Thailand · visa route
Emigrating to Thailand
Thailand isn't a country you settle in — it's a country where your stay is granted again and again. That difference decides everything: your money sits locked for months in a Thai account, your healthcare is your own problem from day one, and one missed report can cost you your status. Whoever knows and accepts that lives there well and cheaply. This page shows how it really works.
€ 399 one-off · 36 steps · no subscription
- Kind of journey
- Visa — renewed annually
- The four clocks
- Annual extension · 90 days · re-entry permit · 180 days tax
- Note
- No S1 and no treaty contribution — you buy your healthcare yourself
Last updated: August 2026
The journey
Five phases, from the visa choice to the four clocks
A route that doesn't end at arrival. The visa with its three hard requirements, the Dutch side that really stops here instead of shifting over, and after that an annual cycle you keep up: extend, report, and the money in the right account at the right moment.
- 1
Orientation
A visa isn't a right of residence
Thailand doesn't give a permit that runs until you cancel it; it gives permission to stay, and as a rule you apply for that anew every year at the immigration office of your province. In this phase you choose your route — O-A from the Netherlands, the ten-year O-X, or the Non-O with annual extension — and the conversation is had that belongs at the front with this destination instead of the back: what do you do when your health insurance is cancelled or becomes unaffordable in fifteen years.
- 2
Your visa
Money, insurance and a medical certificate
Three hard requirements. The money: 800,000 baht in the bank, or 65,000 baht a month in demonstrated income, or a combination that comes to 800,000. The insurance: at least 400,000 baht cover for admission and 40,000 for outpatient care, with the official declaration form from your insurer. And a medical certificate plus a certificate of conduct, both with a short validity. Applying goes via the official e-visa portal — and on arrival mind the date on the stamp, not the one on the visa.
- 3
Closing the Netherlands
Here it really stops: no S1, no treaty list
With an EU move you shift over to another system; here you step out. Your basic insurance ends on deregistration and nothing automatically takes its place. The tax treaty from 1975 does cooperate — article 18 assigns your company pension to Thailand, article 19 keeps an ABP pension in the Netherlands. But the SVB's treaty list is something else, and Thailand isn't on it: you're no longer insured for the survivor's benefit, and voluntary continuation has to be done within a year. Certificates go through the full legalisation chain, because this isn't the EU.
- 4
The move
Sea freight, medicines and the car that stays here
Eleven hours' flight and a container that sails six to ten weeks, so count on a period without your things. The car you sell in the Netherlands: import duties, excise and VAT in Thailand easily exceed the value of the car, and they drive on the left. Mind the medicines — a number of drugs that are simply on prescription here fall under narcotics in Thailand, and then it's not a fine but a criminal case. And start three months ahead if a pet is coming along.
- 5
Arrival in Thailand
Four clocks, and none of the four sends a reminder
Within 24 hours your landlord registers you with the TM30 — their duty, your problem if it doesn't happen. Then the Thai bank account where the money has to sit two months before and three months after your extension application, the extension itself at the office of your province, the re-entry permit you need before you leave the country, and the ninety-day report with its own counter. Plus the 180 days that make you a tax resident — and the rule that changed in 2024: foreign income you bring into Thailand is taxed, in a later year too.
Look inside
This is what one step of your plan looks like
Not a brochure but the real thing: this is one of the steps of the Thailand journey, exactly as it appears in your personal step-by-step plan — with the deadlines, the counters and the sources.
Step 5.4 of your plan
The re-entry permit: don't leave the country without one
- Lead time
- can be arranged the same day
- Costs
- see the cost indication
The most expensive mistake newcomers make, and it's completely avoidable. If you leave Thailand without a re-entry permit, your granted stay lapses the moment you depart — even if there's still half a year on your stamp. You then come back as a tourist and may do the whole journey again.
The permit can be arranged the same day at Immigration or at the airport, in a variant for one trip and a variant for several. If you go to the Netherlands or a neighbouring country even once a year, take the multiple.
What this step rests on
This is step 5.4 of 36. The other 35 are ready for you — each with the same sources, the same counters and a planning that watches your dates.
What it costs
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 2.700 – € 11.100
Where does that difference come from?
- Ziektekostenverzekering, eerste jaar€ 700 – € 4.500
- De eerste maanden€ 1.200 – € 4.500
Open the breakdown below: there you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 300 – € 1.000
- De verhuizing
- € 500 – € 1.100
- De eerste maanden
- € 1.900 – € 9.000
View the itemsPer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- Visumleges en de verlengingen(estimate)€ 150 – € 450
Het O-A-visum en de daaropvolgende jaarlijkse verlenging bij Immigration zijn allebei bescheiden posten, maar ze komen elk jaar terug — en daarnaast de re-entry permit, in een variant voor één reis en een duurdere voor meerdere. Reken hier het eerste jaar: de aanvraag plus de eerste verlenging en één meervoudige re-entry permit. De Thaise overheid publiceert de bedragen in baht, dus de koers beweegt mee.
- Medische verklaring en verklaring omtrent het gedrag(estimate)€ 60 – € 200
- Legalisatie en beëdigde vertalingen(estimate)€ 100 – € 350
Thailand valt buiten de EU-verordening openbare documenten, dus het meertalige modelformulier werkt hier niet. Akten doorlopen de volledige keten: apostille of legalisatie in Nederland, vaak legalisatie door de Thaise vertegenwoordiging, en ter plaatse een beëdigde vertaling naar het Thais. Reken per document, en op meer documenten dan je denkt — huwelijk, geboorte, en bij een gezin ook die van de kinderen.
De verhuizing
- Reis(estimate)€ 500 – € 1.100
Elf uur vliegen naar Bangkok, enkele reis, plus het binnenlandse traject naar je eindbestemming. De prijzen lopen ver uiteen met het seizoen: de Europese kerst- en zomervakanties zijn het duurst, mei en september het goedkoopst. Tel voor een enkele reis met veel bagage de kosten voor extra ruimbagage mee — die zijn bij een emigratie zelden te vermijden.
De eerste maanden
- Ziektekostenverzekering, eerste jaar(estimate)€ 700 – € 4.500
De grootste terugkerende post van deze bestemming, en de reden dat dit traject voor sommige mensen niet houdbaar is. Er is geen S1 en geen verdragsbijdrage: je koopt zelf een internationale of Thaise polis. Het O-A-visum eist minimaal 400.000 baht dekking voor opname en 40.000 voor poliklinische zorg, maar dat is een overheidsminimum en geen verstandige dekking. De premie hangt vooral aan leeftijd: rond de vijftig is dit een bescheiden bedrag, boven de zeventig een veelvoud, en bestaande aandoeningen worden vaak uitgesloten. De onderkant hier is een polis op het wettelijk minimum, de bovenkant een dekkende internationale polis voor twee mensen op leeftijd.
- De eerste maanden(estimate)€ 1.200 – € 4.500
Huren is in Thailand goedkoop naar Nederlandse maatstaven, en het advies is het eerste jaar te huren voordat je iets koopt. Reken op een borg van twee maanden en de eerste maand vooruit, plus de aansluitingen. De spreiding is groot: centraal Bangkok en de toeristische kustplaatsen vragen een veelvoud van Chiang Mai of het binnenland. Tel de weken zonder inboedel mee — die overbrug je met aankopen ter plaatse — en de airco, die in het hete seizoen de grootste post op je energierekening is.
Deliberately no amount here
De 800.000 baht: vastgezet, niet verbruikt
Dit is geen kostenpost en daarom staat er geen bedrag, maar het hoort in je planning omdat het je liquiditeit raakt. Voor de jaarlijkse verlenging op pensioengrond moet er 800.000 baht op een Thaise rekening op jouw naam staan — in de regel twee maanden vóór en drie maanden ná de aanvraag, en dus niet tussentijds op te nemen. Bij de O-X-route is het 3 miljoen baht binnen een jaar na aankomst. Dat geld blijft van jou, maar het maakt geen rendement en je kunt er niet bij.
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 4 to 6% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 10.000 to € 15.000.
De overdracht kost 2% overdrachtsbelasting, 0,5% zegelrecht en, als de verkoper binnen vijf jaar verkoopt, 3,3% specific business tax die in de praktijk vaak bij de koper terechtkomt. Samen 4 tot 6% van de getaxeerde waarde. Wie verdeelt wat is onderhandelbaar en staat niet vast in de wet.
Note: buying isn't simply allowed here
Een buitenlander mag in Thailand geen grond bezitten. Wel een appartement, en dan volledig: onder de Condominium Act mag maximaal 49% van het vloeroppervlak van een gebouw in buitenlandse handen zijn. Zit dat quotum vol, dan rest alleen leasehold — huur voor lange termijn, en dat is geen eigendom. Het aankoopbedrag moet bovendien van buiten Thailand in vreemde valuta binnenkomen en daar worden omgewisseld; de bank geeft daarvoor een FET-formulier af dat je bij de overdracht nodig hebt.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
The rates in this calculation haven't been checked against the official sources yet.
Your complete, personal cost picture — with your route, your documents and your deadlines — you get in Vertrekklaar.
That was the move. And once you live there?
Who may tax your pension once you live in Thailand, is there a favourable regime, and how do you become insured? That depends on where your income comes from. Tick it and you see which rules apply to you — with the source.
See the financial conditionsThe departure guide
Five mails, and you see your whole journey
Not ready to start yet? Then we'll send you the departure guide for Thailand: five mails in a week and a half, with the order, the pitfalls and the real costs. After that only a short update when something in Thailand really changes — at most one a month, no newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Read on
The knowledge base on Thailand
Per phase, the articles that are already there. They're written from the same journey and go deeper than what fits above.
Closing the Netherlands
- 5 min
AOW, pension and tax in Thailand: the treaty helps, the treaty list doesn't
The tax treaty of 1975 assigns your occupational pension to Thailand; an ABP pension from government service remains Dutch. But the SVB's treaty list is something else, and Thailand isn't on it — with consequences for the survivor's benefit that you have to repair within a year of departure. And since 2024 foreign income that you bring into Thailand is simply taxed.
Updated 28 August 2026
- 3 min
Healthcare in Thailand: there is no treaty route, and that is the real risk
Within the EU you slot into the local system with an S1. To Thailand that route doesn't exist: your basic insurance stops on deregistration and you buy a policy yourself. Thai private healthcare is good and cheap — but the premium hangs on your age, existing conditions are excluded, and above a certain age nobody will take you on as a new customer any more.
Updated 24 August 2026
Arrival in Thailand
- 4 min
The four clocks of your Thai stay — and none of the four warns you
The annual extension, the ninety-day report, the re-entry permit and the 180 days that make you a tax resident. Four deadlines with different lengths, different counters and different reasons to reset. The re-entry permit is the most expensive avoidable mistake: without it your stay loses its validity the moment you leave the country.
Updated 24 August 2026
- 3 min
Living and buying in Thailand: no land in your own name, but a flat is possible
As a foreigner you cannot own land in Thailand — so no house with a garden in your own name. A flat in a condominium is possible, as long as no more than 49 percent of the building is in foreign hands. The constructions that get around that ban are common and legally vulnerable.
Updated 29 August 2026
Leaving the Netherlands — for every destination
- 2 min
Keeping a bank account and DigiD: the two lines you never cut
After your deregistration you still need the Netherlands for years — for the M return, refunds and your pension. Within the EU your bank account is a right, towards Australia a favour from the bank. And your DigiD you arrange before departure, not after.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
The protective assessment: the bill that travels with you, and that never expires for one item
On emigration the Netherlands imposes an assessment on your pension, your annuity and your substantial shareholding that you don't have to pay — as long as you do nothing that makes it collectable. For pension and annuity it usually lapses after ten years. For a substantial shareholding it doesn't: that one remains valid indefinitely.
Updated 27 August 2026
- 2 min
Emigrating with children after a divorce: the consent that comes before everything
With joint custody you can't just go abroad with the children — you need the consent of the other parent, or substitute consent from the court. What the court weighs, and why leaving without consent is legally child abduction.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Emigrating on early retirement: the CAK route is expected to close as of 1 November 2026
Whoever moves to the EU or Switzerland with a Dutch pension arranges their healthcare via the CAK. That door is closing to a crack: as expected, from 1 November only new applicants with AOW, Anw, WAO, WIA or Wajong will be admitted. Early retirement and RVU fall outside it — whoever is already a customer keeps their rights.
Updated 16 August 2026
- 2 min
The M form: the tax return for the year in which you emigrated
For the year of your departure you lived partly inside and partly outside the Netherlands, and a separate return goes with that. Nowadays it can be done online — but you have to think of it yourself, because an invitation rarely comes by itself.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 2 min
Your AOW accrual stops on departure — and you have one year to repair that
Every year outside the Netherlands costs you 2% AOW (the Dutch state pension), for life. The SVB has a voluntary continuation that closes that gap — but signing up is only possible in the first year after departure, and almost everyone misses that deadline.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Your Dutch pension abroad: what comes along, and who levies
The AOW (the Dutch state pension) travels fully to the EU and to Australia — the latter thanks to a treaty from 2001. Your company pension too, but *where* you pay on it depends on the tax treaty, and the exemption you arrange yourself.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 3 min
Cancelling your health insurance without a gap
Your Dutch basic insurance is tied to living or working in the Netherlands and stops being a given on emigration. The art is to have the end date match your new cover — and to know which route belongs to your situation.
Updated 28 August 2026
- 2 min
Taking medicines across the border: certificates, supply and the 90-day ceiling
For medicines under the Opium Act you need a certificate — and the Dutch system only carries you for three months. What you arrange with the CAK, what Australia wants to see at the border, and why finding a local doctor simply belongs to your first weeks.
Updated 11 August 2026
- 9 min
Partner comes along without a job of their own: deregistering, healthcare, AOW and the house
Your partner has a job, a visa or a right of residence there; you come along without a job of your own. Administratively you're then no passenger: the deregistration, the end of your health insurance and your AOW accrual apply to you separately. What you get back if you arrange it well, what it costs if you let it slide — and why "just staying registered" isn't an option.
Updated 7 September 2026
- 2 min
Stopping allowances on emigration: do it yourself, and in time
Housing allowance, healthcare allowance, childcare allowance and child budget don't stop by themselves on the day you leave. Whoever lets them run gets a reclaim months later — this is what you arrange per allowance.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 3 min
Deregistering with the municipality: when exactly, and what stops then
Deregistering from the BRP is only possible from five days before departure, and is compulsory as soon as you're away for more than eight months a year. What stops at that moment, what stays, and which piece of paper you have to ask for right away.
Updated 9 August 2026
- 6 min
When does your pension stay taxed in the Netherlands? The three pots and the three conditions
"Your pension is taxed in your new country of residence" is right by approximation and not in the details. Your AOW, your company pension and your government pension each follow a rule of their own, and with the company pension the Netherlands can still levy if three conditions apply at once. This article explains which three, and which four questions you have to answer for your own situation.
Updated 27 August 2026
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