Moving to Thailand: The Complete Relocation Checklist (Visa, Shipping, Pets, Bank, Home)

Founder of BAANLYY · International real estate broker, investor & relocation specialist

Last updated 7 July 2026 · Last reviewed 7 July 2026

The one-line version

Get the visa, documents, money, pets and a short-term base sorted before you fly. On arrival, handle immigration, TM30, a SIM and cash in week one. Then choose a neighbourhood in person, sign the right lease, and build daily life — bank, utilities, healthcare. Don’t commit to anything big while you’re still jet-lagged.

Before you fly: visa & legal foundation

The choices that are hardest to undo later are the visa and legal ones. Settle them while you still have your home paperwork and a calm head:

choose the right visa or entry route for how long you actually intend to stay — a tourist entry, the DTV, an education, retirement, marriage, work or LTR visa each rent and bank differently; our visa & housing guides map how each one changes your move
check your passport validity (six months-plus) and that you have blank pages
gather and, where needed, certify and legalise key documents — birth and marriage certificates, degree, police clearance, references — you cannot easily produce these once abroad
note your visa’s reporting obligations (the 90-day report, extensions) so the clock doesn’t surprise you; see TM30 & 90-day reporting

Before you fly: money & insurance

Move the money problem out of week one by preparing it now:

have accessible funds — roughly three months’ rent for the move-in lump sum, plus a first month of living costs and a buffer — build the figure with our cost of living guide and cost calculator
carry a low-fee or multi-currency card that works abroad, for the gap before you can open a Thai account
arrange health and travel insurance that covers your first weeks — some visas require proof of cover; our health insurance guide explains the options
if you plan to buy property, understand how to remit funds correctly (the foreign-exchange transaction record) before you transfer anything

Before you fly: belongings & pets

These two have the longest lead times, so start early:

Decide ship vs buy local. Most renters buy locally — condos are often furnished and goods are cheap. Ship only sentimental items, specialist gear, or a full unfurnished household. Sea freight beats air on cost; see shipping household goods and customs allowances on arrival.
Pets need months of lead time. Microchip, rabies vaccination and titer test, import permit and health certificate — the titer and permit are the bottleneck. Start the sequence in our importing pets guide well ahead of your flight.
pack a carry-on of essentials (documents, medication with prescriptions, chargers, a few days of clothes) in case freight or luggage is delayed

Before you fly: where you'll land first

Do not sign a 12-month lease from photos. Book two to three weeks of short-term accommodation as a base to explore from — a serviced apartment or month-stay rental that files your TM30 for you and buys you time to learn the city. Our temporary housing guide covers the options, and you can start shortlisting neighbourhoods before you fly with the Neighborhood Finder and our where-to-live guide — just leave the final decision until you’re on the ground.

Days 1–3: arrival, immigration & getting connected

The first 72 hours have three jobs: clear immigration, get connected, get cash:

Immigration & airport transfer — have your arrival accommodation address ready; leave the airport by the official public-taxi rank, the Airport Rail Link, or the Grab app, never a tout
Local SIM — pick up an AIS, TrueMove or dtac SIM so you have data and a Thai number; details in our SIM & mobile data guide
Cash — withdraw Thai baht and keep some on hand; many vendors are still cash-first
Rest before you act. Don’t tour ten condos or sign anything on day two — beat the jet lag first

Week 1: the legal must-dos

A few administrative steps early in week one prevent real pain later:

TM30 address registration — confirm your accommodation files it and keep the receipt
Diarise your reporting dates — the 90-day report and any extension deadlines, per TM30 & 90-day reporting
Copy your documents — keep digital and paper copies of your passport photo page, visa and entry stamp; you’ll be asked for them repeatedly

Weeks 1–3: find the neighbourhood, then the home

This is where the next year is won or lost. Use your short-term base to explore districts in person — ride the BTS, walk the sois at night, time the commute — because Bangkok’s traffic makes the wrong side of town expensive in hours. The rule: live within a short walk of a BTS or MRT station. Narrow your shortlist with the Neighborhood Finder and our where-to-live guide, then sign the right lease — budget the typical two-month deposit plus one month’s advance, read the contract (get a Thai-language lease checked), and photograph the condition at move-in so your deposit comes back. Our full renting guide covers leases, deposits and the scams to avoid.

Weeks 2–4: build daily life

With an address in hand, set up the infrastructure of normal life:

Bank account — attempt it once you have a TM30 and address; see opening a Thai bank account
Utilities & home internet — set up electricity, water and a fibre line if not included; check the building’s providers before signing
Healthcare — locate your nearest international-standard hospital and confirm your cover; our healthcare guide explains the system. Save 1669 (medical), 191 (police), 1155 (Tourist Police)
Transport & orientation — get a Rabbit card, keep Grab for door-to-door, and learn the line that serves your home
Community — start showing up to recurring activities; the people you meet in month one shape how settled the next year feels

The move-in money reality

Budget for the lump sum, not just the rent

plan for roughly three months’ rent upfront on your home (two-month deposit + one month advance)
add first-month living costs, SIM, transport, and any furnishing or setup
keep a buffer for the gap before your Thai account and local income are running
build the real number with the cost of living guide and the cost calculator

Moving mistakes to avoid

Don’t…

sign a 12-month lease before you arrive, from photos, before you know the city
leave pet paperwork to the last minute — the rabies titer and import permit need months
over-ship — paying to freight furniture that’s cheaper to buy locally
assume the TM30 is someone else’s problem — confirm it’s filed and keep the receipt
arrive with too little move-in cash and no card that works abroad
spend the whole month on admin and never meet anyone

Living Summary

Moving to Thailand — living summary

Editorial analysis compiled and periodically refreshed by BAANLYY’s research team — not a live data feed.

Is moving to Thailand getting easier or harder for foreigners?
On balance, easier for the paperwork that matters most. The Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), introduced in mid-2024, opened a long-stay route for remote workers, freelancers and long-term visitors who previously had to visa-run or use education visas as a workaround, and the Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa (2022) did the same for higher-income professionals and retirees. Day-to-day admin has tightened in parallel, though: TM30 and 90-day reporting are enforced more consistently than a few years ago, so the checklist rewards people who follow it in order rather than winging it.
Which step in the relocation checklist trips up newcomers most today?
Opening a Thai bank account remains the single most inconsistent step — requirements vary by branch and depend heavily on visa type, and it's still common for newcomers on shorter-stay visas to be turned away without a work permit, LTR, or long-stay visa plus a TM30 receipt and proof of address. Budgeting for a multi-currency card to bridge the first few weeks continues to be the most reliable workaround.
Has arrival paperwork gotten more digital?
Yes. The rollout of the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) moved part of the old paper arrival-card process online before landing, and TM30 filing is increasingly handled through the immigration department's online system by larger landlords and buildings rather than in person. Smaller private landlords still vary — always confirm rather than assume.
What's changed in the pre-departure checklist recently?
The visa decision now has more good options than it used to — DTV, LTR, retirement, marriage or work permit each fit different situations, so newcomers should map their intended length of stay and income source to a specific visa before booking flights rather than defaulting to tourist entry and figuring it out later. The core money, shipping and pet-import steps below haven't fundamentally changed.

Analysis last reviewed 2026-07-06.

Growth Trajectory

How Thailand's Relocation Pathway Has Evolved

2020–2021
Pandemic border closures reshape relocation
Extended border closures and the Special Tourist Visa (STV) era push many prospective movers to delay relocation or explore remote long-stay arrangements, foreshadowing demand for a dedicated remote-work visa.
2022
Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa launches
Thailand introduces the LTR visa for wealthy retirees, remote professionals, skilled workers and high-earning expats, giving a first real 10-year route for higher-income newcomers alongside the older retirement and marriage visas.
2023
Reporting and TM30 enforcement tightens
As tourism and long-stay arrivals rebound post-pandemic, immigration offices apply TM30 and 90-day reporting requirements more consistently, making the address-registration step a bigger practical priority for new arrivals than it had been.
2024
Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) opens a mainstream long-stay route
The DTV launches as a five-year, multi-entry visa covering remote workers, freelancers, digital nomads and soft-power activity participants — closing the gap that previously pushed many long-stay foreigners toward education-visa workarounds.
2025–2026
Digital arrival processes and continued visa refinement
The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) moves part of the arrival process online, and visa categories continue to be refined; the practical relocation checklist — visa, money, shipping, pets, arrival week, then home — stays the reliable backbone regardless of which specific visa route a newcomer uses.

Frequently asked

What should I sort out before flying to Thailand?Before you fly, lock down the things that are hard or impossible to fix later: the right visa or entry route for how long you intend to stay, a passport with plenty of validity, certified copies of key documents (birth, marriage, degree, police check), travel and health insurance that covers your first weeks, a plan for your pets and possessions, and enough accessible money — cash plus a card that works abroad — to cover roughly three months of upfront housing costs. Book two to three weeks of short-term accommodation rather than a year lease. Everything else can be handled once you land.

Do I need to ship my belongings or buy everything there?For most renters, the answer is buy locally. Bangkok condos typically come fully or partly furnished, and household goods, furniture and electronics are widely available and often cheaper than international shipping plus duty. Ship only sentimental items, specialist equipment, or a full household if you are relocating long-term into an unfurnished home. If you do ship, sea freight is far cheaper than air for anything non-urgent, and customs allowances are tightest on new and high-value goods. See our guides on shipping household goods and customs allowances for the detail.

What is the TM30 and when do I deal with it?The TM30 is Thailand's address-registration requirement: the property owner — your landlord, the condo juristic office, or your hotel — reports to immigration where you are staying. Hotels and serviced apartments usually file it automatically. If you rent, confirm it is filed and keep the receipt, because immigration may ask for it when you do a 90-day report, a visa extension, or open a bank account. Handle it in your first week and re-file it whenever you change address.

When can I open a Thai bank account after moving?Plan for weeks two to three, once you have a Thai address and your paperwork together. Ease depends heavily on your visa: holders of longer-stay visas (work permit, retirement, LTR, DTV, education) generally have a smoother path than tourists, and some branches ask for a TM30 receipt and a certificate of residence. Have a backup — a low-fee multi-currency card from home — to bridge the gap. Our guide on opening a Thai bank account covers the current approach.

How much money should I have ready to move to Thailand?Build your number around the upfront lump sum, not just monthly rent. Budget roughly three months' rent to secure a home (typically a two-month deposit plus one month's advance), plus your first month of living costs, a SIM and transport, any furnishing or setup, and a buffer for the gap before your Thai bank account and local income are running. Many newcomers underestimate the move-in cash. Our cost of living guide and calculator help you build a realistic figure before departure.

Can I bring my pet to Thailand?Yes, with planning. Thailand allows cats and dogs to enter with the right paperwork — microchip, up-to-date rabies vaccination, a recent rabies titer test where required, an import permit, and a government health certificate — and there can be a quarantine or inspection step on arrival. Start the process months ahead, because the rabies titer and permit timelines are the bottleneck, and check whether your home country and airline have their own export rules. Our importing-pets guide walks the sequence.

How long does it take to feel settled after moving to Thailand?Most people have the logistics — home, SIM, bank, transport, healthcare — running within their first month if they work through them in order. Feeling genuinely settled takes longer and depends on building a routine and a community: showing up to recurring activities, learning a handful of Thai phrases, and getting comfortable with the city. Treat month one as setup and months two and three as the real settling-in, not a failure if everything isn't perfect on day thirty.

Keep going

Property Education Your First 30 Days Shipping Household Goods Importing Pets Open a Bank Account Relocation Hub Neighborhood Finder

Land in the right neighbourhood

Explore Thailand’s districts and residences before you commit — so your first lease is the right one.

Browse residences Neighborhood Finder

General information only — visa, customs, pet-import, TM30, banking and reporting rules change and vary by case. Confirm current requirements with official Thai immigration, customs, your bank, and a licensed specialist where needed. BAANLYY never takes paid placement.

Moving to Thailand: the complete relocation checklist.