Moving to Thailand from Germany: Visas, Tax and Health Rules

Moving to Thailand from Germany: How long can you stay without a visa?

Thirty days at most. Since 15 September 2026, Thailand grants Germans 30 days on a visa-free entry, and the period used to be longer. The German Foreign Office states this in its travel advice (as of 25 October 2026). You can extend the stay once by up to 30 days, but only for tourism, at the immigration office before the deadline.

A tourist visa from a Thai mission usually allows 60 days at most. Visa-free entries by land or sea are limited to two per calendar year. Tourists who spend more than 180 days in a year in the country risk being refused entry. None of this suits a permanent move, so a long-term visa is the starting point for anyone moving to Thailand from Germany.

What do you need to enter Thailand?

Your passport must be valid for at least six more months when you arrive. A German identity card is not enough (German Foreign Office, 25 October 2026). Beyond the passport, these points apply:

• Digital Arrival Card: fill it in online, no earlier than three days before arrival.
• Proof of cash: on visa-free or tourist-visa entries, officers can ask for 20,000 THB per person or 40,000 THB per family. The Foreign Office does not mention this rule for the DTV.
• Onward or return ticket: without one, you may need a visa.
• Vaccinations: none are compulsory on a direct flight from Germany. Yellow fever only counts if you arrive from a yellow fever area.
• Identity: foreigners must carry ID at all times. A passport copy is enough if it includes the page with your visa or entry stamp.

Visas are applied for through the Thai e-visa system, according to the Foreign Office.

Which visas allow a long stay?

Each visa has its own rules, fees and proof of funds. Fees below come from the Thai consulate in Munich (page without a date) and the Thai embassy in Berlin (as of 18 November 2024) and can change.

What is the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)?

The DTV is valid for five years, allows multiple entries and 180 days per entry. It costs 350 euros. There are three groups: Workcation, Thai Soft Power and Family. For applications in Germany, the Thai foreign ministry overview of 1 September 2026 asks for bank statements of the last three months showing 500,000 THB, or a sponsorship letter. Other missions ask for different forms, so check with the one that handles your application. You can extend your stay once by up to 180 days at the immigration office (Thai embassy Berlin, as of 2 September 2026).

What are the O-A and O-X retirement visas?

Both need a minimum age of 50. The O-A costs 175 euros, is valid for one year and allows multiple entries. You show a pension statement of 65,000 THB net per month or bank statements with 800,000 THB, plus health insurance of at least 100,000 USD or 3 million THB. Work of any kind is banned.

The O-X costs 350 euros and is valid for five years per entry, with one extension of five more years. Germany is on the list of eligible nationalities. As proof, you show a fixed deposit at a Thai bank of 3 million THB, or 1.8 million THB together with an annual income of 1.2 million THB. That money stays tied for at least a year, and at least 1.5 million THB must remain in the second year. Your insurer must be based in Thailand (consulate in Munich).

Are there other visas?

The retirement visa O for 90 days costs 70 euros, is valid for three months and allows one entry. A family visa, O Non-Thai Family, costs 70 euros and allows 90 days. The Long-Term Resident Visa (LTR) lasts ten years, starting with five, and needs a qualification letter from the Board of Investment (BOI Quick Guide 2026).

Requirements at a glance: what does each stay require?

Stay	Duration	Fee	Key proof
Visa-free	30 days, one extension of 30 days	none	passport valid for six months, Digital Arrival Card
DTV	5 years, 180 days per entry	350 euros	500,000 THB (three months of statements or sponsor letter), criminal record certificate, proof of residence
O-A	1 year, multiple entries	175 euros	age 50 or older, 800,000 THB or pension of 65,000 THB, insurance of 100,000 USD
O-X	5 years, one extension of 5 years	350 euros	age 50 or older, fixed deposit of 3 million THB or 1.8 million THB plus income, insurance in Thailand
Non-B (work)	90 days per entry, one entry	70 euros	30,000 THB, approval letter WP32, company papers

Sources: German Foreign Office (25 October 2026), Thai foreign ministry (1 September 2026), Thai consulate Munich (pages without a date), Thai embassy Berlin (2 September 2026). Check the amounts with your mission before you apply.

What you need to bring

The list depends on the stay. These items are documented:

• A passport valid for at least six months on arrival.
• The Digital Arrival Card, filled in online.
• For the DTV: proof of 500,000 THB, proof of purpose (an employment contract, a letter from your employer or a portfolio), a criminal record certificate and proof of residence such as your ID card or a registration certificate.
• For the O-A: a medical certificate and a police certificate, each at most three months old, plus proof of money and insurance with the form Foreign Insurance Certificate.
• For the O-X: proof of deposit or income, plus insurance from a Thai insurer (outpatient 40,000 THB, inpatient 400,000 THB).

The missions publish the full list. Ask the responsible office for the current one, for example the Royal Thai Embassy in Berlin.

How much money do you have to show?

For the DTV, you show 500,000 THB. The O-A asks for 800,000 THB or a pension of 65,000 THB per month. For the O-X, the amount is 3 million THB, or 1.8 million THB combined with an annual income of 1.2 million THB. A Non-B work visa asks for 30,000 THB. For day-to-day costs, no official figure is available, so this guide gives no estimate of monthly spending.

Can Germans work in Thailand?

Yes, with a Non-B visa and a work permit. You apply for the visa in your home country. Your employer then applies for the permit at the Department of Employment, and the permit must be in hand before you start (BOI Quick Guide 2026). The consulate in Munich names a fee of 70 euros, 90 days per entry and up to 15 consular working days for processing. On the employer side, the rules call for 2 million THB of registered capital and at least four Thai employees per permit.

According to the Thai embassy in Budapest (as of 18 August 2026), the DTV does not cover work in Thailand. Work of any kind is banned on the O-A. Fake job offers are another risk, and the German Foreign Office warns of lures into scam compounds in neighbouring countries.

Do you have to report every 90 days?

Embassy pages from 2022 say that anyone staying longer than 90 days reports their address to immigration every 90 days. The O-A and O-X pages name the duty explicitly. For the DTV, it is not documented. These pages are old, so ask the immigration office for today’s rule.

Stays of more than three months generally require a Thai driving licence. A German licence alone is not recognised, and the international permit only works together with the German licence (German Foreign Office).

What does health insurance have to cover?

Statutory health insurance in Germany pays outside the EU for urgent treatment on private trips for six weeks a year at most, under narrow conditions (Federal Ministry of Health, 3 September 2026). The Foreign Office strongly recommends travel health insurance that includes medical evacuation.

Visa	Insurance requirement
O-A	at least 100,000 USD or 3 million THB, including COVID-19, plus the form Foreign Insurance Certificate
O-X	Thai-based insurer, outpatient at least 40,000 THB, inpatient at least 400,000 THB, for the whole stay
DTV, retirement O, Non-B, family visa	not required in the missions’ documents

Care in Bangkok and other big cities is of high quality, while rural areas often lack English-speaking doctors.

Can foreigners buy land or a condo in Thailand?

Foreigners may not own land in general, with exceptions for companies in industrial estates and BOI-promoted investors (BOI Quick Guide 2026). Condominium units are open to foreigners if the foreign share stays at or below 49 percent of the total floor area of all units in the building. Buyers show lawful residence or a permit under the Investment Promotion Act.

The Foreign Office urges great caution. A condo usually gives no co-ownership of the land, and living rights are often hard to sell. Companies behind such deals tend to vanish.

How is your income taxed?

You count as a tax resident if you spend about 180 days in a calendar year in Thailand. The revenue department words the threshold in different ways, "more than 180 days" in one place and "180 days or more" in another. Residents pay tax on Thai income and on foreign income that they bring into the country. Foreign income earned from 1 January 2024 and transferred to Thailand is taxable if you spent at least 180 days in the country in the year you earned it (Revenue Department, 2024).

Germany and Thailand have a tax treaty from 10 July 1967 (Federal Ministry of Finance, as of 1 January 2026). Foreign tax can be credited where a treaty allows it. The return is due by the end of March of the following year. No rates are given here, because the official rate table refers to the tax years 2013 and 2014.

What happens to your German pension?

Your pension moves with you. The German Pension Insurance writes that retirees who move abroad take their pension along. How much you receive can change with the length and place of stay and with foreign periods counted. Payment goes to a bank account abroad or in Germany, the insurer checks once a year that you are alive, and you pay bank charges and exchange losses yourself (German Pension Insurance, 2026). The treaty text of 1967 covers pensions in Article 18, and whether the statutory pension falls under paragraph 2 is not stated in the sources read.

What happens if you overstay?

You pay 500 THB per day for up to 40 days, with a cap of 20,000 THB. After that, court proceedings, detention pending deportation and a re-entry ban can follow (German Foreign Office, 25 October 2026). Request extensions only at the immigration office, never through travel agencies or hotels.

What should you arrange in Germany before you leave?

People who move out deregister at the registration office within two weeks after moving out (Section 17 of the Federal Registration Act, as of 24 October 2026). Deregistration is possible from one week before the move. If you later come back, three guides Moving to Germany, Register your address in Germany and Health insurance when moving to Germany cover the way back. Other destinations are listed in the Countries overview.

Frequently asked questions

Can Germans live in Thailand permanently?

Not on a visa-free entry, which allows 30 days. A long stay needs a visa such as the DTV, the O-A or O-X (aged 50 or older), the LTR or a work visa with a permit.

How long can a German stay in Thailand without a visa?

Thirty days since 15 September 2026, with one extension of up to 30 days for tourism (German Foreign Office, as of 25 October 2026).

What does the DTV cost, and how long is it valid?

It costs 350 euros and is valid for five years, with 180 days per entry and one extension of up to 180 days at the immigration office.

Do I have to pay tax in Thailand on income from Germany?

If you spend about 180 days a year there and transfer income earned from 1 January 2024 to Thailand, it is taxable (Revenue Department, 2024). A treaty with Germany dates from 1967.

Can foreigners buy a house in Thailand?

Not the land, as a rule. Condo units are allowed up to a foreign share of 49 percent of the total floor area (BOI Quick Guide 2026).

Do I need health insurance for Thailand?

The Foreign Office strongly recommends it, with evacuation cover. Minimum cover is required for the O-A and O-X, while the DTV documents do not list it.

Sources

1. German Foreign Office: Thailand travel and safety advice, 2026 (As of: 25 October 2026)
2. Thai foreign ministry: visa types and documents (overview with German DTV), 2026 (As of: 1 September 2026)
3. Royal Thai Embassy Berlin: visa types and required documents, 2026 (As of: 2 September 2026)
4. Royal Thai Embassy Berlin: visa fees, 2024 (As of: 18 November 2024)
5. Thai Consulate General Munich: DTV Workcation, 2026 (As of: page without a date)
6. Thai Consulate General Munich: visa O-A, 2026 (As of: page without a date)
7. Thai Consulate General Munich: visa O-X, 2026 (As of: page without a date)
8. Thai Consulate General Munich: Non-B employment visa, 2026 (As of: page without a date)
9. Royal Thai Embassy Budapest: Destination Thailand Visa, 2026 (As of: 18 August 2026)
10. Board of Investment: Quick Guide to Starting a Business in Thailand, 2026 (As of: 2026 edition)
11. Revenue Department Thailand: personal income tax, 2024 (As of: 21 March 2024)
12. Revenue Department Thailand: leaflet for foreigners 2024, 2024
13. Federal Ministry of Finance: status of double taxation agreements on 1 January 2026, 2026 (As of: letter of 7 January 2026)
14. Federal Ministry of Health: health insurance abroad, 2026 (As of: 3 September 2026)
15. German Pension Insurance: pension abroad, 2026
16. Federal Registration Act, section 17 (deregistration), 2026 (As of: retrieved 24 October 2026)
17. Thai Consulate Los Angeles: staying more than 90 days, 2022 (As of: 30 November 2022)

General information, not legal advice. Rules change: check the linked official pages before you act.

Author: Vathanakone Prakosay · Updated on October 25, 2026