The THB 3 million property investment visa: how the Non-Immigrant B route actually works in 2026

Can a THB 3 million property purchase in Thailand buy you a renewable, ownership-linked visa? Since 1 October 2025, yes — under a specific Non-Immigrant 'B' (Investment) pathway formalised by Immigration Bureau Orders 237/2568 and 238/2568. It's a narrower, lower-threshold alternative to the LTR visa's $500,000 property route — but exactly which property structures qualify is stricter, and less consistently reported, than most marketing copy suggests. This site's own visa overview already flagged the leasehold/rental sub-route as suspended as of mid-2026 (see Visa and residency for property owners); here's the deeper mechanics of the route that is confirmed working.

The legal basis and the two-stage process

Orders 237/2568 (visa issuance and in-country category changes) and 238/2568 (extensions of temporary stay), both effective 1 October 2025, set out a two-stage sequence. Stage 1: the qualifying investment converts into a 90-day permission to stay. Stage 2: before that 90 days expires, the applicant files for a 12-month extension of Non-Immigrant B status, renewable annually as long as the qualifying investment is maintained. The first 90-day permits were issued in March–April 2026, and applicants who came through that first cohort are now processing their first 12-month renewals in 2026 — the first real test of the route's renewal mechanics.

What actually qualifies — read past the marketing

• Freehold condominium purchase, ≥฿3 million, registered directly in the applicant's own name at the Land Department. This is the one route consistently confirmed as reliably operating across every source checked for this guide — and, for a Koh Phangan buyer, the constraint that matters most: the island's condo market is small, around 66 units across four projects in the Sri Thanu/Haad Yao corridor (see Visa and residency for property owners).
• Leasehold or Sap-Ing-Sith (right of use) routes are described by some law-firm sources as qualifying — with prepaid consideration of ฿3 million or more — but reporting is inconsistent. This site's own June 2026 review found the leasehold/rental sub-route suspended pending regulatory revision, and even sources that describe a leasehold route as active flag 'uneven' acceptance at individual immigration offices. Until a lawyer confirms current office practice in writing for your specific case, don't assume a leasehold villa purchase alone will qualify.
• A separate rental-based sub-route (a long-term lease at ≥฿85,000/month with a Thai landlord) has also appeared in reporting; as of this site's most recent check it was suspended alongside the leasehold route, not an active fallback.

The mandatory Ministry of Tourism and Sports certification

Every application requires a certification or request letter from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, obtained through an authorised operator before the Immigration filing. This letter confirms the applicant supports Thailand's long-stay tourism objectives and meets programme eligibility — without it, an application fails regardless of the property's value or how clean the fund transfer looks.

Fees, and what the visa does not include

• Government extension fee: approximately ฿1,900.
• Re-entry permit: ฿1,000 (single) or ฿3,800 (multiple).
• Programme administration/certification costs: reported around ฿27,000 per applicant per renewal cycle, on top of standard immigration fees.
• No work authorisation. This is a stay permission, not a work permit — employment requires a separate work permit regardless of visa status.
• Not a path to permanent residency, and status is tied to continued ownership: sell the qualifying property and the visa basis disappears. Buying the property and securing the visa are two separate legal decisions requiring separate filings, not a single package.

How it compares to the LTR visa

• Threshold: ฿3 million here vs. $500,000 (part of a $1 million global-asset test) for the LTR's Wealthy Global Citizen category — a materially lower bar to clear.
• Term: 1 year, renewed annually, vs. the LTR's 10 years across two 5-year terms.
• Reporting: standard 90-day reporting continues under this route; LTR holders report annually instead.
• Work and tax perks: this route grants none — no digital work permit, no reduced tax rate. The LTR includes an optional digital work permit and, for Thai-source employment income, a flat 17% rate.
• Property eligibility: this route needs a freehold condo (reliably) in the applicant's own name; the LTR can also count Thai government bonds or direct equity toward its $500,000 test, giving buyers without condo access another route to the same underlying goal — long-term Thai residency.

The practical takeaway: this is a genuine, working residency route for a foreign condo buyer, and materially cheaper to qualify for than the LTR — but it is not, on current reporting, a reliable route for the standard Phangan leasehold villa. If a broker or developer presents a leasehold or land purchase as an automatic path to this visa, get that claim confirmed in writing by an immigration lawyer before you rely on it, not after you've signed.