Moving to Thailand: The Complete Pre-Departure Checklist

Moving to Thailand requires considerably more preparation than a holiday, but the process is straightforward if you work through it methodically. The three most critical items to resolve before departure are: visa status (determine whether you need a Non-Immigrant visa before arrival or can enter on exemption and convert in-country), health insurance (most expat health plans must be taken out before leaving your home country; doing it from Thailand is harder and more expensive), and banking (notify your home bank of your move, open a Thai bank account early — Bangkok Bank and Kasikorn Bank both have English services, and foreigners need a Non-Immigrant visa category to open most accounts).

On the practical side, ship only what you genuinely cannot replace cheaply in Thailand — furniture, electronics, and household goods are readily available at low prices. What to bring: all prescription medications for 3–6 months (renewing foreign prescriptions takes time), any specialist medical or dental records, copies of all important documents (stored in cloud as well as physical), and an unlocked mobile phone. Sort a Thai SIM on arrival (AIS, DTAC, or TRUE — DTAC has good coverage maps, AIS has the best rural coverage). Set up a VPN before departing as some services are geo-restricted in Thailand. Register with your home country's embassy in Bangkok in the first month — it is free and ensures you are on the emergency notification list.