Guide to Thailand's remote work visa (DTV)
Thailand has long been one of the more popular jurisdictions to relocate to, thanks to its welcoming culture, year round warm weather, excellent food scene and relatively low cost of living. While getting a visa to remain long term has never been difficult, getting one that fits our lifestyle (allows for remote work) has been nearly impossible before the introduction of the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV). In this post, I cover how it works, how to apply and the tax implications.
Simon @ FS / Koh Samui, Thailand
The Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)
The Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) is the country’s first remote work / nomad visa, and in my opinion, one of the best such visas available anywhere in the world. It is valid for 5 years, costs only a few hundred €/$, and qualifying is very easy.
You can qualify as a remote worker / location independent entrepreneur / freelancer, by engaging in cultural / medical activities or by being the dependent of a DTV holder. There is no income requirement, or minimum duration for cultural / medical activities, there is only a requirement to show a bank account balance of at least 500000 THB (or equivalent in local currency).
With the DTV, you get 180 days per entry (extendable to 360 days). This means that you can remain in the country for nearly a year at a time. You can also enter / exit as often as you like. As with most other visas, you are required to self report your address with Immigration every 90 days (the first report has to be filed in person but subsequent reports can be filed online, and no report has to be filed if you stay 89 or fewer days).
Because the DTV was launched in 2024, there are no datapoints available yet regarding renewal. We will know in 2029, when the first batch of DTV is up for renewal, what the conditions / requirements are.
Compared with the Thailand Elite Visa: The DTV is superior in nearly every ways to the Thailand Elite Visa. It costs a fraction of the price, allows for remote work (implicitly) and the application process is simpler. I honestly cannot imagine why anyone would go for the TEV instead of the DTV.
Compared with the Long Term Resident Program (LTR): The LTR offers very interesting benefits, such as ten years of validity, a tax exemption on foreign sourced income and one year reporting (instead of 90 days reporting), but qualifying is significantly harder (except for the retiree category). For example, under the remote worker category you must have an employment contract with a listed company or a private company with at least 50 million USD in revenue (for the past 3 years). This disqualifies most of us who run our own small and medium online businesses.
Compared with a non-immigrant visa: If you plan to remain in Thailand long-term and want to eventually apply for permanent residency / citizenship, you will have to use a non-immigrant visa instead of a DTV, TEV or LTR. There are various ways to qualify for a non-immigrant visa but they are all rather involving and are best suited to those based in the country full time.
Note regarding banking: There are numerous reports in expat groups regarding the inability of DTV holders to open Thai bank accounts, and that has also been my own experience. Currently, it seems that only work permit holders (including LTR) are able to easily open local accounts. This is not a real issue, however, in my opinion. Foreign cards can be used at most restaurants, hotels, shops etc, PromptPay QR codes can be scanned using the apps of foreign banks, TrueMoney and Line QR codes can be scanned using Alipay+ partner wallet apps. Many banks in Singapore and Hong Kong also offer THB accounts (with debit card access), for those who wish to hold the currency. The banking systems of Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong are linked and so transfers are usually instant (and free, with many banks).
How to apply
Your first step will be to choose a qualification route. If you choose to qualify as a remote worker / location independent entrepreneur / freelancer, you will have to provide documentation regarding your work (employment contract, registration certificate, freelance platform statements etc). If you choose to qualify by engaging in cultural / medical activities, you will have to provide a letter from a sponsor in Thailand. This will usually be the school you enrolled with, hospital you are getting treatment at etc. If you choose to qualify by being the dependent of a DTV holder, you will have to provide a copy of your sponsor’s DTV letter.
In every cases, you will have to provide your passport details, a passport style photo, proof of your current residence and a bank statement showing a balance of at least 500000 THB (or equivalent in local currency). It is recommended, but not required, that the bank statement be tied to your current residential address (and that the bank be in the same country, and currency). For example, if you plan to use a German residential address, you should also use a bank statement showing that address, issued by a German bank in EUR.
Your second step will be to choose the embassy or consulate you will apply with. It is preferable to apply with the embassy or consulate nearest to your current place of residence. If you have no current place of residence, you can apply with the embassy or a consulate nearest to your address in your passport country.
Your third step will be to file your application and pay the application fee. This is done online, via the Thai E-Visa portal. You do not have to physically be in the same country as the embassy or consulate you are applying with when you file your application, but you should not be in Thailand.
In most cases, you will hear back from your chosen embassy or consulate, via the Thai E-Visa portal, within a few days. If approved, you will be able to download your visa letter in PDF format. There is no need to print the letter, your visa details will automatically be visible to the immigration officers at the border and they will apply the correct 180 days stamp whenever you enter the country.
Tax implications
If you stay in Thailand 180 or more days in a calendar year, you will qualify as a tax resident no matter the type of visa you hold (including tourist visas and visa waivers). As a tax resident, you will be liable to tax on your Thai sourced income (the income you generate while you are in the country, regardless of where your clients, employer etc are located) and in some circumstances, your foreign sourced income (income generated while you are outside of the country, and income from assets located outside of the country). Tax rates are progressive, and range from 0 to 35%. An exemption currently applies to most types of crypto gains, when derived via a licensed exchange, broker etc.
You can avoid becoming a tax resident by limiting your stays to 179 or fewer days per calendar year. The dual base strategy takes advantage of this, and is an easy way to tax optimise. The way it works is simple, you split your year between two countries, spending a little bit less than half of the year in each, thus avoiding qualifying as a tax resident in either. You instead maintain a paper residency in a third country, one with a more advantageous tax system (usually a territorial taxation country), and use that paper residency with the banks, company registries etc. See my five flag theory guide for more details.
