Destination Thailand Visa
Golf in Thailand,
five years at a time
Our golf network
Working with professional golf across Thailand
We have partnered with established golf academies, professional coaches and clubs in five regions to support the sports and golf element of your DTV application โ and to arrange your coaching, membership and course access once you arrive. Select a region to see our fantastic choice of golf academies & courses.
Thailand's original seaside resort town, three hours south-west of Bangkok. Quiet, walkable and long popular with retirees. Sea breezes, and courses in the hills behind the town.
The northern capital: cooler, greener and cheaper than the coast, ringed by mountains. The lowest cost of living of the five, and the widest choice of recognised Thai courses if you're taking the soft-power route. Air quality dips from February to April.
The highest concentration of quality courses in the country, most within 40 minutes of each other and roughly 90 minutes from Bangkok airport. The largest resident foreign community of the five regions, and the easiest place to find a regular game.
Island living with international schools, private hospitals and direct flights from most of Asia and Europe. The highest cost base of the five regions, and the most dramatic courses. Monsoon runs roughly May to October.
Two hours west of Bangkok on the River Kwai, and the quietest of the five. Mountains, waterfalls and national parks, with green fees well below the resort towns. This is where Migrify is based, and where our own residential programmes run.
The DTV lets you live in Thailand for up to 180 days at a time over five years, with as many trips in and out as you like. Here is how golfers use it, what you need, and where you'll play.
First, the honest part
Golf is not a visa category
Thailand's list of qualifying DTV activities names Muay Thai, Thai cooking, medical treatment, seminars and festivals. Golf is not on it. That doesn't put the DTV out of reach โ it just means your application is built on something else, and the golf is what you do once you're here.
What qualifies you
One of three things: remote work for a company or clients outside Thailand, enrolment on a recognised Thai course, or a course of continuous medical treatment. This is what the embassy assesses, and it is where the documents matter.
What golf adds
Everything after approval. Around 300 courses nationwide, green fees from roughly เธฟ1,400 to เธฟ5,000, caddies as standard, and year-round play. You can join a club, take lessons, or simply play three times a week for less than a monthly membership costs at home.
Choose your route
Three ways golfers qualify
Most golfers fit one of these clearly. If you're unsure which applies to you, that's the first thing we work out together.
You work remotely
Usually 30โ55
- You show: an employment contract or client invoices from outside Thailand.
- Also useful: tax returns, payslips, a professional profile.
- Golf's place: your own time. It never enters the application.
- Note: you cannot work for Thai companies or invoice Thai clients on this visa.
You take a course
Usually under 50
- You show: enrolment on a Muay Thai, Thai culinary or wellness programme at a registered, certified school.
- Duration: embassies expect six months as a minimum; nine to twelve is stronger.
- Golf's place: alongside it. Both fit comfortably into a week.
- Note: Thai language courses no longer qualify.
You come for treatment
Usually 50+
- You show: an appointment letter from a Thai hospital for continuous treatment.
- Duration: the treatment plan should run at least twelve months.
- Golf's place: conditioning and mobility, at a pace that suits you.
- Note: joint, spinal and cardiac programmes are common routes here.
Your spouse and children under 20 can apply as dependants on any of the three routes.
What you'll need
The document list
Everyone submits the first five. The sixth depends on which route you take.
| Passport | Valid at least six months, plus the biodata page. |
| Photograph | Taken within the last six months. |
| Proof of residence outside Thailand | The application must be made from outside the country. |
| Bank statements | เธฟ500,000 held in a personal account. Three months is the baseline; some embassies ask for six, so prepare six. |
| Government fee | เธฟ10,000, paid after the embassy approves the application. |
| Proof of purpose | Work contract, course acceptance letter, or hospital appointment letter, depending on your route. |
Before you ask
Common questions
Not sure which route fits you?
Tell us your age, how you earn, and where you'd like to be based. We'll tell you honestly which route gives you the strongest application โ or whether the DTV is the right visa for you at all.
Talk to us on WhatsApp Email usPlease note
Golf is not among the activities named in the DTV soft-power category. Where sport training is considered at all, it is assessed individually by the embassy or consulate handling the application, and practice varies between posts. Migrify prepares and submits applications; the decision rests solely with the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate. Green fees, course details and requirements shown here are indicative and subject to change.