How to fund the 800k Thai visa deposit the cheapest way

Thai retirement visas ask you to hold 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account; the DTV asks for 500,000 THB in proof of funds. These are large sums, so two things decide how much the requirement really costs you: the fee and exchange-rate gap on the way in, and whether the money is recorded as arriving from abroad.

Move the money cheaply

The requirement is fixed in baht, so every dollar you lose to fees or a poor exchange rate is money you have to make up to clear the line. A low-fee transfer service at the mid-market rate loses only a fraction of what a traditional bank wire loses on the same amount — a bank wire stacks a fixed sending fee, likely intermediary fees, a Thai receiving fee, and a wider rate margin. On a five-figure deposit, that difference is easily hundreds of dollars.

See the head-to-head, with a worked example on a full deposit, in Wise vs bank wire for a Thai visa deposit.

Make it count as a foreign transfer

Here is the part that trips people up. Immigration generally wants the deposit to show that it came from outside Thailand. A SWIFT bank wire does this automatically. But a transfer service like Wise often pays out over local Thai rails, so the line on your Thai bank statement can look like a domestic transfer.

The fix is simple: after the money lands, go to your Thai bank branch and ask for a credit advice (sometimes called an FTT, or foreign transaction confirmation). It documents that the funds originated abroad. Keep it with your application.

One exception worth knowing: if the money is actually for buying a condo, you need an FET form, and a transfer service cannot issue one — only a Thai bank can. For property, use a bank wire or a Thai foreign-currency account even though it costs more.

Lump sum or monthly income?

Retirement visas accept either the 800,000 THB deposit or 65,000 THB per month of income. If you take the income route, each monthly transfer has to land at or above 65,000 THB after the exchange rate — so a strengthening baht can quietly pull a transfer under the line. If you take the lump-sum route, watch the seasoning window: the balance has to stay above 800,000 THB while it seasons, and the exchange rate can move it. That risk is worth understanding before you file — see the 800k seasoning exchange-rate trap.

The short version

1. Send the money with a low-fee transfer service at the mid-market rate.
2. Ask the receiving branch for a credit advice so it’s documented as a foreign transfer.
3. Leave a buffer above the requirement so exchange-rate moves don’t drop you under.
4. For a condo purchase only, use a bank wire (you’ll need the FET form).