We pulled together everything we used to get approved for our Destination Thailand Visas - organized, simplified, and easy to adapt. You’ll find ready-to-go lists for both the main applicant and the dependent, plus editable templates for all four letters we submitted as part of our applications. None of these are theoretical. They’re not what we think works, they’re what actually did work for us.

If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably wished someone would just lay it all out—costs, paperwork, surprises—without burying it in fine print or skipping over the hard parts.

This is that post.

This post is the simplified cheat sheet we wish we had from the start: an up-to-date breakdown of the most common visa options for living in Thailand in 2025. Whether you're planning a temporary stay or long-term relocation, here's how to figure out which visa fits your life.

We wanted to live somewhere that didn’t feel like a battleground. Somewhere we could go on a walk without worrying about someone’s stare lingering too long. Somewhere with healthcare that didn’t bankrupt us. Somewhere where we could build something sustainable, healing, and maybe even joyful.