Living in Thailand on the strength of a personal investment is possible, and the difficult part is not the paperwork: it is knowing whether what you intend to invest, in that form, meets the criteria as they stand on the day you apply. Asia Relocation Thailand answers that question first, and files only when the answer is yes.
Thai immigration starts from why you are here, not for how long, and for an investor the why is the investment itself: what it is, how much, in what form, and whether the authorities recognise it. The IM category and the extension on investment grounds are granted against those facts, examined more closely than most applicants expect.
The criteria also move. Amounts are revised, asset classes come and go, and the Board of Investment's newer programmes have changed what a wealthy applicant should even be applying for. A page that printed a threshold would quote last year's rule to next year's client, so this one prints none.
Asia Relocation Thailand assesses the investment before opening a file, compares the routes on the documents you hold, and files the one that fits, from an immigration desk in Bangkok that deals with the offices in person.
An investor's file touches immigration, the Board of Investment and sometimes an employer. Each has its own page.
The assessment comes first, so nobody pays to file a case that does not qualify.
When a household combines these, one coordinator sequences them.
Same question at each door, whether the investment is recognised, but three different answers to what happens next.
The immigration category granted for investment with the agreement of the ministries concerned. The oldest door, and the one where the eligibility question is asked most strictly.
For someone already in Thailand on another category who can now show a qualifying investment: the stay is extended against it at the Immigration Bureau, renewed for as long as the investment is maintained.
The Board of Investment's ten-year visa for individuals, with an investor category among its four, a yearly report in place of the ninety-day one, exemption from re-entry permits and a digital work permit. Its own criteria, its own centre in Bangkok.
Listed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs beside the talent, executive and startup categories, for investment in targeted industries. Relevant when the investment is a business in one of those fields rather than a passive asset.
What you intend to invest, in what form, whether you intend to work, who is coming. Measured against the criteria in force, with a written answer. If it does not qualify, the file stops here.
IM, extension on investment grounds, or a Board of Investment programme, chosen on your documents. When two routes are open, we say which costs less to maintain over the years.
The investment documented the way the authorities recognise it, which is rarely the way a bank statement presents it, with translations where Bangkok asks for them.
Filed abroad or in Thailand as the route requires, dependants alongside, and the renewal date set on the day the permission is granted.
Someone with capital rather than an employer, who wants residence in Bangkok or Phuket without a job to justify it, and needs to know before buying whether it counts.
An investment that is a company, which raises a different question: whether the business and its field fit a route, and whether the founder will work in it.
Retirement categories exist for them; an investment route may suit better if the plan includes assets in Thailand. We compare the two on the same documents.
A principal applicant and dependants, where the route decides how the spouse and children are treated and whether either parent may work.
The IM category and the extension on investment grounds are decided by the Immigration Bureau; the long-term resident and Smart programmes at the Board of Investment's centre in One Bangkok.
Two administrations, two ways of reading an investment. The Immigration Bureau, in Bangkok or at the provincial office, looks at the asset and the amount against its own criteria. The Board of Investment, at the centre it opened in Bangkok in March 2025, looks at income, insurance and field of investment against the programme's. The same person can qualify at one and not the other.
An investor settling in Phuket or Chiang Mai renews with the provincial office there, and practice differs between offices; our Bangkok desk confirms it in person before telling you what to prepare.
When the vehicle is a company holding a Board of Investment promotion, its foreign staff and their families enter through the one-stop channel, on the company's file.
BOI immigration support →Every route into Thailand and every obligation once you are here, from a scouting trip to a decade-long stay, on one page.
Visa & immigration services in Thailand →Assessment first, route chosen on your documents, filed only when the answer is yes. One coordinator to the renewal.
Ask whether my investment qualifies →