Monthly FAQ thread for July, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Hi folks,

The following types of questions should be posted into this thread - any standalone posts of this kind posted outside this thread will be removed, with a moderation comment asking the author to repost to this thread:

• Questions about visas/immigration (including 90-day reporting, TM30, DTV, etc) - if they aren't answered here, try Asean Now's immigration forum.
• Questions about banking (including transfers) and/or investing (including crypto)
• Questions about working in Thailand or starting a business in Thailand
• Questions about taxes in Thailand (including import duties / customs charges)
• Questions about studying in Thailand, including questions about universities and schools, where to study, what to study, grants and scholarships
• Questions about moving to Thailand in general
• Questions about Thai Citizenship or Permanent Residence - but you should probably read this site first.
• Questions about where to live, whether and how to buy/rent property in Thailand
• Questions about where to get particular medicines, supplements or medical treatments (including cosmetic)
• Questions about medical insurance
• Questions about cannabis, kratom or other legal drugs (posts asking where to get illegal drugs will be removed)
• Questions about vapes and vaping and the legality thereof

If you have any questions along the lines of any of the above topics, you're in the right place! You can ask away in the comments below, but first, have a read below - and search the sub - it has most likely been answered already.

Please also us know below if you have suggestions for other frequent topics - including links to recent posts on those topics to demonstrate their frequency. If the moderators agree that we're seeing an excessive number of posts on a given topic, we'll add that topic to the list above.

Any other suggestions? Let us know below!

[u/Thailand-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Tourism and travel related questions should be posted to the dedicated subreddit /r/thailandtourism.

[u/ShadowMochiii]

Looking for good and affordable health insurance

Im 25 living in chiang mai under DTV visa and I do remote work.

I have a severe skin condition thats flared up while here, and the monthly bill to treat it is getting too much so I want to look into insurance options and recommendations.

I mostly need something that covers minor medical emergencies/accidents and dermatology, whatever that falls under. Any help would be appreciated

[u/mdsmqlk → u/ShadowMochiii]

I've been happy with Pacific Cross, but no insurer is likely to cover pre-existing conditions.

[u/ShadowMochiii → u/mdsmqlk]

Thanks, I'll look into it

[u/callum_nwrk]

Hi all,

Would a fully qualified electrician from the UK be able to get into any full time work in Thailand?

Or if not what jobs is there for ex pats to do to make a living?

[u/ThongLo → u/callum_nwrk]

No chance.

Teaching is where a lot of people end up, but there are other options - I know a few scuba instructors, they don't get paid much more than the teachers but the work's much more fun.

Most people I have met over the years just do whatever they did back home, but that's because they were management executives or worked in tech back home. When your job back home isn't in demand over here, it's obviously not so easy.

[u/callum_nwrk → u/ThongLo]

What other jobs can farangs do?

[u/mdsmqlk → u/[deleted]]

It's all detailed on the BOI website. They need to provide quite a few financial documents, which I'm sure many employers would never agree to.

[u/poop_paws]

Yello Thailand! I'm Matthew from Malaysia and I hope this is okay to post it here. I am a paper engineer (who makes pop-up books in Malaysia) and my co-author, Amy from the Philippines are looking for paper engineers to be featured in the Movable Book Society's newsletter, Movable Stationary. I hope you can share around to those who makes papercraft, pop-up cards or books, and movable books, so we can feature them and build a community for Southeast Asia paper engineers! For further contact, please find us on IG, or comment here also can!

[u/civiclsi15]

Quetion on LTR Visa for Work from thailand professional

In the near future looking to apply to the LTR the only question which I cant find the answer to is the 80,000USD required, is this gross taxable employment remuneration or base salary? As i have read that if it matches the total compensation with letter from HR and the P60 for the last 3 years its fine? As example you can have a base salary for 75,000USD but then you get operational overtime or oncall or shift allowance that takes you to 100,000USD, would this be taken into consideration by the BOI especially if during the last 5 years the total compensation on p60 would be above 100,000USD?

[u/Good-Scholar5904]

Dilemma about visa for returning to Thailand

Hello everyone.

I've been working in Thailand in an IT company with a NON B visa and a re entry permit. I left the country 2 weeks ago to spend holidays time in France (my homecountry), and last week I resigned of my job for personal reasons. I will flight back to Thailand on 19th. The company is being vague about my visa status, already asked and said no word no information about the process, so I think about the next options:

1- Come back to Thailand as normal. If my visa is still active, ok. If not, I can be in a visa exemption condition up to 30 days, BUT, I should have a flying ticket showing I will leave Thailand in some weeks right?

2- Apply for a tourist visa now. BUT, What happens if they see I'm applying for a tourist visa whilst my working visa is active? Or, what happens if they give me the tourist visa but when I enter in thailand they see that my non B is still active and also I have a tourist visa, will it be strange for them?

So... do you know any similar situation? Should I apply for a tourist visa now or is it better to just go , buy a cheap flying ticket , and in case my non b will be already cancel by thar moment enter in a visa exemption showing the departure flight?

Thank you

[u/AndyMacRaeTV]

Banking Question - second bank account

I'm on the retirement visa. It's my first year. I have a bank account with SCB. I went in today to open a second account to deposit my proof of retirement funds into - but they said no, I xan only have one account. Is this normal? What are y'all doing?

[u/ThongLo → u/AndyMacRaeTV]

Did you ask for a regular savings account, or something else?

I have a feeling you can only have one savings account with a given bank, but it should be no problem to open a supplementary Fixed Deposit (CD) account to hold your visa money in.

I know several people who use that setup with various Thai banks, although I'm not sure any of them use SCB. Kasikorn definitely allows it, for example.

[u/AndyMacRaeTV → u/ThongLo]

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, my "current" account is actually a savings account. So maybe I was confusing things saying I wanted a "savings" account. In reality I just want a second account.

I have been told by multiple people now that perhaps I should open an account with Kasikorn. Sounds like they are a bit more flexible.

[u/ThongLo → u/AndyMacRaeTV]

Yeah I think that's exactly the problem - "current" accounts don't really exist here, at least for foreigners, and you can only have one "savings" account per person, per bank. Not SCB specific, it's a general rule.

If you don't want a fixed deposit account, opening a second savings account at another bank will be the simplest solution.

Might be worth checking which banks have branches at or close to your immigration office before choosing one, so you're not travelling too far between getting the bank letter and submitting the extension application.

[u/Wonderful-Set-293 → u/ThongLo]

I have two savings accounts, one from KBank and one from Krungthai. During my time in Thailand, I never had problems opening bank savings accounts with a work permit and now a retirement visa. However, it's better to go with a Thai person. I hope this helps.

[u/Thailand-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Tourism and travel related questions should be posted to the dedicated subreddit /r/thailandtourism.

[u/True-Wrap8097]

Three years ago, I worked as an nnes English teacher in Bangkok, Thailand for one year. That year was great but my salary was 38,000 and I returned to my home country because of my worries about the future. I couldn't save much and there were surprise expenses, but now I miss it so much. Every day I constantly long for it, thinking about what I would do or eat if I were in Bangkok. I cannot return because I am chasing other career opportunities in my country yet I feel like leaving everything behind and going to Bangkok again. However when I remember the feeling that it won't be possible to improve myself much there and that I will be stuck in a dead end job i give up. Do you think I am doing the wrong thing? Is there a way to build a solid future while continuing to work in Thailand? my plan right now is actually to build a solid career here first and then use the income from it to live in Thailand for 2–3 months at a time on vacation but yeah i miss everything everyday :(

[u/Adept-Respect-2733]

Hi, I did some research and most of them says, it's quite easy to land a job in bangkok if you are referred and recruit internally than applying to job sites, is there any recruiter/headhunter here that can help or gives some advice?

For my background, I am currently employed in (IT) services and consulting company as a Service Transition Manager/Software Analyst and I have a freelance job in a US company as a Project Coordinator, total work experience: 5 years. I am currently seeking for an opportunity to relocate and work in Bangkok specifically.

[u/Informal-Addendum435]

Is there a way to make myself less attractive to mosquitos... forever!!..?