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Somewhere above 100,000 Western residents live in Thailand, and they are not spread evenly. Around four in ten are in Bangkok and the provinces around it. The rest have gathered in a handful of places for reasons that stay fairly consistent: cost, climate, an existing community, or a Thai family.
This page sets out where those communities are, roughly how large each is, and which nationalities went where. If you are weighing up a move rather than reading about one, the second half covers what shipping a household to each area involves, in both directions.
Estimates put the Western resident population above 100,000, living permanently or semi-permanently. The largest groups come from the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Germany and the Nordic countries.
Europeans make up roughly 40,000 to 50,000 of the total.
The distribution weights heavily towards five areas.
Estimated: 35,000 to 40,000
The capital holds the largest and longest established communities: Sukhumvit sois 11 to 55 for business and diplomatic residents, Silom and Sathorn for the financial district, Riverside and Thonburi for space, Phrom Phong and Ekamai for families near the international schools.
Suits careers, international schooling and direct flights to Europe. Nearly every arrival goes into a condominium, which is why a moving company in Bangkok asks about the service lift before anything else.
Estimated: 15,000 to 20,000
Retirees and remote workers in roughly equal measure. Nimmanhaemin for cafes and co-working, the Old City for atmosphere and awkward vehicle access, Hang Dong and San Sai for estate housing, San Kamphaeng for the hot springs and retreat centres.
Suits retirement, remote work and a cooler climate. Time an arrival around the burning season: international removals to Chiang Mai avoid February to April when air quality drops sharply.
Estimated: 12,000 to 15,000
The largest island, reached by the Sarasin bridge rather than a ferry. Kata and Karon for families, Rawai and Chalong for the sailing community, Patong for tourism with fewer long term residents, Cape Panwa for quiet.
Suits coastal living, sailing and hospitality careers. The hillside villas above Kata are the constraint on shipping to Phuket: steep approaches a loaded lorry cannot turn on.
Estimated: 10,000 to 15,000 combined
Two coastal towns with different characters. Pattaya removals and shipping serves the largest Russian speaking and Nordic communities, in Jomtien and Wongamat. Moving to Hua Hin means a long established British and Nordic retirement town. Si Racha movers and shipping and Bang Saen serve the industrial estates and a large Japanese population.
Suits retirement with amenities, and contract staff around relocation to Rayong. Pattaya is forty minutes from the port, the second shortest delivery in the country.
5,000 to 8,000, mostly European. Lamai for families, Chaweng for the tourist end, Maenam and Bophut for quiet. Ferry space for a loaded vehicle books out from December to February, which is what sets a delivery date for Koh Samui shipping and removals.
2,000 to 4,000. Srithanu holds a settled wellness and remote working community, quite separate from the Haad Rin reputation. Two ferry crossings rather than one for shipping to Koh Phangan.
1,000 to 2,000. A valley town with an arts and wellness community far larger than its size suggests. The road in has 762 bends, which is why overseas removals to Pai transfer to a smaller vehicle at Chiang Mai.
1,500 to 2,500. Quieter than the Gulf islands, popular with German, Nordic and British families. A car ferry then a bridge for shipping to Koh Lanta, and the ferry has a weight limit.
British, 15,000 to 20,000. The largest Western community, concentrated in Bangkok for the embassy and business presence, Hua Hin for the pubs, restaurants and sports clubs that earned it the Little England nickname, Chiang Mai for retirement and remote work, and Koh Samui and Koh Tao for diving instructors and tourism owners.
German, 8,000 to 12,000. Chiang Mai holds a substantial retirement community with German language services and cultural associations. Phuket has families around the international schools plus German business investment. Bangkok takes the corporate roles, particularly automotive and manufacturing.
Nordic, 5,000 to 7,000. Pattaya and Jomtien hold the largest Nordic community in Thailand, with their own schools, churches and social clubs. Koh Samui has holiday homes and resort ownership. Chiang Mai draws a growing retirement group.
French, Belgian and Swiss, 7,000 to 9,000. Bangkok for diplomatic and luxury hospitality roles, Koh Samui for resort ownership, Hua Hin for retirees and second home owners from French speaking Switzerland.
Eastern European, 8,000 to 12,000. Pattaya holds the largest Russian speaking community in the country. Bangkok takes business and students, Phuket tourism and resort ownership.
Most European citizens enter visa free for 30 to 60 days, which is not a basis for living there. The long stay routes are the non-immigrant O for retirement, requiring 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account or 65,000 THB monthly income; the non-immigrant B alongside a work permit for employment; a marriage visa for spouses of Thai nationals; and the Elite visa at five to twenty years.
Full detail on the Thai customs page and the cost of moving page.
Covered fully on the removals from Thailand to the UK page.
Estimates put the Western resident population above 100,000, living permanently or semi-permanently. Around 35 to 40 percent are in Bangkok and the surrounding provinces, with the rest across the north, the eastern seaboard and the southern islands. These are estimates: Thailand does not publish a single reliable count of long-stay foreign residents.
Roughly 15,000 to 20,000, which makes the British community the largest single Western group. It is concentrated in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Phuket, with Hua Hin holding the highest concentration relative to its size.
Bangkok holds the largest total. Beyond it the patterns are distinct: Germans in Chiang Mai and Phuket, Nordic residents in Pattaya and Jomtien, Francophone residents in Bangkok and Koh Samui, Russian speakers in Pattaya. Chiang Mai and Phuket have higher concentrations relative to local population than Bangkok does.
It depends what you are doing. Bangkok for careers and international schooling. Chiang Mai for retirement and remote work at lower cost. Phuket, Koh Samui or Hua Hin for coastal living with infrastructure. Udon Thani and Khon Kaen for people who have married into Thai families. Spending three to six months somewhere first is the advice everyone gives and few take.
Usually yes, and it catches out more people than any other rule. Thailand's Bureau of Customs treats non-immigrant O and O-A retirement visa holders as falling outside the relocation criteria, so their household goods are normally assessed for duty and tax rather than cleared free. Education and Elite visa holders are in the same position.
About six to twelve weeks door to door by sea. A container to yourself sits at the quicker end because it does not wait for other consignments to fill it. Air freight lands in one to two weeks and costs several times as much, so it suits a small urgent load rather than a household.
Most European citizens enter visa free for 30 to 60 days, which is not a basis for relocation. Long stay routes are the non-immigrant O for retirement, the non-immigrant B with a work permit for employment, a marriage visa for spouses of Thai nationals, and the Elite visa. Rules change often, so check the current position with the Thai embassy rather than relying on any guide.
Yes, with one condition that trips people up. Transfer of Residence relief removes duty and VAT on used household goods, but you apply on form ToR1 before the goods leave Thailand, not after they arrive. Approval takes two to four weeks and stretches to six between June and September. Goods arriving without a ToR reference sit at the UK port accruing storage.
Isaan, the northeast, by a clear margin. Khon Kaen, Udon Thani and Roi Et cost noticeably less than anywhere on this list, and the foreign population there is almost entirely people who have married into Thai families. Chiang Mai and Lampang are the cheapest of the well known destinations.
Several, and some of them are large. Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla and Ubon Ratchathani are all substantial provincial cities with minimal foreign presence and no expatriate infrastructure. People who move to them are usually teachers or joining a Thai family, and they ship more than average because replacing things locally is harder.
Every firm in the network holds FIDI FAIM certification. Ernst and Young audit them against more than two hundred criteria on a three year cycle: financial standing, insurance, customs competence, staff training and how claims get handled. On a route with a sea leg and a clearance in the middle, that audit is what separates a problem being solved from a problem being argued about.
We have run this service since November 2010 and have handled over 850,000 enquiries in that time. We are a Working Member of the AGM Group network, agm.group. We are not a removal company and we do not own a lorry: your details go to one vetted firm and they survey and quote directly.
Send the collection postcode, the Thai address or just the area, a rough inventory, the access at both ends and your date. One vetted moving company from our network surveys it and quotes.
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Written by Darren Benjamin, founder of International Removals Companies. Darren has run this service since November 2010 and has overseen more than 850,000 moving enquiries.
Population figures are estimates drawn from embassy reporting, immigration data and community sources, last reviewed DATE and re-checked annually. Thai customs rules were checked against the Thai Customs Department in DATE, and ToR1 timings against GOV.UK. Rules and prices change, so confirm your own position before you ship. Questions: 07551 855 064 or WhatsApp. Read our Google reviews.
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