Thailand's Long-Term Resident Visa is designed as a family programme as much as an individual one. Up to four dependents, a legal spouse and children under 20, may accompany the main LTR applicant and share in the ten-year residence structure. For the professional and high-net-worth families we act for at Juslaws & Consult, the dependent track is often the deciding factor in whether the LTR makes sense against the alternatives, because the family-wide tax and immigration certainty it delivers is hard to replicate through any combination of standard Thai long-stay visas.

This guide sets out the dependent eligibility rules, the document requirements, the legalisation chain that applies to foreign marriage and birth certificates, the fees, and the practical considerations we see routinely in our dependent files. It reflects the BOI document list updated on 6 November 2025 and BOI Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 of 4 February 2025, including the confirmed eligibility of same-sex spouses that was codified in the February 2025 update.

What Is the LTR Visa for Dependents?

The Dependents category extends the ten-year LTR residence permit to the legal spouse and children under 20 of a main LTR Visa applicant qualifying under the Wealthy Pensioners, Wealthy Global Citizens, Work-from-Thailand Professionals, or Highly-Skilled Professionals category. The dependent visa is not granted independently. It is tied to a successful main application and runs in parallel with it for the full ten-year term, subject to the dependent's continued qualification (principally the under-20 age condition for children).

The legal framework is the same as for the main category: the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979) together with the BOI's implementing notifications under the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (1977). BOI Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 of 4 February 2025 governs the current eligibility rules, with updates including the confirmed inclusion of same-sex spouses and the expanded definitions discussed below.

Who Qualifies as a Dependent?

The established rules, in force as of April 2026, recognise two categories of dependent: a legal spouse and a child under 20. The maximum number of dependents per main LTR applicant is four.

Legal Spouse

A legal spouse is evidenced by a marriage certificate valid in the country where the spouse's passport was issued. The certificate must be no older than six months at the time of application. Where the certificate is older, a legalisation chain is required: notarisation at the consulate or embassy of the country of nationality, legalisation by that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and further certification by the Legalization Division, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. This sequence is necessary because Thailand is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so the shorter apostille route is not available for use in Thailand.

Same-sex spouses are eligible as dependents under the February 2025 BOI rule update, provided the marriage is legally recognised in the country where the spouse's passport was issued. The BOI does not impose a separate Thai-recognition requirement for purposes of LTR dependent eligibility.

Children

Children under 20 qualify as dependents, whether legitimate, adopted, or stepchildren. For legitimate children, the birth certificate is the core evidence. For adopted children, the birth certificate is submitted together with the adoption certificate and the court order of adoption. For stepchildren, the birth certificate is submitted together with the marriage certificate between the child's biological parent and the main LTR applicant, and where the main applicant has legally adopted the stepchild, the court order of adoption.

Once a child dependent turns 20, the LTR visa for that child automatically becomes invalid. Transition planning for children approaching their twentieth birthday is important, and we address it under the practical considerations section below.

Consent Form for Sponsorship

The main LTR applicant signs a Consent Form for Sponsorship of a Dependent for each dependent, confirming the family relationship and accepting full responsibility for the dependent's financial support, accommodation, health care, and all other necessary expenses during the dependent's stay in Thailand. The form is available from the BOI portal's application forms section.

Benefits for Dependents

Dependents benefit from the same ten-year residence permit, multiple-entry structure, annual address reporting, and fast-track immigration as the main applicant. Dependents are not automatically granted permission to work in Thailand. Dependents who wish to work in Thailand apply separately for a work permit through the standard Department of Employment process at TIESC or at a designated provincial labour office. The LTR dependent visa itself grants residence, not work authorisation.

Dependents of Wealthy Pensioners, Wealthy Global Citizens, and Work-from-Thailand Professionals LTR holders are not directly covered by the Royal Decree No. 743 tax exemption in their own capacity. The exemption operates on the main LTR holder's foreign-sourced income when remitted into Thailand. Where a dependent has independent overseas income, the dependent's own tax position is assessed under the standard Thai tax-residence rules. Careful structuring is often useful in family cases where both spouses have overseas income streams, and our tax team advises on the combined family position.

Required Documents

All documents in a language other than English or Thai must be accompanied by a certified or notarised translation.

Personal Documents

Each dependent submits the same personal document set as a main applicant: a scanned colour copy of the current passport (minimum six months' validity and two blank pages for the LTR stamp and stay permit), with the biodata page and all pages bearing Thai immigration stamps in chronological order as double-page spreads in a single PDF. Any TM.47 form is uploaded separately. A passport-size photograph on a white background in business attire, taken within the last six months, without glasses or headgear. The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (for dependents who entered Thailand after 1 May 2025) or the T.M.6 card (for dependents who entered before 1 July 2022 or through a land border).

Damaged passports will be refused at the Immigration Bureau on the appointment day, so passport condition should be verified before submission for each dependent. Children's passports, in particular, are frequently worn from travel and may need replacement ahead of the LTR application.

Consent Form for Sponsorship

The signed Consent Form for Sponsorship of a Dependent, executed by the main LTR applicant, is uploaded for each dependent. The form is available from the BOI portal and is straightforward to complete.

Evidence of Relationship

For spouses, the marriage certificate is submitted. Where the certificate is more than six months old, the legalisation chain described above applies. For legitimate children, the birth certificate is submitted. For adopted children, the birth certificate, adoption certificate, and court order of adoption. For stepchildren, the birth certificate, the marriage certificate between the child's biological parent and the main LTR applicant, and the court order of adoption where applicable.

Foreign birth certificates are subject to the same translation and, where older than six months, legalisation requirements as marriage certificates. Clients whose children were born abroad should allow additional time for the legalisation chain, particularly where the issuing jurisdiction's embassy in Thailand has limited consular appointment availability.

Medical Certificate (Case-by-Case)

A medical certificate issued by a hospital or medical centre, dated within the last six months, indicating that the applicant requires assistance with daily living activities from the support of a primary caregiver, may be requested on a case-by-case basis. This is not a routine submission and is usually relevant only for dependent structures that fall outside the ordinary spouse-and-under-20-child pattern.

Evidence of Health Insurance

Each dependent must independently satisfy the health insurance or financial reserve requirement. A health insurance policy of at least USD 50,000 covering hospitalisation and medical treatment for the duration of stay in Thailand with at least ten months' remaining coverage, or a valid Thai Social Security benefit (latest monthly SSO payment receipt, employer's SSO name list, and SSO card), or a bank deposit of at least USD 25,000 held continuously for at least twelve months at the time of application. Note the dependent threshold of USD 25,000 is lower than the USD 100,000 threshold that applies to main LTR applicants.

Group family health insurance policies are accepted provided the per-person cover for each dependent reaches USD 50,000. Life insurance without a health component, and travel insurance, are not accepted. The BOI reads the policy wording carefully, and geographic or condition-specific exclusions that affect coverage in Thailand should be reviewed by the applicant's broker or insurer before submission.

Application Process

Dependent applications are filed alongside the main LTR application through the BOI portal at ltr.boi.go.th. Each dependent has a separate account in the system, linked to the main applicant's file through the consent form and relationship evidence. The endorsement assessment for dependents typically runs in parallel with the main application, and the pre-approval and visa issuance occur on the same TIESC appointment day as the main applicant.

At the TIESC appointment, each dependent presents the original passport, the printed Notification of Qualification Endorsement for the dependent, the TM.94 form, and the passport-size photograph. Children below a certain age attend in person for biometric capture. Where dependents are overseas at the time of endorsement, they can collect the visa at the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate General in their jurisdiction, through the Thai e-Visa portal where available, within the 60-day window. The location of issuance is set per dependent and cannot be changed after submission, so coordinated planning within the family is important.

Fees

The government fee for the 10-year LTR visa with multiple entries is THB 50,000 per dependent when collected at TIESC in Bangkok. The same fee applies to each dependent separately, so a family of four (main applicant plus spouse and two children) pays THB 200,000 in total for visa issuance. Overseas collection through a Royal Thai Embassy, Consulate General, or the Thai e-Visa portal is typically in the USD 1,600 to USD 2,000 range per person.

There is no separate BOI fee for the qualification endorsement itself, which remains free as confirmed by the BOI. Translation and legalisation of foreign marriage and birth certificates, where applicable, is a separate cost that varies with the document set and the jurisdictions involved. For certificates that require the full legalisation chain, we recommend budgeting four to six weeks of elapsed time for the chain to complete.

Important Notes on Children

The under-20 threshold is a hard rule. A child who turns 20 during the LTR term loses dependent status on that birthday, and the LTR visa for that child becomes invalid on the same date. This is not a grace-period rule and is automatic. Families with a child approaching 20 should plan the child's long-stay transition at least twelve months in advance. Options typically include the Destination Thailand Visa for the child's own remote work or studies, an independent LTR application if the child's income or asset profile qualifies, a Non-Immigrant ED for formal study in Thailand, or a Thai education pathway that supports the adult child's own residence basis.

Stepchildren are accepted as dependents where the evidence of relationship is complete, but the evidentiary burden is higher than for legitimate children. The birth certificate of the child, the marriage certificate between the biological parent and the main LTR applicant, and the court order of adoption where the main applicant has legally adopted the stepchild, are each required. Where the family's documentary trail is complex (multiple jurisdictions, prior divorces, name changes), our team builds out the document chain methodically to avoid gaps that would trigger BOI document requests.

Practical Tips

First, run the legalisation chain early. For marriages and births abroad, the sequence of consular notarisation, home-country MFA legalisation, and Thai MFA certification takes four to six weeks in a typical case and longer where an embassy has limited appointment availability. Submitting the main LTR application before the dependent legalisation is complete is workable, because the dependent file can catch up while the main endorsement is underway, but leaving legalisation to the last minute has caused delays in several files we have seen.

Second, coordinate the dependent photographs carefully. Children's passport-size photos are frequently rejected for informal attire, hair covering the face, or background colour. The BOI's white-background requirement is strictly enforced.

Third, align the dependents' health insurance with the main applicant's where possible. A family policy with USD 50,000-plus per-person cover for every insured person satisfies the requirement across the family in a single document, rather than juggling separate policies. For clients travelling frequently in and out of Thailand, the policy's geographic coverage needs to include Thailand at the USD 50,000 level as a minimum, and we recommend clients re-read the policy wording rather than relying on a broker's summary.

Fourth, plan the visa-issuance location per dependent in advance. Families who are in different jurisdictions at the time of endorsement sometimes want to collect each dependent's visa at the nearest embassy, and that is workable, but the location is per-dependent and cannot be changed after submission. A Bangkok family would typically collect all visas at TIESC on the same day, which is the simplest path.

Fifth, plan the post-TIESC family documentation. Once all dependents hold LTR stamps, the ongoing family obligations (annual address report per dependent, and re-verification before the five-year term expires) run in parallel with the main applicant. Our firm handles this calendar for each family we place on an LTR so that no report is missed and no re-verification window is caught off guard.

Why Work with Juslaws & Consult

Juslaws & Consult acts regularly for international families on their full Thai legal needs, from the LTR application itself through to estate planning, property transactions, corporate restructuring, and ongoing tax compliance. For LTR dependent files specifically, we coordinate the legalisation chain through the client's home-country consular channel and the Thai MFA Legalization Division, prepare the consent forms, manage the simultaneous submission of the main applicant and dependents through separate portal accounts, attend the TIESC appointment together with the family, and handle the post-issuance calendar of annual reports and five-year re-verification.

Engagement proceeds on a signed Engagement Agreement with a pro-forma invoice, at a fixed professional fee covering the family group. Contact our Bangkok office at One Pacific Place, BTS Nana, to discuss the family's LTR strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my unmarried partner apply as a dependent?

No. The BOI requires evidence of a legal spouse, which means a registered marriage valid in the country where the spouse's passport was issued. Long-term unmarried partners, including partners in civil partnerships that are not formally a marriage in the issuing jurisdiction, do not qualify. Where a civil partnership or other non-marriage legal union is the relationship structure, clients sometimes choose to register a marriage in a jurisdiction that recognises their union before applying.

Are same-sex spouses eligible as LTR dependents?

Yes. Same-sex spouses were confirmed as eligible dependents under BOI Announcement No. Por. 3/2568 of 4 February 2025, provided the marriage is legally valid in the country where the spouse's passport was issued. The BOI does not impose a separate Thai-recognition requirement for LTR dependent eligibility.

My child will turn 20 next year. What happens to the visa?

The LTR dependent visa automatically becomes invalid on the child's twentieth birthday. This is a hard rule with no grace period. Families with a child approaching 20 should plan the transition at least twelve months in advance, options include Destination Thailand Visa, a separate LTR application if the child's profile qualifies, a student visa, or other long-stay tracks. We advise routinely on this transition.

Can my parents join me as dependents on an LTR Visa?

Under the standard rules, the Dependents category covers a legal spouse and children under 20. Parents are not within the standard dependent structure. Parents seeking long-stay in Thailand usually apply under the Non-Immigrant O retirement or family-based routes, or, where eligible in their own right, under the Wealthy Pensioners LTR Visa. We assess the parent's own eligibility and advise on the best route.

Does each dependent need their own health insurance policy?

Each dependent must satisfy the health insurance or financial reserve requirement independently, but a single family policy providing at least USD 50,000 per-person cover for every insured member satisfies the requirement across the family. A bank deposit of at least USD 25,000 held for twelve months in the dependent's name is the alternative for each dependent who does not rely on insurance or Thai Social Security.

Does each dependent pay the THB 50,000 government fee?

Yes. The THB 50,000 fee is per person per ten-year visa and applies to each dependent separately. A family of four pays THB 200,000 in total at visa issuance. Overseas collection fees vary by jurisdiction and are typically higher per person.

Can dependents work in Thailand under the LTR?

The LTR dependent visa grants residence, not work authorisation. Dependents who wish to work in Thailand apply separately for a Thai work permit through the standard Department of Employment process at TIESC or at a designated provincial labour office. Our employment team handles work-permit applications for dependent family members when that need arises.

What happens if the main LTR holder's visa is cancelled?

Dependent LTR visas are tied to the main visa. Cancellation of the main LTR typically results in cancellation of the dependent visas as a consequence. Where the main LTR is voluntarily terminated because the main holder is transitioning to a different immigration status, coordinated transition planning for the dependents is essential and should be done in advance rather than retroactively. Our team handles coordinated family transitions.

Do I need to apply for my dependents at the same time as my main application?

No, but doing so is strongly recommended. Dependent applications filed together with the main application are processed in parallel, and the whole family can attend the TIESC appointment on the same day. Dependent applications filed after the main endorsement is granted are possible but add a second BOI processing cycle and a second round of TIESC appointments. Coordinated submission is almost always the more efficient path.

What is the legalisation chain for a foreign marriage certificate older than six months?

Three steps. First, notarisation at the consulate or embassy of the country of nationality (where the marriage took place). Second, legalisation by that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Third, certification by the Legalization Division, Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. Thailand is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so the apostille route is not available for documents to be used in Thailand. The full chain typically takes four to six weeks.

Can the dependent's visa issuance location be different from the main applicant's?

Yes, provided each location is within the normal TIESC-or-embassy set and is confirmed at the pre-approval stage. The location is per dependent and cannot be changed after submission. Families where dependents are in different jurisdictions at the time of endorsement sometimes collect each dependent's visa at the nearest embassy, though collecting the whole family together at TIESC is the simplest path.

Does the tax exemption under Royal Decree No. 743 cover my dependents' income?

The Section 5 exemption applies to the main LTR holder in the qualifying categories (Wealthy Pensioners, Wealthy Global Citizens, Work-from-Thailand Professionals). Dependents are not within the Section 5 exemption in their own capacity. A dependent's independent foreign-sourced income is assessed under the standard Thai tax-residence rules. Where both spouses have overseas income streams, structuring advice is often worthwhile, and our tax team handles this at the family level.

Is the under-20 age for children at the date of application or throughout the visa term?

The under-20 threshold applies at the date of application for initial qualification as a dependent, and throughout the visa term for continuation. A child accepted as a dependent at age 17 loses dependent status automatically on reaching 20, regardless of the date of original issuance.

What happens if the main applicant and spouse divorce during the visa term?

The dependent spouse's LTR visa is premised on the continuing marriage. A divorce during the visa term generally terminates the basis for the dependent visa. Depending on the timing and the spouse's own profile, transition planning may involve the former spouse's own LTR application in a different category, or a different long-stay structure. We advise on the transition where this situation arises.

Do I need to bring my dependents to Thailand to apply?

No. Dependents can apply from anywhere in the world through the BOI portal. Physical presence is required only at the visa-issuance appointment, either at TIESC in Bangkok or at the chosen Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate General abroad. Children typically attend the TIESC appointment with the parent for biometric capture.

Can I add a dependent later, after my initial LTR is already issued?

Yes. A new dependent application can be submitted separately at any time during the main applicant's LTR term. The dependent undergoes a full endorsement and issuance cycle, with the same 20-business-day endorsement assessment and 60-day issuance window. A later-added dependent's LTR runs concurrently with the main visa and expires on the same ten-year clock.