For many foreigners, Thailand’s vibrant culture, beautiful landscapes, and warm climate make it an attractive place to call home. However, navigating the process of obtaining legal residency can be challenging. After tackling the process myself, I worte this comprehensive guide to walk you through the steps to acquire a residency certificate in Thailand, ensuring you have all the information needed to make your Thai dream a reality.
What Do I Need To Get A Residency Certificate?
Before diving into the application process, you’ll need:
- A valid Visa that will allow you a residency certificate
- Condo rental agreement (apartment, house etc.)
What Visa Can I Use For A Residency Certificate
Essentially you can use a tourist visa to get a residency certificate. What is important is that you have a place of residence. For this, you’ll need to have a rental agreement to present to Immigration when you arrive so they can prove you are a resident in Thailand.
Below I’ve left a list of the Visa options you can use:
- Tourist Visa: Short-term stay, typically 30-60 days (but can get 90-day visa if applied outside of country)
- As of 2024, VOA has increased to 45 days.
- Non-Immigrant Visa: Longer stay for specific purposes (work, study, retirement)
- ED Visa
- Digital Nomad Visa
- Retirement Visa
- LTR Visa
- SMART Visa
- Business Visa
A residency certificate is often needed to either buy or sell vehicles such as a motorcycle in Thailand. It is also used to get a driving license in Thailand, international driver’s permit and other driving-related things. It may be needed for other official processes, but these are the common processes that it is needed for.
Documents Required To Get A Residency Certificate
To get a residency certificate in Thailand you need:
- Copies of your passport, all pages with visas, first entry date, and exit date
- TM30 copy and original
- Condo contract agreement (or apartment/hotel)
- Residency Certificate form (get at Immigration)
When I went to Immigration Division 1 in June 2024, this is all I needed. Other websites may tell you that you need more, you do not. There are also reports online that you have to have passed your 90-day report, this is also untrue.
If you forget your TM30 or contract agreement, and are at immigration, you can ask for help. This is what I did, and we called my landlord to prove that I was staying there, he sent some photos across and I got those printed out. This sufficed to get a Residency Certifcate on the day.
How To Get A Residency Certificate (Step By Step)
Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting a residency certificate in Thailand:
- Prepare your documents with copies of your passport, TM30, rental contract agreement etc.)
- Arrive at immigration and tell them you need to apply for a residency certificate
- They will provide you a form
- Fill out this form
- Hand all documents back together
- They will give you a queue ticket
- Wait in the queue (you can scan the QR code to walk away if you like)
- Meet with the immigration officer and pay 200 baht
- Wait 1 week for your certificate in the post (it will arrive at your given address)
I’m Harry – and I was tired of the same old “10 best places I’ve never been but I’m writing about for some reason” blog posts. So… I’m a young traveller on a mission to travel the world and share my true, unfiltered experience, including all the gristly details. From packing my life into one bag for a year, to traveling Vietnam by motorbike, to sorting out Visas for specific countries – I’ve done it all, am doing it all and only give my advice on things I have done – not regurgitated cr*p from another source *cough* most publications *cough*. So bear with us! This project will take some time to grow, and will take a fair bit of money. But I’m determined to make it the single best source of information about traveling on the internet.
