There are no regular Thai government updates on visa volume overall. Thus the commonly-asked question “how many retired foreigners live in Thailand?” can produce only a speculative answer. Several visa options are on the table with choice largely dictated by age, available finance and whether migration is intended to be more or less permanent.
The 10-year LTR (long Term Residence), introduced in 2022, currently has “more than 7,000 enrolments” according to a September 2025 report by the Board of Investment (BOI) secretary general Narit Therdsteerasaukdi. LTR is designed for several markets, including professionals in new industries requiring a digital work permit, but 2,658 “wealthy pensioners” are included in that summary, the biggest single category for eligible membership.
Retirees in the LTR program, at least 50 years old, need an income of at least US$80,000 annually or heavy cash investments in the Thai economy. The key advantages are no limit on the number of dependants, tax-free status for transmitted overseas income, annual reporting instead of the 90 days report and access to the BOI one-stop shop. Almost half the retirees in the program are Europeans with a further near-20 percent from The United States.
Another longterm visa, Elite or Privilege, has been a rolling program since 2003 and, according to the current website, has “over 40,000” members from 50 countries. There are no age restrictions. Visa length and bonuses vary according to the upfront payment, but the popular Bronze offers a five years validity for 650,000 baht or US$20,000. There are no figures on the number of retirees in Elite, though it is said to be most popular with foreigners who want to travel frequently in and out of Thailand with a permit which is multi-entry without re-entry bureaucracy.
Several annually renewable visas cater specifically for the retiree aged at least 50. The embassy-controlled “O/A” and the immigration-granted “0” differ in detail, but broadly require proof of 800,000 baht or US$25,000 in a Thai bank. “OA” has a requirement about medical insurance, variously interpreted. The UN Network on Migration in Thailand said that, in 2023, there were 126,654 retirees living in the kingdom. But the quoted data is soft. Whether that assumed total has since increased or gone down is disputed by immigration gurus. The immigration bureau itself remains strictly silent.
In July 2024 the 5-years validity Destination Thailand Visa made its appearance. The most recent government figures, in January 2025, show about 30,000 awarded to digital nomads and a further 50,000 to “soft power” applicants such as medical tourists, foreigners with Thai families and learners of Thai boxing or cookery. Some retirees are known to have switched to DTV from specific retiree visas by enrolling for eligible adult education classes. DTV, which requires the applicant to visit a Thai embassy abroad, does not require a Thai bank account as the 500,000 baht security bond can be in a foreign financial institution.
Although 100,000 (to 150,000) is a reasonable minimum guesstimate for retiree numbers, nobody knows a precise figure as there is no single definition of a retiree. Thus some are known to travel frequently to Thailand on the visa exempt category, but are not based here. Collecting data from embassies, for the O/A and DTV visas, is problematical as each consulate is semi-independent and operates its own protocols. Currently, there is no central Thai agency coordinating visas: the immigration bureau, the BOI and the foreign affairs and tourist ministries are all involved.
Moreover, the ground may well be shifting. Retirees on annually renewable visas, who rely on friends or third parties loaning them cash, are now having problems with some Thai banks requiring 800,000 baht to be frozen and untouched for up to four months. Some retirees are known to have panicked about personal income tax, prematurely as Thai lawyer Victor Wong stressed in a recent Pattaya Mail article. Meanwhile, there are calls for a Thai golden visa which would offer permanent residency or a second passport to the global wealthy.
But the most fundamental do-not-know is the recent change of government. With premier Anutin Charnvirakul at its head, we could see a new ministry coordinating all visas, changes to cash requirements, a new and comprehensive immigration act or maybe none of the above. What is clear is the administration’s commitment to increasing digitalization and centralization of the whole immigration system. Further clarity will likely be delayed until after the general election early next year.
