Which Thailand visa is actually right for you?
I'm Uncle Pong. Tell me about your life and I'll weigh all 18 legal routes and give you a straight answer — real costs, the catches nobody mentions, and what to do next. No agency nonsense.
I'll also tell you where in Thailand you'd be happiest. 🌴
A few easy questions, then a straight answer
No accounts, no spam, and Uncle earns nothing if you pick one visa over another. Just an honest map of what actually fits your age, money, work and plans.
Tell Uncle your story
Nationality, age, how you earn, whether you've a Thai sweetheart, your budget and timeline. Smart branching means you only answer what matters.
Uncle weighs all 18 routes
Every legal pathway is scored against you and screened for the hard stuff — bank balances, income thresholds, age limits, work rights.
Get the honest verdict
A Good / Better / Best pick with real costs and real drawbacks — plus where in Thailand you'd likely thrive.
All 18 legal long-stay routes — weighed against each other
Most websites push the one visa they earn commission on. Uncle weighs the lot, even the ones nobody makes money sending you to.
Whatever visa you pick, get these right at the border
- 1TDAC arrival card — mandatory and free, filed in the 72 hours before you land. Only use the official government site; anyone charging a fee is a scam.
- 2Passport valid 6+ months beyond your travel dates.
- 3Proof of funds — immigration can ask each tourist to show ~20,000 THB (40,000 per family), often in real cash. A banking app on your phone may not cut it.
- 4Onward ticket & a booked first night ready to show.
Just visiting for a holiday?
Once your visa's sorted, let Uncle cost the whole trip — flights, hotels, food, nights out and all — in your own currency.
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.
Uncle Pong's Visa Finder 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.
Uncle's 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 Holiday Estimator, 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.
Privacy Policy
Last updated June 2026
Uncle Pong likes privacy as much as you do. Here's the honest, plain-English version.
What we collect
Effectively nothing about you personally. The Visa Finder runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are used on your device to generate your result and are not sent to a server, sold, or used to build a profile of you.
Local storage
We may use a small amount of local storage on your own device to remember your cookie choice and, if offered, your last result — so you don't have to start over. This stays on your device and is never transmitted to us. You control it from .
Analytics & advertising
Off by default. We don't currently run advertising or sell data. If anonymous analytics are ever enabled, they'll be opt-in and listed in the .
Third parties
We load fonts from Google Fonts and may link out to official Thai government sites and our sister site. Those have their own privacy policies. We don't share your data with them because we don't have it.
Your rights & contact
Since we don't hold personal data, there's little to request — but you can clear local storage any time via your browser or our Cookie Settings. Questions? Reach the operator, Genext Information Systems, via the contact details on the main site.
Cookie Policy
Last updated June 2026
We keep cookies to a bare minimum — no tracking, no ad networks.
Strictly necessary (always on)
A tiny bit of local storage saves your cookie choice and, where offered, your in-progress answers — on this device only, never sent to a server. The tool can't function sensibly without it.
Analytics (off by default)
Anonymous, aggregated usage stats to improve the tool. Not currently used. If switched on, no personally identifying information is collected.
Advertising / marketing (off by default)
Ad personalisation. Not currently used, and off unless you explicitly enable it.
Manage all of this any time in .
Cookie Settings
Analytics and advertising are off by default — the switches are yours.
Note: in this preview your choice is remembered for the session only. On the live site it's stored on your device.
Terms & Disclaimer
Last updated June 2026
This is information, not legal advice. Uncle Pong's Visa Finder is an independent informational tool. It is not legal, tax, financial, or immigration advice, and it is not affiliated with the Thai government, any embassy, or any visa agency.
Rules change — verify everything
Thai immigration rules, fees, financial thresholds and eligibility change frequently and are applied at the discretion of individual officers. Figures here are mid-2026 estimates shown as ranges and will vary by embassy, province, exchange rate and your circumstances. The visa-exemption rules in particular are mid-change (the 60→30 day rollback). Always confirm current requirements with the Thai e-Visa portal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Board of Investment (for LTR), or a licensed Thai immigration lawyer before acting or paying anyone.
No guarantee
Recommendations are generated by an automated model from the answers you give. They do not guarantee visa approval, eligibility, or any particular cost. Use them as a starting point for your own research, not a decision.
No liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the operator (Genext Information Systems) accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this tool. You use it at your own risk and remain responsible for your own immigration decisions.
Beware scams
Never pay for the free TDAC arrival card. Use only official government portals or authorised agents, and verify an agent's credentials directly with the issuing authority.
Accessibility
Last updated June 2026
Uncle wants everyone to be able to use this, whoever you are and however you browse.
What we've built in
- Keyboard navigation throughout, with visible focus outlines.
- A skip-to-content link for screen-reader and keyboard users.
- Semantic headings and ARIA labels on interactive controls and the questionnaire.
- Colour contrast aimed at WCAG AA for body text, plus meaning never carried by colour alone (icons and labels back it up).
- Large touch targets and a layout that reflows cleanly down to small phones.
- Respect for your prefers-reduced-motion setting — animations switch off if you've asked your device to reduce motion.
- Descriptive alternative text on images of Uncle and destinations.
Still not right for you?
Accessibility is never "done." If something here is hard to use with assistive technology, tell the operator (Genext Information Systems) via the contact details on the main site and we'll fix it.