chonburi has told expats to get their affairs in order before a crisis.
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Living in Thailand
Health Insurance Claim Rejected? 6 Traps for Expats
Your policy says you are covered, yet the claim comes back short.
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Living in Thailand
Hua Hin Beach Demolition Starts
Fifteen buildings on the Hua Hin seafront are being cleared from public land, starting 16 October.
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Thai visa
Phuket Overstay Arrest After 1,807 Days
A woman who entered on a 30-day exemption in March 2020 was found in a Phuket cooking class, nearly five years past her...
Thailand visa questions we hear a lot
Short, honest answers to the questions that bring most people here. Use the finder above for advice tailored to your own situation.
What is the best Thailand visa for retirement?+
For most people aged 50+, the Non-O Retirement visa is the standard route — 800,000 THB in a Thai bank or 65,000 THB/month income, renewable each year. Higher-income retirees (about US$80,000+/yr in passive income) often prefer the 10-year LTR Wealthy Pensioner, which adds tax benefits and only annual reporting.
Can I work in Thailand on the DTV visa?+
The DTV lets you work remotely for employers and clients outside Thailand, but you cannot legally work for Thai companies or Thai clients on it. Local work needs a Non-B visa plus a work permit, or an LTR/SMART visa in specific cases.
How long can I stay in Thailand without a visa in 2026?+
As checked on 28 August 2026, eligible passport holders remain covered by the current 60-day visa-exemption scheme. The Cabinet approved a replacement framework in May, but it does not take effect until the required Ministry of Interior announcements are published in the Royal Gazette and the stated waiting period has passed. Confirm your nationality's current allowance with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs close to travel.
What is the cheapest long-stay visa for Thailand?+
The DTV is one of the cheapest at roughly 10,000 THB for five years (180 days per entry). If you're married to a Thai citizen, the marriage visa has a low bar — 400,000 THB in the bank or 40,000 THB/month.
How much money do I need to live in Thailand?+
A modest single-person lifestyle realistically runs about US$900–1,500+ per month in 2026, and more in Bangkok or on the islands. Most long-stay visas also require proof of funds you keep set aside — commonly US$12,000–24,000+, depending on the route.
Meet Uncle Pong
Independent · Visa data reviewed June 2026
Sawatdee, khun farang. I'm Uncle Pong — your cheeky Thai uncle who's watched foreigners arrive, fall in love with this country, and occasionally get themselves into beautiful trouble for forty years. This tool is my way of giving you the straight talk I'd give my own nephew over a Chang on the porch.
Why this exists
Choosing how to stay in Thailand legally is one of the biggest decisions you'll make — and almost every website about it is run by a visa agency that earns a commission steering you toward one product. That's not advice; that's a sales pitch with a smile.
ThaiVisaFinder is different. It weighs all 18 legal routes against your real situation, shows you the genuine costs and the drawbacks nobody likes to mention, and points you to official sources to verify everything. I don't sell visas, I don't take referral fees, and I'd rather tell you "now isn't your time" than watch the move go wrong.
My promise: honest over salesy, every time. If a cheaper or simpler route fits you better, that's the one I'll show you — even if it's the one nobody profits from.
The family
This is a sibling to Uncle Pong's Thailand Budget Planner, where I help you budget a trip down to the last baht. Same uncle, same straight talk.
Important
I know Thailand, but I'm not a lawyer and rules here change like Bangkok traffic. Everything here is for information and planning only — see the . Always confirm with official Thai sources or a licensed immigration lawyer before you act.