The Immigration Bureau of Thailand publishes three routes to a one-year retirement extension of stay. The first is evidence of monthly income of not less than 65,000 baht, stated per month rather than as a balance. The Revenue Department treats foreign income as assessable in the year it is brought in, so a repeating transfer is a repeating trigger.
Two Thai authorities measure a monthly transfer differently, and only one of them is counting arrivals. The Immigration Bureau of Thailand states one of the three financial routes to a one-year retirement extension of stay as a monthly income figure rather than a balance. The Revenue Department of Thailand fixes on the moment foreign income is brought in, so there the repetition itself recurs.
Key Takeaways
- The Immigration Bureau of Thailand publishes three financial routes to a one-year retirement extension of stay. The first is evidence of monthly income of not less than 65,000 baht.
- The deposit route is measured in dates. On the Immigration Bureau's criteria the money must sit in a Thai account for 2 months before filing and 3 months after permission, then fall no lower than 400,000 baht.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand states an extension request is submitted with documented evidence of money transfer, or a deposit account in Thailand, or an income certificate showing an amount of not less than 800,000 baht.
- Departmental Instruction No. Paw. 161/2566, issued by the Revenue Department on 15 September 2023, makes foreign income assessable in the tax year it is brought in, from 1 January 2024.
- Services Australia pays a person away more than 12 months every 4 weeks: thirteen payments a year, not twelve.
Why a monthly transfer is measured differently from a single one
Because one of the tests is stated per month and the others are balances.
The power to extend a stay comes from Section 35 of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522, which is 1979 in the Common Era, and Order of the Immigration Bureau No. 327/2557 records that the criteria for an extension of up to a year at a time are made under it. For retirement the Immigration Bureau requires a non-immigrant visa and an age of 50 or over. The financial test is then met in one of three ways.
The Immigration Bureau's first route is evidence of monthly income of not less than 65,000 baht. Nothing in that sentence is a total. It is a figure per month.
The other two are balances, and they are measured in dates. The Immigration Bureau requires a deposit of not less than 800,000 baht in a commercial bank located in Thailand, or in a specialised financial institution established under specific laws, held for at least 2 months before the filing date and 3 months after permission is granted, after which it may be drawn down to not less than 400,000 baht. The combined route puts an annual income beside a deposit to reach the same 800,000 baht at the filing date, on the same conditions, with at least fifty per cent of the deposit retained.
| Route in the Immigration Bureau criteria | What it measures | What the calendar does to it |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly income of not less than 65,000 baht | Income, month by month | Each month carries its own figure |
| Deposit of not less than 800,000 baht | A balance in a Thai account | Held 2 months before filing and 3 months after permission, then not below 400,000 baht |
| Annual income plus deposit totalling not less than 800,000 baht | A combined figure at the filing date | Same holding periods, with at least fifty per cent of the deposit retained |
A separate category covers a person living with a Thai spouse or children, where the Immigration Bureau names an average income of not less than 40,000 baht a month, or deposits of not less than 400,000 baht.
What evidence a long-stay resident is asked to produce
Three Thai government publications describe the documents, and they do not describe them identically.
The Immigration Bureau's own list for a retirement extension is short. It asks for the application form, a copy of the applicant's passport, evidence of income such as a retirement pension or interest or dividend, and/or a fund deposit certificate from a bank in Thailand with a copy of the account.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand describes the same step from the other end. On its page for the Non-Immigrant Visa Category O-A, long stay, it states that a foreigner who wishes to extend his or her stay "shall submit a request for extension of stay at the Office of the Immigration Bureau with documented evidence of money transfer or a deposit account in Thailand or an income certificate showing an amount of not less than 800,000 Baht". The transfer record is therefore a named form of evidence in its own right, standing beside an account balance and a certificate of income.
The Government Public Relations Department is more explicit again for the related step of changing an existing visa to the retirement category. Its list asks for a passbook and a certificate of balance from a bank in Thailand written in Thai, copies of all pages of a fixed deposit or savings account holding at least 800,000 baht, and proof of foreign currency transfer into Thailand, each document bearing the applicant's name and dated to the submission date.
For that family category the Immigration Bureau addresses money from abroad directly: where the applicant has foreign income such as a pension, the document named is a letter from their embassy in Bangkok verifying a monthly pension or other income of not less than 40,000 baht.
The three lists differ, and which one applies depends on the step. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes alternatives; the Government Public Relations Department describes a bundle, every item of it required together.
One thing the published criteria do not say is worth stating plainly, because it is widely assumed. No Immigration Bureau publication reviewed here requires the monthly income to arrive as an international transfer from a foreign source. A record of transfer is one acceptable form of evidence rather than the required one, and the requirement for proof of a foreign currency transfer belongs to a different procedure, set out above.
What twelve arrivals a year do under Thai tax law
Each arrival is its own event, and the reckoning is annual.
The Revenue Department of Thailand states that a resident is any person residing in Thailand for a period or periods aggregating more than 180 days in any tax year, which is the calendar year, and that a resident is liable to pay tax on income from sources in Thailand as well as on the portion of income from foreign sources brought into Thailand. An extension of stay is permission to remain rather than a record of days present, so whether a person crosses that threshold turns on their own movements.
Departmental Instruction No. Paw. 161/2566, issued by the Director-General of the Revenue Department on 15 September 2023, sets out how the second paragraph of Section 41 of the Revenue Code is applied. A resident of Thailand with assessable income by reason of duties or business carried on abroad, or by reason of property situated abroad, who brings that income into Thailand in any tax year, must include it in the computation of income tax for the tax year in which it was brought in. Departmental Instruction No. Paw. 162/2566, issued on 20 November 2023, excluded income that arose before 1 January 2024, and the instruction applies to income brought in from that date onwards.
The consequence of a monthly pattern follows from the words "brought into Thailand". The trigger is the act of bringing money in, so twelve transfers are twelve of them, while the return that gathers them up is filed once. The Revenue Department states that a taxpayer is liable to file a personal income tax return and pay within the last day of March following the taxable year.
Which country may tax a pension once the recipient lives in Thailand
The question is settled by treaty rather than by either country alone.
The Agreement between Australia and the Kingdom of Thailand for the Avoidance of Double Taxation, published by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as Australian Treaty Series 1989 No 36, entered into force on 27 December 1989. Under its Article 18, and subject to Article 19, pensions and annuities paid to a resident of one country are taxable only in that country. The same article defines an annuity as a stated sum payable periodically at stated times, under an obligation to make the payments for adequate and full consideration. Periodic payment is written into the definition.
Article 19 carves out government service. A pension for services rendered in the discharge of governmental functions to one of the two countries, or to a subdivision or local authority of it, is taxable only in that country, unless the recipient is a resident of and a citizen or national of the other.
What changes at the Australian end when the payment becomes ongoing
The paying agency changes its own rhythm, and the rhythm is not monthly.
Services Australia states that a person whose payments continue while outside Australia, intending to be away less than 12 months, is paid every 2 weeks into an Australian bank account. A person away for more than 12 months is paid every 4 weeks, into an Australian or an overseas bank account, and a payment into an overseas account is made in the local currency or in United States dollars.
Four weeks is not a month. Thirteen four-weekly payments fall in a year of twelve calendar months, so one month receives two and the dates drift earlier as the year goes on. A test written per calendar month and a cycle written in weeks count different things.
Where to look next
How international transfers work sets out the mechanics every transfer passes through before any of these rules apply. The Australian dollar to Thai baht send page carries the live figures, and the convert page covers the conversion itself. Remittance explains the term.
Sources
- Immigration Division 1, Immigration Bureau, visa extension criteria and document lists - item 22 retirement, item 18 family of a Thai national
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Non-Immigrant Visa "O-A" (Long Stay) - clause 5.4
- Government Public Relations Department, change of type of visa for retirement purposes - proof of foreign currency transfer into Thailand
- Order of the Immigration Bureau No. 327/2557, English translation hosted by the Royal Thai Embassy in Prague - Section 35, Immigration Act B.E. 2522
- The Revenue Department of Thailand, Personal Income Tax - the 180-day test and the filing deadline
- The Revenue Department of Thailand, Departmental Instruction No. Paw. 161/2566 as amended by No. Paw. 162/2566, in Thai - Section 41 paragraph 2
- Agreement between Australia and the Kingdom of Thailand for the Avoidance of Double Taxation, Australian Treaty Series 1989 No 36, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Articles 18 and 19
- Services Australia, Payments while outside Australia - the payment cycles overseas
General information about sending money to Thailand and the rules that apply to a repeating transfer. Not financial advice, not tax advice, and not a recommendation of any product or institution. Reviewed by the Tradergy editorial team, September 2026.
Common questions
Does money sent to Thailand have to arrive from abroad to count towards an extension of stay?
No Immigration Bureau publication reviewed here requires it. The published lists differ, and it is worth reading the one that matches the application. The Immigration Bureau list for a retirement extension asks for evidence of income such as a retirement pension, interest or dividend, and/or a fund deposit certificate from a bank in Thailand. The Government Public Relations Department list for changing to a retirement visa asks for proof of foreign currency transfer into Thailand alongside the deposit documents. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand names documented evidence of money transfer as one of the accepted forms for an extension.
What monthly income figure do the Thai Immigration Bureau criteria name for a retirement extension?
Evidence of monthly income of not less than 65,000 baht, as published by the Immigration Bureau. The applicant must also hold a non-immigrant visa and be 50 years of age or over. The alternatives are a deposit of not less than 800,000 baht in a commercial bank in Thailand or in a specialised financial institution, or an annual income and a deposit totalling not less than 800,000 baht at the filing date. Each permission is granted for no more than one year.
Is money sent from Australia to Thailand taxed in Thailand?
The Revenue Department of Thailand states that a resident is liable to pay tax on income from sources in Thailand and on the portion of income from foreign sources that is brought into Thailand. A resident is any person residing in Thailand for periods aggregating more than 180 days in any tax year, which is a calendar year. Whether a particular payment is assessable income depends on what it is, and the Revenue Department publishes the rules and the return.
Which country may tax a pension paid from Australia to someone living in Thailand?
Article 18 of the Agreement between Australia and the Kingdom of Thailand for the Avoidance of Double Taxation, signed at Canberra on 31 August 1989, provides that, subject to Article 19, pensions and annuities paid to a resident of one of the two countries shall be taxable only in that country. Article 19 covers pensions for services rendered in the discharge of governmental functions, and returns them to the paying country unless the recipient is a resident and a citizen or national of the other one.
How often does Services Australia pay someone who is living overseas?
Services Australia states that a person who intends to be away for less than 12 months continues to be paid every 2 weeks into an Australian bank account, or in line with their specific payment or allowance, and that a person away for more than 12 months is paid every 4 weeks into an Australian or an overseas bank account. Where the payment goes into an overseas account, Services Australia pays it in the local currency or in United States dollars.