Living in Thailand

Before you go

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Health insurance

Thailand and thethe UK do UK do not have reciprocal healthcare agreements. You should buy comprehensive travel and medical insurance before you enter the country. Most Thai insurance companies will only provide health and medical cover for people up to the age of 70.

You can visit the official website of Thai General Insurance Association (TGIA) for more information on insurance requirements according to your visa type.

You should also make sure you’reyou are covered by health insurance forfor UK treatment, UK treatment, or you’llyou will be charged by thethe NHS for NHS for any care you receive in the UK.the UK.

If you are resident in Thailand, you should ensure that you have taken out an appropriate health insurance policy. If you’reyou are here on an employment pass, check with your employer if health insurance is part of your employment package.

If you’reyou are a visitor, arrange comprehensive travel insurance before you travel. Make sure your policy covers:

• medical evacuation, including air ambulance services, in case you need to be flown home by these means
• full medical cover (medical bills can be expensive)
• repatriation of your remains in the event of death
• repatriation of your family in the event it is necessary for you to return home due to illness or injury

Coronavirus

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You can also input your postcode on Search for Covid (in Thai) to find COVID-19English-speaking hospitalsdoctors acrossin Thailand.

Vaccinations

Medicine

If you are overon thea ageprescription offor 18any andmedication ayou residentshould ofensure Thailand you canhave registera forsupply your first Covid-19 vaccination with the Ministry of Foreignit, Affairsor (MFA). If you are havingable troubleto registeringobtain pleaseit contactwhen thein MFAThailand. directlyCertain atmedicines foreignvac@gmail.commay ornot callbe themavailable onin +66Thailand (0)(including 2572major 8442.

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Proof of vaccination

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You needed.must Youapply willfor eithera havepermit to havebring beendrugs fullycontaining vaccinatedpsychotropic in Thailand or hadnarcotic asubstances negativeinto covid-19 test result. Download the Mor Prom app (in Thai) from:country.

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You may need a 13visa. digitRead number in order to register. Either use the 13Thai digitsgovernment’s fromguidance your ‘pink’ ID card for foreigners or use the reference on yourworking COVID-19in VaccineThailand Appointmentas Card. Fora furtherforeign detailsnational contactand thehow Morto Promget calla centrevisa. on +66 (0)2 792 2333.

ABe ‘Covid-19aware Certificate of Vaccination’job foroffers internationalthat travelappear isoverly availableextravagant fromor the‘too Departmentgood ofto Diseasebe Controltrue’. (DDC).There Pleaseis contact the Provincialpossibility Publicthat Healththese Officeturn whereout you live for details on how to obtainbe yourscams, certificate.either Furtherin detailsThailand areor also available from the DDCwider FacebookSoutheast pages.  

WorkingAsia andregion. volunteeringThere inhave Thailand

Ifbeen youincidents planwhere to:

• work
• volunteer
• conductpeople businesshave orhad investmenttheir activities

youpassport mustconfiscated applyby forscammers, ahave non-immigrantbeen visaheld atin apoor Royalliving Thaiconditions, embassyand and,have oncebeen youcoerced haveinto this,undertaking awider workonline permit.scamming activity.

You should make arrangements through your employer or volunteer organisation and ask your nearest Royal Thai embassy for advice and information.

Your volunteering organisation must be legally registered with the Thai Ministry of Commerce. You will need a recommendation letter from the volunteer organisation for your visa application and the work permit.

You should get your UK educational certificates legalised before you leave the UK.UK.

Police certificates

You can apply for a Thai police clearance certificate, if you’veyou have previously lived or worked in Thailand.

You can apply for a police certificate, if you’veyou have been asked to provide your UK police records.

TaxStudying in Thailand

SeeIf taxyou ifplan to study in Thailand, you leavemust themeet UKall tovisa liverequirements abroadbefore andyou taxtravel.

Contact onthe yourrelevant UKhigher incomeeducation ifprovider in Thailand to check what fees you livehave abroad.to pay.

Tax

SeeThe informationUK abouthas taxesa indouble taxation agreement with Thailand fromso that you do not pay tax on the Thaisame Revenueincome Department.in both countries. Ask the relevant tax authority your questions about double taxation relief.

WeYou recommendshould you get professional advice on paying tax in Thailand. Find an English-speaking lawyer in Thailand.

YouRead mayguidance beon:

• tax ableif you leave the UK to live abroad
• tax on your UK income if you live abroad
• tax if you get a pension and live abroad
• paypaying National Insurance while abroad in order to protect your State Pension and entitlement to other benefits and allowances.
  allowances

Opening

See ainformation bankabout accounttaxes in Thailand from the Thai Revenue Department.

Benefits

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Pensions

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SeeIf furtheryou informationretire onin Thailand, you can claim your UK State Pension or new UK State Pension. Contact the servicesInternational wePension provide.Centre for further information.

Pensions

SeeEnsure Statethat Pensionyou have a solution in place if you retireforget abroadyour PIN number for your bank account and newcannot Statetherefore Pension.liaise with your bank if you have problems getting your pension.

Life certificates for UK state pensions

If you get a ‘life certificate’ from the UK Pension Service, you need to respond as soon as possible – your payments may be suspended if you don’t.do not.

BenefitsMoney and banking

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Driving in Thailand

SeeRead drivingthe abroadguidance andon roadwhat travelactions you must do to drive legally in Thailand.

AlsoDriving see:abroad.

• information

  If onyou drivingare inasked Thailandfor froma theletter Royalauthenticating, Thaicertifying Embassy,or London

• howvalidating toyour getUK adriver’s drivinglicence, licenceyou should contact UK issuing office (e.g. the DVLA).

  If inyou Thailand

• takingwish ato take your vehicle with you, see guidance on taking vehicles out of the UK

.

How to get a driving licence in Thailand..

You should be extremely careful when deciding to drive any kind of vehicle in Thailand. If you are involved in an accident, you can contact:

• 191 for Police Emergency Assistance

• 1155 for Tourist Police

If you also require urgent medical attention, you or others can contact:

• 1669 for Emergency Medicine Service

• 1554 for Surgico Medical Ambulance and Rescue Team

Road Traveltravel

See guidance for travelling by road in Thailand.

Roads in Thailand can be excellent but there are also a lot of accidents. You should be extremely careful when deciding to drive any kind of vehicle in Thailand. To drive a car or ride a motorcycle in Thailand:

• you must have the correct licence. You can apply for an International Driving Permit if you already hold a UK driving licence, or you can apply for a temporary Thai driving licence

• you must make sure you have adequate and appropriate insurance for the category of vehicle you’reyou are using

Note that driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal and you risk being detained, fined or banned from driving.

If you don’tdo not follow the rules above it may invalidate your travel insurance if you have an accident or injury.

Riding a Motorcyclemotorcycle

A high number of road traffic accidents involve motorcycles. The World Health Organisation (WHO) rates Thailand as one of the world’s deadliest country for fatalities on motorcycles, citing an average of 5,500 related deaths annually. A number of British people have been killed or seriously injured in accidents. Exercise extreme caution if you hire a motorcycle and always wear a helmet - it is illegal not to.

Hiring a Vehiclevehicle

If you decide to hire a vehicle, do not hand over your passport as a guarantee (it is a legal requirement to carry identification with you at all times). You should offer an alternative proof of ID such as a photocopy. Make sure you hire from a reliable rental shop, that you are covered by your travel insurance, and check the small print of the lease agreement. Motorcycles or scooters for hire in beach resorts are often unregistered and can’tcannot be used legally on a public road.

Quad Bikesbikes

Riding quad bikes can be dangerous. It is also illegal to drive one on the road in Thailand, even though they are available to hire on the roadside.

Coach Traveltravel

There have been a number of serious accidents involving overnight coach travel. If you are in any doubt about the safety of your transport provider or are involved in an incident, ensure you record the vehicle registration information, date, time, and location of incidents and contact the Department of Land Transport on 1584.

VotingSwimming in Thailand

SeeTake votingparticular care when you’reswimming abroad.

Britishoff citizenscoastal livingareas, abroadespecially canduring votemonsoon season. Strong riptides have drowned people in someseveral UKareas electionsincluding –Phuket, you’llKrabi, needKoh toChang, registerHua asHin, anCha-am, overseasRayong, voter.

Births

SeePattaya registerand athe birthKoh abroad.Samui archipelago. Always comply with warning signs, especially red flags, and only swim from approved beaches.

Deaths

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Gettingdoubt married

Seetake gettinglocal marriedadvice abroad.from hotel management and dive centres.

Renewing passports

SeeTake overseascare Britishwhen passportsswimming, applicationsdiving, andkayaking getor anwhite emergencywater travelrafting documentin (sometimesrivers calledor anclose emergencyto passport).

Pets

Seewaterfalls, travellingparticularly within pets.the rainy season. Currents can be extremely strong.

EmergenciesVoting

ThailandYou hasmay thebe followingable emergencyto numbers:

• 1155vote –in touristsome policeUK bureau
elections. You can:
• 191

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• 1669

  register –as emergencyan medicaloverseas servicesvoter

Births, deaths, marriage and civil partnership

Births

If your child is born in Thailand you needshould urgentregister help,the contactbirth yourwith nearestthe Britishlocal embassyauthorities.  orYou consulate.

Accommodationcan andthen buyingregister property

Seewith buyingthe UK authorities and apply for a propertyUK abroadbirth certificate.

GenerallyIf foreignyour nationalschild arehas British nationality, you do not allowedneed to ownregister landthe inbirth Thailand.with Youthe shouldUK contactauthorities to apply for a lawyerBritish passport.

Deaths

If ifsomeone youdies arein consideringThailand buyingread propertyour orguidance land.on:

Other useful information

• notarialwhat andto documentarydo servicesif forsomeone Thailanddies abroad
• lawyerswhat andto translatorsdo after a British person dies in Thailand
• InternationalEnglish-speaking Schoolsfuneral Associationdirectors ofin Thailand
• Agebereavement UK:information living– willsThailand: murder, manslaughter and suspicious deaths
• make,

Marriage registerand orcivil endpartnership

Find aout lastinghow poweryou ofcan attorney

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.

ReturningPets

See totravelling thewith UK pets.

Emergencies

ToDial move191 yourfor pensionthe topolice, the1669 UK,for contactambulance theor Internationalfire Pensionbrigade, Centre.or dial 1155 for tourist police.

SeeDial tax191 ifto report a missing child.

If you returnhave tobeen the UKvictim of a rape or sexual assault in Thailand, read the guidance on what to do and where to get support in cases of rape and sexual assault. See also https://www.gov.uk/guidance/victim-of-rape-and-sexual-assault-abroad.

YourIf rightyou toare freethe NHSvictim treatmentof dependsa oncrime, have been arrested, or are affected by a crisis, contact the lengthBritish andEmbassy purposeBangkok. See the list of yourEnglish residencespeaking lawyers and translators in Thailand.

Read the UK,guidance noton yourinternational nationality.parental Seechild NHS:abduction coverif your healthcarechild abroad.may be at risk of this.

Returning to the UK

SeeRead bringingthe yourguidance peton returning to the UK permanently. which includes information on bringing family members, tax and access to services.

Disclaimer

PleaseThis note that this information is provided as a guide only. Definitive information should be obtained from the Thai authorities. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information.