How to Apply for the Thailand LTR Visa in 2026

The LTR visa application is done entirely online through the BOI's dedicated portal. There is no paper route and no walk-in option. The process is more straightforward than many people expect once the documents are in order, and document preparation is where the time goes. This guide walks through every stage from eligibility check to visa in hand.

Step 1: Confirm Your Eligibility Before You Do Anything Else

The 50,000 THB government fee is non-refundable. That single fact should be enough reason to confirm your eligibility before you open the BOI portal. The BOI's website at ltr.boi.go.th has a self-assessment tool that walks you through the criteria for each category.

The questions to answer before proceeding:

• Which of the four categories applies to you (Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioner, Work-from-Thailand Professional, or Highly Skilled Professional)?
• Does your income, asset position, or employment arrangement clearly meet the primary qualifying threshold, or are you relying on an alternative qualifying route?
• Do you hold (or can you obtain) health insurance from a BOI-approved insurer at the required coverage levels?
• Can you obtain a recent criminal record certificate from your country of nationality?

If the answer to any of these is uncertain, resolve the uncertainty before paying the fee. If you are close to a threshold or your situation is complex, an hour's consultation with a Thai immigration lawyer is money well spent at this stage.

Step 2: Prepare Your Documents (The Step That Takes the Most Time)

Document preparation is where most LTR visa applications experience delays. The BOI portal requires all documents to be uploaded in digital format, but the underlying documents themselves often need to be physically obtained, certified, or apostilled from institutions in your home country before scanning and uploading. Start this process earlier than feels necessary.

Documents every applicant needs

• Valid passport, scanned all pages
• Passport-sized photographs (check the BOI's current specification for size and background)
• Health insurance certificate confirming coverage meets the BOI minimums (40,000 THB outpatient, 400,000 THB inpatient, from an approved insurer)
• Criminal record certificate, apostilled, issued within the last 3 to 6 months from your country of nationality
• Proof of accommodation in Thailand (rental agreement, purchase documents, or a hotel booking for initial entry purposes)

Category-specific documents

• Wealthy Global Citizen: Investment statements for the past 12 to 24 months, bank statements, documentation of passive income sources (dividend statements, rental agreements, business profit distributions), proof of assets meeting the $1M+ threshold
• Wealthy Pensioner: Pension award letter from the pension provider, pension statements for the past 12 months, bank statements showing regular pension deposits, and (if using the alternative qualifying route) documentation of the qualifying Thai investment
• Work-from-Thailand Professional: Employment contract with your overseas employer, payslips or income statements for the past 24 months, letter from your employer confirming the remote working arrangement and your annual income
• Highly Skilled Professional: Professional qualifications and credentials, employment contract with a qualifying organisation, evidence of the employer's BOI-promoted status or qualifying entity type

The apostille and translation timeline

If your documents are from a country in the Hague Apostille Convention (which includes the US, UK, Australia, and most of Europe), official documents like criminal background certificates need to be apostilled. In the UK this is done through the FCDO. In the US it varies by state. Allow 2 to 6 weeks for apostille processing from most countries, longer in some US states. Do not underestimate this step. It is consistently the reason people miss their target application date.

Documents not in Thai or English need certified translation. Find a certified translator familiar with Thai immigration documentation. Incorrectly formatted translations are a common rejection cause.

Step 3: Submit Your Application via the BOI LTR Portal

Once your documents are ready, the portal submission itself is relatively straightforward. The BOI built the portal for self-service applications and it is reasonably well-structured. You will need to:

Step 4: BOI Review

The BOI's formal review timeline is up to 60 days. In practice, well-prepared applications are often reviewed in 20 to 40 days. The BOI may contact you during the review period to request additional documentation or clarification. Check the portal and the email address you registered with regularly.

Using a visa agent does not speed up the BOI review once the application has been submitted. Their value is in submitting a complete, correctly formatted application the first time, reducing the risk of information requests that add weeks to the process.

Step 5: After BOI Approval, Getting the Visa Stamp

BOI approval is not the visa itself. It is a letter of approval that you use to obtain the visa stamp. There are two routes:

If you are outside Thailand at the time of approval

Take the BOI approval letter to the nearest Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in your country of residence. They will stamp the LTR visa into your passport. Book an appointment in advance; wait times at busy Thai embassies (London, Sydney, Washington DC) can be several weeks.

If you are currently in Thailand on a qualifying visa

You can convert your existing visa to the LTR visa in-country at the Department of Consular Affairs in Bangkok (the Chaeng Wattana government complex). You do not need to leave Thailand to collect the visa. This is the more convenient route for applicants already living in Thailand.

Once the visa stamp is in your passport, you have the LTR visa activated. Your first five-year block begins from this date, not from the date of BOI approval.

After collection: reporting and other obligations

• Register your address with your local immigration office within 30 days of arrival or change of address
• Complete your annual 90-day notification (which for LTR holders is done annually, not quarterly) at immigration or online via the immigration bureau portal
• Maintain your health insurance throughout the visa period
• If you hold the WFT or Highly Skilled category, ensure your work permit is current

Full Application Timeline

Using a Visa Agent: What They Do and What They Cost

A visa agent reviews your documents before submission, handles the portal submission on your behalf, and communicates with the BOI if information requests arise. They do not speed up the BOI review. Their value is in getting the submission right the first time, which avoids the information request delays that can add a month or more to the process.

Agent fees range from 20,000 THB for document-review-only services to 80,000 THB or more for full-service packages including translation coordination and embassy collection support. See the cost guide for a full breakdown.

Whether to use an agent depends on the complexity of your situation. A straightforward application with clean English-language documentation and income clearly above the threshold is manageable as a DIY process. Applications involving multiple income sources, documents from several countries, or income close to a qualifying threshold benefit more from professional support.

Renewal and the Five-Year Re-endorsement

The LTR visa is not a single 10-year stamp. It is issued as two five-year blocks. At the end of the first five-year period, you go through a re-endorsement process:

• Submit updated documentation demonstrating you still meet the eligibility criteria
• Provide evidence of current, valid health insurance
• Provide a current criminal record certificate
• Pay a re-endorsement fee (lower than the initial 50,000 THB; verify the current amount with the BOI as you approach the date)

Re-endorsement is not automatic, but it is less intensive than the initial application. If your circumstances have changed materially and you no longer meet the original category criteria, you would need to demonstrate that you meet the criteria for a different category or apply for a different type of visa.