Thailand: residency, citizenship, tax and living

The Destination Thailand Visa lets you stay for five years with multiple entries. It’s available to digital nomads, remote workers, and freelancers, as well as individuals who want to learn Thai boxing or cooking, or seek medical treatments. You can also get a 10-year Long-Term Resident Visa if you’re a remote worker, retiree, investor, or if you work in target industries, or apply for the Thailand Priviledge Visa for 5–20 years of residency.

Under the Long-Term Resident Visa program, you can secure 10-year residency by investing at least USD 500,000 in government bonds, a business or venture capital firm, or real estate. If you are over 50 and retired, the minimum investment can be halved to USD 250,000, but you need to maintain a USD 100,000 deposit in a local bank for a year.

You can become a permanent resident and a citizen of Thailand, though the process can be challenging. To become a permanent resident, you must reside in the country for three years and learn the Thai language. You’ll also be subject to a quota for your nationality, as only a small number of new permanent residents are admitted every year. After five years of permanent residence, you may apply for citizenship by naturalisation.

Thailand uses a remittance-based system to tax foreign income of residents. Any income derived outside the country is only taxed if it is transferred into the country. If income is generated by activity performed within the country but paid abroad, it’s still considered to have originated from Thailand and is subject to personal income tax. Thailand has a progressive income tax with rates ranging from 5% to 35%.