Thailand retirement visa in 2026: age, money and insurance

The conditions below come from the Thai Foreign Ministry’s e-Visa reference list, the Immigration Bureau website and the embassy in Moscow, checked on 19 October 2026. For applicants from Russia the general procedure applies: applications go online at thaievisa.go.th, and the fee is paid at the embassy in Moscow.

Who it suits and who it does not

It suits people aged 50 and over with a pension, income or savings who are ready to live in Thailand for up to a year and renew every year. You arrange the insurance and certificates yourself.

It does not suit anyone under 50: look at the DTV instead. It does not suit anyone who wants to work in Thailand, because the retirement visa does not allow work. And it does not suit anyone who cannot keep THB 800,000 in a Thai account if they choose the route with an extension inside the country.

Two routes: O-A and 90 days with an extension

The names of the purposes in the e-Visa list are ‘Long-stay (O-A) for foreigners aged 50 years or older, no longer than 1 year’ and ‘Retirement for foreigners aged 50 years or older, no longer than 90 days’.

Money: three options

For the extension, the Bangkok Immigration Office requires one of these:

For the visa application abroad, the e-Visa list names statements for the last 3 months from any banks or proof of earnings, and no Thai account is needed at that stage.

Insurance for O-A

A policy of USD 100,000 or THB 3,000,000, including COVID-19, for the whole stay. Thai insurance is bought through longstay.tgia.org. Foreign insurance must be certified by the foreign embassy in Thailand, or notarised and certified by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If an insurer refuses cover, the Immigration Bureau accepts a deposit of at least THB 3,000,000 held 2 months before filing, together with the letter of refusal, but that money cannot count towards income or the main deposit. More on policies in do you need health insurance.

O-A documents

According to the e-Visa list:

• passport
• a photo taken within the last 6 months
• proof of permanent residence in the country of application
• proof of income or balance, statements for 3 months
• a medical certificate from the country of application showing no prohibited diseases under Ministerial Regulation No. 14 (B.E. 2535), valid for no more than 3 months
• an insurance policy and a foreign insurance certificate, the form is on longstay.tgia.org
• a police clearance certificate from the country of nationality or the country of application

The list for the 90-day retirement visa is shorter: passport, photo, a document showing your current location and proof of money. For other visa types the Moscow embassy requires a notarised English translation of documents, and we found no separate Moscow list for O-A, so check before applying.

What it costs

The embassy’s fee table has no ‘O-A’ line, so we do not claim that O-A is exactly USD 200: confirm the amount when you apply. The Immigration Bureau page lists no separate fee for the retirement extension, and the general THB 1,900 applies. Insurance, translation and certificates are paid separately.

How to get an O-A: steps

1. Prepare certificates in Russia. A medical certificate (valid for 3 months) and a police certificate, plus proof of income or balance.
2. Buy insurance and get a certificate with the insurer’s stamp.
3. Apply at thaievisa.go.th. Russians apply for visas only online, personally or through a representative.
4. Pay the fee in cash in US dollars at the embassy in Moscow within 14 days of confirmation.
5. Wait for the decision. For visa applications the embassy names 14 business days after payment and up to 4-6 weeks if the Foreign Ministry must approve.
6. After arrival extend your stay at the Immigration Bureau and notify immigration of your address every 90 days.

Extensions and life after arrival

The retirement extension is granted for up to a year, and for O-A holders the stay can follow the insurance period, up to one year at a time. If you leave Thailand within the period, get a re-entry permit: THB 1,000 for a single and THB 3,800 for multiple. Every 90 days you must notify immigration of your address (form TM.47): in person or through a representative from 15 days before the due date to 7 days after it, by registered mail 15 days before the due date, or online at tm47.immigration.go.th, which opens 15 days before the due date. If you are late you must file in person and pay a THB 2,000 fine. The 90-day count restarts after every entry into Thailand. The Bangkok Immigration Office serves only the Bangkok zone, so elsewhere ask the local office.

Other long options for 50+

• O-X. A stay of 5 years plus another 5. Only citizens of 14 countries can apply: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Russia is not on the list, so O-X is not available to Russians (Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, page updated 17.07.2026, and the Thai government portal thailand.go.th, checked 19.10.2026). For citizens of those countries the e-Visa list requires a fixed deposit of at least THB 3,000,000, or THB 1,800,000 together with an income of THB 1,200,000 a year in a Thai bank, and Thai insurance with outpatient cover of at least THB 40,000 and inpatient cover of at least THB 400,000
• LTR for retirees. A 10-year BOI programme visa, with a fee of USD 2,000 at the Moscow embassy and a BOI letter needed to apply. The programme terms are set by the BOI and we did not check them

If your case is not about retirement, compare visa options in the visa guide for Russians.

What we could not find in official sources

• A separate document list from the Moscow embassy specifically for O-A: the embassy site has no O-A page, so we use the e-Visa reference list
• A separate fee for O-A in the embassy’s table
• Processing times for O-A: the embassy has only a general figure for visas
• Whether a visa-exempt stay can be switched to a retirement status without leaving: the Immigration Bureau page does not describe it

We re-check this page every 30 days. If you want a specialist to look at your documents, write to us and we will pass your request to a visa partner we have vetted.

Found an error or outdated fact? Tell the editors, we will fix it and update the check date.