Using a Visa Agent in Thailand

Reviewed by Greg Berryman, 7 September 2026

A Thai retirement visa involves an immigration office, a Thai bank, and depending on your route an insurance policy. All three can be handled yourself. Plenty of people do it and never use an agent.

An agent does the running around. This page covers what they handle, what to ask before you engage one, and where the risk sits when something goes wrong. The visa options page covers the five routes themselves.

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What they do How it works now The agent I used The 90-day report What to ask Where the risk sits

What a visa agent actually does

  • Prepares and lodges the application with immigration.
  • Deals with the office directly, including document formats and the current preferences of that particular office.
  • Assists with documents the bank asks for, such as a residence certificate. You apply for the account yourself, in person.
  • Arranges insurance where the route requires it.
  • Handles 90-day address reports on your behalf.
  • Reminds you when renewals are due.

What they cannot do is change the rules. The thresholds, the seasoning periods, and the document requirements are the same whether you walk in yourself or send someone.

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How using a Thai visa agent works now

TMT gave me their current procedure for a new retirement client:

  • Apply for a 90-day Non-Immigrant O through the Thailand e-Visa system before you travel.
  • Enter Thailand on that visa.
  • Contact the bank after arrival and apply for the account yourself. An agent can help with a residence certificate for the application.
  • Apply for the 12-month retirement extension inside Thailand, subject to the requirements at the time.

Bank account opening as a standalone agent service has largely gone. Opening an account on tourist status has become harder.

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The visa agent I used in Phuket

I applied in 2024. Thai immigration and the banks both tightened up during 2025, so treat what follows as what happened to me rather than what will happen to you.

I have been a client of TMT Visa Service in Phuket since 2024. They arranged my retirement visa from start to finish, while I was already living here. They handled my extension in late 2025, and they file my 90-day reports.

  • They opened a Bangkok Bank account for me in person, with me sitting there. That was the procedure available in 2024. TMT no longer offers this as a standalone service.
  • The bank arranged an insurance policy at the same time. That was a condition the bank attached, not an immigration requirement for a Non-O retirement visa or extension.

They have three branches on Phuket: Patong, Rawai, and Cherngtalay.

Prices are quoted per case and I have not published them here. Ask them directly.

TMT reviewed this section for accuracy before it was published. Their review covers this section only, not the immigration, banking, or legal information elsewhere on this page.

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The 90-day report

This catches people out because it sounds like a visa renewal and isn't one. It is an address notification under Section 37(5) of the Immigration Act, and it has no bearing on how long you are permitted to stay.

  • Due every 90 consecutive days inside Thailand. Leaving the country resets the clock.
  • The filing window runs from 15 days before the due date to 7 days after.
  • Late filing commonly costs 2,000 baht, and the penalty can reach 5,000.
  • Four ways to file: in person, by registered post, through an authorised representative, or online at tm47.immigration.go.th.
  • The online portal is generally closed to you for a first report, or after a change of address. An agent filing on your behalf is a separate route, which is why plenty of long-stayers have never queued at an immigration office.
  • Once you are past the due date and the grace period, the portal locks you out. That one has to be done in person, with the fine paid at the counter.

The LTR visa is the one long-stay route with no 90-day reporting at all.

I send my passport and TM30 to TMT by Grab motorcycle. They file the report in person at the counter at Phuket Immigration. The passport comes back a day or two later. The fee is small.

Handing your passport to a stranger on a motorbike takes some getting used to, and anyone newly arrived would be right to hesitate. It gets easier once you have been here a while.

The online route costs nothing and takes minutes. Submissions do get rejected, usually over timing or the address on file, and a rejection you don't notice turns into a late report. If you are organised and check your confirmations, the portal is fine. If you would rather not think about it, that is what the fee buys.

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What to ask a Thai visa agent before you engage them

  • Whose money goes into the account, and does it stay there? This is the question that matters most, and it is covered below.
  • Is insurance actually required for my route? It is mandatory on the O-A. Extensions granted inside Thailand on a Non-O generally carry no insurance condition. Find out before you buy a policy. The visa options page sets out which routes carry an insurance condition.
  • What happens at renewal, and who carries the cost if an extension is refused?
  • Do you file the 90-day report online or in person? Both are legitimate. It tells you what you are paying for.
  • How long have you been operating here?
  • What has changed in the last twelve months? Anyone doing this daily will have a ready answer.

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Where the risk sits with Thai visa agents

Some agents satisfy the financial requirement using funds that are not the applicant's. Money appears in the account, the balance is documented, the application is approved, and the money leaves. The arrangement has a name in the industry and it is well documented by Thai law firms.

The visa gets issued, and the exposure stays with the applicant.

  • The 800,000 baht has to be seasoned. Two months before a first application, three months before each renewal, and the balance must not drop below 400,000 baht for the rest of the year.
  • Immigration has been reviewing bank records and source-of-funds letters more closely since the 2025 tightening.
  • Where officers find the funds were never genuinely the applicant's, the published consequences include cancellation of the extension, an order to leave, and a re-entry ban.
  • The name on the application is yours. The agent is not a party to it.

Ask the question directly and get a clear answer. Any agent worth using will tell you which method they are proposing.

Money you bring into Thailand can also matter for Thai tax if you are resident here. What counts is covered on the remittance rule page.

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No affiliate arrangement

There are no affiliate links on this site and no commission on anything recommended here. TMT gave permission to be named and asked for a link to their site. That is the full extent of the arrangement. I pay them for their service like anyone else.

Not immigration advice

Requirements are set by Thai immigration and change without much warning, and individual offices apply them differently. Confirm the current position with the office or embassy you will actually deal with. The visa options page covers the five routes and which one is likely to fit. Something here not covered? Ask me.

Sources

Most of what's on this page comes from living it, not from research. Where a specific claim needed backing beyond personal experience, here's where it came from: