Thai permanent residency (PR) is a separate status granted by the Immigration Commission under the Immigration Act, inside a yearly quota of no more than 100 people per nationality. Applications open in rounds that the Immigration Bureau announces year by year, and in October 2026 we could not confirm the dates or the fees of a 2026 round on an official page.
Most foreigners who live in Thailand for years never hold PR. They stay on a chain of one-year extensions, each tied to a reason such as work, marriage or retirement, and each has to be renewed. PR replaces that chain with a permanent right to live in the country. That is why it is sought after, and why the process is slow, selective and limited in numbers.
This page sets out what the law says and what the most recent published round looked like. It is not legal advice. The rules for each round are set by the Immigration Bureau, so check its announcement, and consider a licensed Thai immigration lawyer before you apply.
Thai permanent residency in brief (October 2026)
- Legal basis
- Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), sections 40 to 47
- Quota
- A ceiling of 100 per country per year, and 50 stateless people; set yearly in the Government Gazette
- Above the quota
- Investors bringing at least 10 million baht, up to 5% extra per year
- Decided by
- The Immigration Commission, with the Interior Minister's approval
- Where to apply
- Your local immigration office; in Bangkok, the Immigration Bureau
- 2026 round, fees
- Not confirmed on an official page; check the Immigration Bureau
What permanent residency means in Thai law
Thai immigration law separates a temporary stay from residence. Every visa and extension most foreigners know, including the retirement, marriage and work extensions, is a temporary stay with an end date. Section 41 of the Immigration Act allows a foreigner to be granted residence by the Immigration Commission with the Minister's approval, within the quota. A person granted residence receives a Residence Certificate under section 47.
Two long visas are often confused with PR. The Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa lasts up to ten years but remains a visa run by the Board of Investment. The Thailand Privilege membership is a paid long-stay visa. Neither turns into permanent residency, and neither counts toward it automatically.
The quota: a ceiling, not a promise
Section 40 of the Immigration Act lets the Interior Minister, with Cabinet approval, publish the immigration quota in the Government Gazette each year. The law caps it at no more than 100 people from each country and no more than 50 stateless people a year.
The figure of 100 is a legal maximum. It is not an allocation that has to be filled, and it does not mean that 100 people from your country will be approved each year. Every application is still judged on its own merits.
Section 43 adds one route outside the quota. A foreigner who brings in at least 10 million baht for investment can be admitted above it, up to 5% of the quota in a year, and must show their financial position for two to five years. This is for genuine investors and is decided case by case.
The categories in the most recent published round
When the Immigration Bureau opened the 2019 round, the law firm Tilleke & Gibbins summarized the categories as follows:
- Investment, for people who have invested in Thailand.
- Working or business, for people employed or running a business in Thailand.
- Humanitarian, for the spouse, parent or child of a Thai national.
- Experts, for people whose skills are of use to Thailand.
- Extraordinary cases, decided at the Commission's discretion.
Section 41 says the Commission considers income, property, knowledge, professional ability and family status. The detailed conditions for each category, such as how long you must already have lived in Thailand and the income you must show, are set in each year's announcement. Applicants and law firms commonly describe a requirement of at least three years on one-year extensions of the same type, but we could not confirm that rule on an official page in October 2026. Treat it as something to check, not as settled.
Marriage to a Thai is a category, not a shortcut. The humanitarian category covers spouses of Thai nationals, but they still apply inside the quota and go through the same assessment. Our guide to marrying a Thai citizen explains the marriage extension that most couples live on in the meantime.
The application window changes from year to year
There is no fixed season for PR applications. The 2019 round opened on 1 July and closed on the last business day of December; Tilleke noted that this was a few months earlier than in previous years. A round is not guaranteed every year either.
We could not read a 2026 announcement: the Immigration Bureau's website blocks automated access, and no official copy was available elsewhere. If you are thinking of applying, check the Immigration Bureau's site and ask your immigration office directly from the middle of the year.
Section 45 says applications from people already staying temporarily are made at the local immigration office. In the 2019 round, Bangkok residents applied at the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok and others at their provincial office. For Bangkok, our guide to the Chaeng Watthana immigration office explains how to get there and how the queue works.
Who the law excludes
Section 44 lists people who cannot be granted residence. They include anyone who has been imprisoned by a court judgment, except for minor or negligent offences or offences the law exempts, and anyone unable to earn a living because of mental or physical infirmity or a disease named in the regulations.
Our page on travelling with a criminal record explains how imprisonment is treated under the same Act for entry. If you have any conviction, take legal advice before you pay for an application.
Fees, the interview and the paperwork: what is not published
Section 45 says the application fee is fixed by Ministerial Regulation. The fee figures that circulate online, for the application and for approval, with reductions for family members of Thais, were not confirmed on any official page we could read in October 2026, so we do not print them. Ask the Immigration Bureau for the current fee schedule when the round opens.
The same applies to two other parts of the process that applicants often describe: an interview partly conducted in Thai, and the long wait between applying and a decision. Both are widely reported by applicants and law firms, but no current official page we could read describes them. Plan on a process measured in years rather than months, and keep your ordinary extension valid the whole time.
Do not let your extension lapse while you wait. A pending PR application is not a permission to stay. Until you hold a Residence Certificate, renew your extension on time, file your 90-day reports and get a re-entry permit before every trip abroad.
Life after approval: what to ask immigration
The Immigration Act provides the Residence Certificate, but the official pages we could read do not set out how life on PR differs day to day: whether PR holders still file 90-day reports, which kind of re-entry permission they need for travel, and how they are registered in a house book. These are exactly the questions to ask the immigration office that grants your residence, and to have answered in writing.
Some things are clear. PR is not citizenship, and it does not give the right to own land, which stays restricted to Thai nationals except in narrow cases; our guide to buying a house as a foreigner explains the alternatives. Working still requires a work permit from the Department of Employment, as our page on the work permit explains.
A note on Thai citizenship
Naturalization as a Thai citizen is a separate process under the Nationality Act, not a later stage of the Immigration Act. It has its own conditions and its own decision-makers, and we do not cover it here. Do not confuse it with the 2024 Cabinet decision and the 2025 Interior Ministry notification on fast-track status for long-term stateless people and ethnic-minority children: that program concerns people who have lived in Thailand without nationality, not foreign residents applying for PR.
For most foreigners, the realistic plan is a long-term visa or extension now and a PR application later, if the categories fit. Our retirement visa guide and the living in Thailand hub compare the options.
Frequently asked questions
How many people get permanent residency in Thailand each year?
The Immigration Act sets a ceiling of 100 people per country and 50 stateless people a year, published in the Government Gazette. It is a maximum, not a target, so fewer may be approved. Investors bringing at least 10 million baht can be admitted above the quota.
When can I apply for Thai permanent residency?
Only when the Immigration Bureau opens a round. The window is announced each year and is not fixed: the 2019 round ran from 1 July to the last business day of December. We could not confirm a 2026 round, so check with the Immigration Bureau.
Is the LTR visa the same as permanent residency?
No. The Long-Term Resident visa is a ten-year visa run by the Board of Investment, and the Thailand Privilege membership is a paid long-stay visa. Permanent residency is a separate status granted by the Immigration Commission inside the yearly quota.
How much does Thai permanent residency cost?
The fees are set by Ministerial Regulation, and the figures quoted online could not be confirmed on an official page in October 2026. Ask the Immigration Bureau for the current schedule when a round opens, and budget separately for translations and legal help if you use it.
Can I lose my extension while my PR application is pending?
Yes, if you do not renew it. An application is not a permission to stay. Keep extending on time, file your 90-day reports and get a re-entry permit before travelling until you actually hold a Residence Certificate.
Sources
- Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), unofficial English translation (via ecoi.net) (checked October 2026)
- Tilleke & Gibbins – Thailand opens 2019 round of permanent residency applications (10 July 2019) (checked October 2026)
- Prachatai English – Status program for stateless people and ethnic minorities (March 2026) (checked October 2026)