Thailand visa for consultants and coaches
Consultants have the cleanest income evidence of any freelance occupation, and the easiest way to breach the terms of their visa without noticing.
A consulting engagement produces exactly what an embassy wants: a signed agreement, a day rate, dated invoices and clean settlements. On paper, consultants are among the strongest DTV applicants we file.
The exposure is on the other side. Consulting is relationship-driven, and the relationships find you once you live here — a board seat for a Bangkok company, an advisory retainer for a Thai group, mentoring a local startup for equity. Each of those is work performed in Thailand for a Thai entity, and none of them is covered by a DTV.
The documents an embassy expects from this occupation. Missing one is the usual reason a case stalls.
- Consulting agreements or engagement letters with clients outside Thailand
- Invoices at a stated day or project rate, matched to bank credits
- 500,000 THB held in a personal account for at least three months
- Your own company's registration and a director's letter, if you contract through an entity
- Professional body membership or certification where your field has one
The specific failure modes we see for this occupation, and how they are avoided.
Advising a Thai company
A board seat, an advisory retainer or a formal mentoring role with a Thai-registered entity is Thai work, whether or not you are paid in cash. Equity and "unpaid advisor" arrangements do not sidestep it.
Being paid gross into a personal account with no agreement
Consultants often work on a handshake with long-standing clients. That is fine commercially and weak evidentially — put the current engagement in writing before you file.
Ignoring tax while chasing the visa
Past 180 days you are Thai tax resident, and consultancy income remitted here is assessable. High earners frequently find the LTR pays for itself on the tax cap alone.
The DTV is not always right. These are the situations where we would steer you elsewhere.
Long-Term Resident Visa (LTR)
On USD 80,000+ a year, the LTR professional category gives ten years, a digital work permit and a 17% personal income tax cap — a materially better answer for senior consultants.
Full details on this visa →Business Visa & Work Permit (Non-B)
If you intend to take Thai clients or hold a formal role in a Thai company, you need a Non-B and a work permit, usually with a Thai entity behind it.
Full details on this visa →Common questions
Can I sit on the board of a Thai company on a DTV?
No. A directorship or formal advisory role in a Thai-registered company is work in Thailand and requires the appropriate visa and work permit, even if the position is unpaid.
I coach clients over Zoom. Where are they allowed to be?
Anywhere outside Thailand. The test is who is paying you and where they are registered, not where the call takes place. Thai-based paying clients need the business route.
Is the LTR worth the extra fee?
If you earn over USD 80,000 and intend to stay long-term, usually yes. Ten years instead of five, a work permit included, fast-track immigration and the tax cap typically outweigh the higher service and application costs within the first two years.
Reviewed against Thai immigration practice current in 2026.
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