How to apply for Thailand visa for Malaysians

Thailand is a close neighbour, and a popular tourist destination for Malaysians. It’s also an attractive place to work, study or retire for many people. While you won’t need a Thai visa for many short tourist trips, you may need a Thailand visa for Malaysian workers, retirees or students if you're planning on being in the country for a longer time.

This guide walks through when Thai visas will be needed for Malaysians - and when they won’t. We’ll also look at where to find the Thailand visa application form, the appointment booking process and documents needed for a longer term stay. No matter whether you’ll be in Thailand for a short break or for the foreseeable future, the Wise card can also offer a good way to spend in THB as well as MYR with low fees¹ and the mid-market exchange rate - we’ll look at that in more detail later, too.

Do Malaysians need a visa to Thailand?

Malaysian passport holders don’t need a Thai visa for tourist trips of up to 60 days².

However, if you’re planning on going to Thailand to work, study, retire or seek medical treatment, you might need a specific visa. Options include:

• Non-immigrant visas for employment, business or as a teacher
• Non-immigrant visas for study
• Non-immigrant visas for retirement
• Non-immigrant visas for medical treatment
• Dependent visas to accompany holders of the above visas
• Long stay visas
  *Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) for remote workers, digital nomads, freelancers, foreign talent, people taking part in Thai soft power activities such as Muay Thai or Thai culinary training, and eligible dependents

We’ll walk through some of the common options and how to apply in just a moment.

Thailand visa requirements from Malaysia

If you’re going to Thailand for a short break as a tourist you might not need a visa - but you will need to check your passport has at least 6 months of validity left at the point you travel.

Other important notes include that your passport must be stamped by Thai authorities on entry and exit. Since 1 May 2025, travellers entering Thailand must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online before arrival. The TDAC replaced the traditional TM.6 paper arrival card, so you no longer need to keep hold of a physical arrival card or report a lost paper card to the police. You can submit the TDAC through the official Thailand Immigration Bureau website before you travel.

Other visa types have rather more complicated requirements including documents you’ll need to gather before you apply. We’ll look at some of these next.

Thailand working visa for Malaysians

To give an example of the sort of paperwork that’s needed for a Thai visa, let’s look at the non-immigrant visa for employment. That’s a popular visa choice for Malaysians going to Thailand to work. To apply you’ll need a job offer already lined up, and your employer must have usually applied on your behalf for one of various types of permissions - most commonly a work permit.

Once you’ve got all the details lined up from your employer, it’ll be your turn to gather documents, complete paperwork and get your visa application rolling. Here’s what you’ll usually need³:

• A completed visa application form
• Your original passport - must have at least 6-month validity and 2 blank pages
• A copy of your passport personal information page
• Passport photos
• Employment permission details in Thailand - could be your work permit in Thailand, a letter of approval from the Ministry of Labour of Thailand, Form W.P. 3, or a letter from the Board of Investment of Thailand
• Your job offer letter
• Information about the company you’ll work for in Thailand, including the company’s registration, shareholders, balance sheet and value-added tax (VAT) registration

Malaysians applying for a long term resident visa in Thailand

As we’ve already mentioned, there are actually quite a few different types of Thai visas for Malaysians, depending on whether you plan to work, study, retire or get medical treatment. Each visa type has its own set of required documents, and you’ll usually need to complete your application online through the official Thai e-Visa portal. The Royal Thai Embassy in Malaysia has a very helpful set of checklists⁴ which show all the documents you need to collect for each visa type, and you can also check the Thai e-Visa portal for the latest application requirements before you apply.
Once you’ve gathered all your documents, you can apply for your Thai visa online through the official Thai e-Visa portal. You’ll need to create an account, complete the online application form, upload the required documents and pay the non-refundable visa fee online. Make sure you select the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur as the processing office. Processing usually takes around 7 days, excluding holidays, although some applicants may be advised to apply earlier depending on their visa type and travel date. If you’re unsure which visa type applies to your trip, check the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur website before you apply.

Thailand visa fee from Malaysia

The good news is that in many cases, Malaysians don’t actually need a visa for Thailand. Sometimes, even where a visa is needed, bilateral agreements may mean that the fees are waived for Malaysian passport holders.

The fees for Thai visas are very varied based on the type of visa, duration and how many times you may need to come and go from the country - as an example here are the costs for non-immigrant and long term visas⁶:

• Non-immigrant visa - from 320 MYR to 1,600 MYR depending on the duration and type of visa. However, the Royal Thai Embassy’s checklist for the Non-Immigrant B visa for employment states that the fee is exempted for nationals of Malaysia.

• Long term resident visa - 8,000 MYR

As we’ve mentioned these costs may be reduced or waived for Malaysian applicants - but if you do end up needing to pay a fee you’ll need to take ringgit in cash along to the Embassy when you have your appointment. Double check what - if anything - will be needed, before you go to your appointment.

Travelling to Thailand? Save money on MYR to THB rates with the Wise card

No matter whether you’re going to Thailand for a short break or to live permanently, you don’t want to get ripped off by bad exchange rates and high fees when you spend in THB. One good option for anyone living an international lifestyle is the Wise card.

You can open your Wise account easily online or in the Wise app from Malaysia, and add money in MYR to spend in Thailand - or in 150+ other countries around the world. Just order your Wise card and spend and make withdrawals freely - with no need to find a currency exchange office or money changer before you go.

When you use the Wise card, your ringgit will be converted to THB using the mid-market exchange rate, with low fees from 0.43%¹ - and you’ll get a notification showing you the cost every time, so there are no surprises.

Wise can be handy outside of Thailand too. Your Wise account supports over 40+ currencies to hold and exchange, and comes with free bank details for up to 19 currencies so you can get paid conveniently by others.

Order your Wise card today! 💳

Summary

Depending on the length and reason for your stay in Thailand you might find you don’t need a visa at all if you have a Malaysian passport. If you’re moving to Thailand for a longer time, this guide gives a flavour of what you’ll need to arrange your Thai visa for Malaysians in Thailand for work, study or retirement. Use the information here as a starting point for your own research - plus, remember you can get the Wise card to spend easily when you’re away in Thailand or 150+ other countries.