Does Vietnam have a retirement visa?

Vietnam has no dedicated retiree visa — stay runs on 90-day e-visa cycles.

Does Thailand have a retirement visa?

Thailand has a retirement visa (LTR / Retirement O-A, 50+ (LTR-WP & O-A)).

Head to head · verified July 2026

Thailand vs Vietnam

Does Thailand have a retirement visa?: Thailand has a retirement visa (LTR / Retirement O-A, 50+ (LTR-WP & O-A)).
Does Vietnam have a retirement visa?: Vietnam has no dedicated retiree visa — stay runs on 90-day e-visa cycles.

Monthly cost about $1,800 versus $1,400. The table below is the same 39 criteria as the rest of the site, verified July 2026.

Thailand

Southeast Asia

89/100

Thailand's LTR visa is the country's quiet masterpiece: ten years, foreign income exempt by law (RD743), and some of the best-value private hospitals on earth an hour from the beach. The classic O-A route has gotten harsher — 3M THB insurance is now mandatory — and land stays off-limits; you buy condos or you rent. Elder and dependent-care enterprises sit under the Health Business Establishment Act B.E. 2559 and DHSS licensing; a browsable national register was not opened. PR is technically possible and practically rare.

Full Thailand guide

Vietnam

Southeast Asia

61/100

Vietnam is the value king — $1,400 a month lives well, and the food, coastline and energy are unmatched at the price. The tax case is weaker than it looks: the exemption for a foreign-paid pension sat in a circular that was replaced this July, and the new personal income tax law lists only Vietnamese fund pensions as exempt. And there is no retirement visa: life runs on 90-day e-visa cycles, banking and property rights punish tourist status, and none of it is designed for you to stay. Elder-care homes are a named facility type under Decree 103/2017, licensed provincially — there is no national searchable register. An extraordinary place to spend seasons; a hard place to build an estate.

Full Vietnam guide

Side by side

Criterion

Thailand

Vietnam

Visa & Residency
Retirement visa	LTR / Retirement O-A	No dedicated retiree visa
Minimum age	50+ (LTR-WP & O-A)	— no retiree visa exists (Jul 2026)
Min income / assets	$80k/yr or 800k THB	90-day e-visa cycles
Visa processing time	LTR ~1–2 mo; O-A 2–4 wks	90-day e-visa: 3–5 working days
Path to permanent residency	Difficult	Near-unattainable
Path to citizenship	5 yrs PR then naturalise — very rare	5 yrs on paper; renounce (2025 exceptions) — rare

Tax
Tax-residency threshold	180 days	183 days — or leasing a home ≥183 days deems resident
Tax on foreign pension	0%	Under review — the circular that exempted foreign pensions was repealed
Capital gains tax	Taxed if remitted; LTR-WP exempt	0.1% of proceeds (securities) / 20% other gains
Inheritance / estate tax	5–10% above 100M THB	PIT 10% on some transfers
Annual property tax	Low — ~0.02–0.3% building tax	None annual — tiny land-use levy

Finance & Property
Foreign property ownership	Condo only (no land)	Apartment 50-yr (no land)
Deposit / bond required	O-A 800k THB; LTR none	None; investor TRC needs ≥VND 3B (~$115k) real business
Forced-heirship rules	None with a will	Will OK but spouse/minors/parents keep 2/3 statutory floor
Cost to establish residency	O-A ~US$1–2k; LTR 50k THB fee	E-visa ~$300–600/yr + border runs

Living
Cost of living	1800	1400
Healthcare quality	8.2	6.3
Safety	6.8	7.5

Logistics
Flight time from Australia	9	8
Health insurance required	O-A: 3M THB; LTR: $50k policy	No — none for e-visa
Visa renewal ease	O-A yearly + 90-day reports; LTR 5+5	Perpetual 90-day cycles + border runs — the burden IS the system
Provision for dependents	LTR: spouse + kids <20	No scheme — each adult needs own visa

Showing the open fields. 17 more criteria — tax-residency day counts, capital gains, forced heirship, setup costs and processing times — need a free Thon account. Sign in to see the full table.

Why Thailand scores 89

89/100

Why this number

Every point is accounted for. Nothing is hidden in a weighting you cannot see.

Base country quality84Thailand scores 84/100 before anything about you is applied — visa system, tax regime, healthcare, safety and property rights.
Australian passport+5Better than average for Australian retirees: ~9h from Sydney + AU treaty + superb private hospitals
Best fit for you89A decision aid, not a prediction. Two people with the same passport can rank these differently — that is the point of showing the working.

Why Vietnam scores 61

61/100

Why this number

Every point is accounted for. Nothing is hidden in a weighting you cannot see.

Base country quality60Vietnam scores 60/100 before anything about you is applied — visa system, tax regime, healthcare, safety and property rights.
Australian passport+1Better than average for Australian retirees: 8h, low cost, strong trial-stay option
Best fit for you61A decision aid, not a prediction. Two people with the same passport can rank these differently — that is the point of showing the working.