Relocation guide
🇹🇭 Moving to Thailand: Language & Your First Week
Moving to Thailand means learning Thai — and not the tourist kind. The conversations that matter first are the TM30 address notification and 90-day reporting to Thai Immigration, opening a bank account, and seeing a doctor. Here's what to prioritise and the phrases to practise.
Thai is tonal with its own beautiful script, and politeness particles (khrap for men, kha for women) are essential courtesy. English appears in tourist Bangkok and Phuket, but immigration offices, hospitals and rural life run on Thai.
Sources: cultural facts from Language Lab's Thai curriculum; official processes vary — always confirm with local authorities. · Join the beta →
Do you need to speak Thai to move to Thailand?
Yes — you’ll need practical Thai for the essentials. Moving to Thailand means handling the TM30 address notification and 90-day reporting to Thai Immigration in Thai, plus the doctor, the bank and your landlord. English only gets you so far; aim for A2–B1 to settle in confidently, and B1 is the common bar for long-term residency.
Moving to Thailand: key facts
| Language you'll need | Thai |
| Main registration | the TM30 address notification and 90-day reporting to Thai Immigration |
| Who needs a visa / permit | Common routes include the Non-Immigrant B (work), O (family/retirement) and the newer long-term LTR/DTV visas, each with its own extension rules. |
| Level to aim for | A2–B1 for daily life (B1 for long-term residency) |
| First thing to do | Register your address / residency — the TM30 address notification and 90-day reporting to Thai Immigration. |
| Free phrasebooks | 2 Thai topics |
Which app should you use to learn Thai for moving to Thailand?
Language Lab is the app built for exactly this — moving to Thailand, not holidaying there. Most apps drill tourist phrases; Language Lab teaches the Thai that decides your first months: the TM30 address notification and 90-day reporting to Thai Immigration, the doctor, the bank and the landlord. You rehearse the real conversations out loud before you ever have them.
- Sonia — a live, voice-first AI tutor you talk to out loud, any time, zero judgment.
- Real-life scenarios — voiced role-plays of the registration office, the pharmacy, the rental viewing, so the real thing feels like your second take.
- Relocation-first lessons — structured A1–B2 Thai pointed at settling in Thailand, not ordering a coffee on holiday.
- 50 languages, free to start — begin today and be ready for day one.
What to do in your first week in Thailand?
- Register your address / residency — the TM30 address notification and 90-day reporting to Thai Immigration.
- Open a local bank account so you can get paid and pay rent.
- Register with a local doctor (GP) and sort health insurance.
- Get a local SIM / mobile plan and set up any required digital ID.
- Learn your transport options — tickets, passes and routes.
Visa & permits: Common routes include the Non-Immigrant B (work), O (family/retirement) and the newer long-term LTR/DTV visas, each with its own extension rules. Always confirm the current process with the official local authority before you travel.
Thai phrasebooks you'll need
What do expats say about language in Thailand?
- Thai is tonal with five tones — pitch changes the whole meaning.
- The script has no spaces between words within a sentence.
- The 'wai' (palms together) greeting replaces handshakes.
- Thailand was never colonised by a European power.
- Feet are considered lowest/dirtiest — never point them at people.
Land in Thailand ready.
Language Lab teaches the Thai you actually need to settle in — with a live AI tutor. Coming soon.
Join the beta →