🇹🇭 Thailand · immigration guide
Family visas for moving to Thailand
Thailand offers several credible long-stay routes, but no single label solves remote work, Thai employment, children at school and both parents' residence automatically. Build the household from activities, not from the most popular visa name.
Last verified 26 August 2026
The short answer
Which route should a family examine first?
An eligible remote-working adult may consider the DTV, while a child studying as the main purpose may need Non-Immigrant ED status. Thai employment normally requires an employer-led work route; qualifying high-threshold households may consider LTR. Every family member needs an intentional basis.
Current route map
Four starting points—and their limits
This is an issue-spotting table, not an eligibility decision. Route codes, evidence and permissions must be checked against the issuing authority before payment.
Useful for
Destination Thailand Visa (DTV)
Eligible remote workers, freelancers and approved activities
Five-year validity with stays of up to 180 days per entry; spouse and dependent children can apply.
It is a special tourist visa, not local work permission. Official guidance says a child whose main purpose is school should use the education route.
Useful for
Non-Immigrant ED
A child attending an eligible school
The school normally supplies the documents for the child's application and extensions.
A parent's status is separate. Do not assume a child's school place automatically gives both parents a right to stay or work.
Useful for
Non-Immigrant B + work permit
Thai employment or a qualifying business role
Dependants normally use linked non-immigrant status.
Employer and role matter; arriving on a visitor route does not create permission to work locally.
Useful for
Long-Term Resident (LTR)
Applicants who meet the programme's wealth, income, employer and insurance criteria
A ten-year programme for four defined groups, with eligible spouse and children under 20.
Thresholds are deliberately high and the dependant cap matters for larger families.
The household status sheet
One family, four separate legal rows
Replace the examples with your names. Any blank cell is a risk, not an administrative detail.
A visual decision tool
Thailand's household activity map
Start with what each person will do. Similar passports can legitimately require different routes inside one family.
Remote adult
DTV may fitVerify the overseas work/client evidence and do not read it as Thai employment permission.
School-age child
Non-ED may applyOfficial Thai guidance separates study as a primary purpose from a DTV dependant assumption.
Thai employee
Employer-led routeNon-Immigrant B and work authorisation normally move together.
High-threshold family
LTR may fitFour principal categories, continuing criteria and separate dependant applications.
Decision rule: If one adult changes job, the child changes school or the family stays beyond one entry period, the status map should still work without improvising at the border.
Where family plans break
Four risks to resolve before applying
180 days is an entry period
DTV validity and permitted stay are different concepts. Track each entry, extension and departure rather than calling it five years of continuous residence.
School status is child-specific
A school acceptance letter does not create both parents' status; a parent's DTV does not erase a child's education question.
Work has a location
Overseas remote activity and employment for a Thai entity are different immigration and labour-law cases.
LTR criteria continue
Income, employment, investment, insurance or bank-balance conditions must be maintained as the route requires.
Document architecture
Prepare an evidence pack, not a pile of scans
Never legalise every document speculatively. Confirm what the exact route accepts, where it must be issued and how fresh it must be.
Identity
Passports with route-specific validity, photographs and any existing immigration records.
Relationships
Marriage, birth, adoption, custody or dependency evidence matching the legal family structure.
Principal eligibility
Employment, client, income, pension, investment, education or sponsor evidence for the exact category.
Admissibility
Police, health, insurance or clearance documents where the current route requests them.
Authentication
Apostille, consular legalisation, certified copy and translation requirements checked document by document.
Lower-risk sequence
From family plan to compliant arrival
- 01
Write the activity map
For every adult and child, state the actual work, business, study or non-working activity and intended length of stay.
- 02
Choose the principal anchor
Identify the route supported by a real job, overseas work, qualifying capital, school or family relationship.
- 03
Build the dependant layer
Confirm eligible relationships, age limits, separate applications and what happens if the principal status ends.
- 04
Prepare and authenticate
Work backwards from police, health, bank, employer and civil documents that may expire or need legalisation.
- 05
Apply before locking the move
Coordinate school and temporary housing, retain written terms, and avoid irreversible payments ahead of the status evidence.
- 06
Run the compliance calendar
Track entry, address reporting, renewals, re-entry, work or school changes, tax review and departure formalities.
Before paying an intermediary
Put these answers in writing
- The current official category code and issuing-authority link for every family member.
- The legal sponsor or guarantor and what happens if that person, employer or school changes.
- The exact work, business, volunteering and study activities each status permits or prohibits.
- Government fees separated from professional, translation, legalisation and third-party charges.
- Entry, reporting, extension, renewal, re-entry and departure obligations with dates and owners.
- The refund or remediation position if refused, delayed or moved to a different category.
Information, not individual immigration advice. Eligibility depends on current law and your evidence. Use the official sources below and a properly authorised professional where the route or activity needs one.
Continue the status plan
Test remote work and dependant rights separately
Straight answers
Questions about family relocation
Does one visa cover the whole family in Thailand?
Not automatically. A principal route may allow dependant applications, but every person needs the correct application, relationship evidence and status. Map the principal, spouse and every child separately.
Does dependant status allow a spouse to work?
Never infer work permission from residence. Some routes prohibit it, some require a separate employment pass or permit, and some attach work rights only to particular principal categories. Obtain the answer for the exact code and activity in writing.
Can children attend international school on dependant status?
That depends on the route and country. Some children use dependant status; others need a student category or school sponsorship. Confirm the school's document process and the immigration authority's current requirement before accepting a place.
Is a long-validity visa the same as permanent residence?
No. A five-, ten- or twenty-year label may still be temporary, conditional, renewable or split into shorter grants. Read continuing criteria, cancellation triggers and whether the programme expressly leads to permanent residence.
Does visa approval settle our tax position?
No. Immigration, personal tax, employment law, social security and corporate presence use different tests. Days present, where work is performed, accommodation and remittances can matter independently of visa validity.
When should we pay school fees or sign a lease?
Only after the route, sponsor, dependant structure, permitted activities and refund exposure are understood. Keep early housing flexible and ask schools for written deferral or refund terms if status is not yet secured.
Can a UK family move to Thailand on the DTV?
The DTV may suit an eligible remote-working principal and eligible spouse or dependent children. Official embassy guidance says a child whose main purpose is school should use Non-Immigrant ED status, so do not force the whole household into one label.
How long can a DTV holder stay per entry?
The DTV has five-year multiple-entry validity with stays of up to 180 days per entry under the published route. Validity is not continuous permission to remain without tracking admissions, extensions and departures.
Can I work for a Thai company on the DTV?
Do not assume so. DTV is aimed at eligible remote workers, freelancers and specified activities; it is not a Thai work permit. Thai employment normally needs the appropriate employer-led immigration and work authorisation.
Who can join an LTR principal?
The official LTR programme accepts a legal spouse and qualifying children under 20, with separate applications and relationship evidence. Current criteria and dependant limits or insurance/bank evidence must be checked at application.