Retire in Vietnam or Thailand? Visas, Costs and Hospitals Compared for Americans

Vietnam and Thailand both draw American retirees, and they look alike from a distance. The biggest difference is on paper. Thailand has a visa built for retirees, with a money test and an insurance rule. Vietnam has no retiree visa at all. This post puts each country's official rules side by side. It doesn't tell you which one to pick.

Visas: Thailand has a retiree route, Vietnam doesn't

Thailand. The Royal Thai Embassy in Washington lists a Non-Immigrant "O-A" (long stay) visa for applicants aged 50 and over who want to stay up to a year without working. The visa is valid for 1 year, the fee is US$200, and "employment of any kind is strictly prohibited". ¹ These are the main requirements on the embassy's page (updated Sep 1, 2026); see the page for the full list: ¹

• Age 50 or over on the day you apply.
• You apply through the embassy for the country you're a national or resident of, so the Washington embassy for U.S. citizens and residents.
• You apply through the embassy for the country you're a national or resident of, so the Washington embassy for U.S. citizens and residents.
• Money: a bank deposit of at least 800,000 baht in the last three months, a monthly income of at least 65,000 baht, or a deposit plus income totaling at least 800,000 baht a year. In its document list, the embassy asks for bank statements showing at least $30,000, or proof of at least $2,500 a month in income. If you use a bank statement, you also need an original letter of guarantee from the bank. The baht amounts are the embassy's eligibility rule; the dollar amounts are what its document list asks you to upload. Have statements that meet the dollar figures, and check with the embassy if you're close to either.
• Health insurance for your whole stay, with cover of at least 3,000,000 baht or $100,000 per policy year. A foreign insurer must fill in, sign and stamp the Foreign Insurance Certificate.
• An FBI criminal record certificate issued within the last 3 months, and a medical certificate on the embassy's own form, no more than 3 months old.
• A passport valid for 18 months from your travel date.
• An online application at thaievisa.go.th, at least 20 working days before you travel. The fee isn't refunded.

Vietnam. Vietnam has no visa made for retirees. The immigration law lists visas by purpose (investment, work, study, family, tourism and so on), and residence cards for some of those purposes. None is for retirement. ² So, unless you have a family or investment route, the usual option is the e-visa. Each one lasts up to 90 days and costs US$25 for one entry or US$50 for multiple entries. ^{3 4 2} The Immigration Department's e-visa page lists its conditions as a valid passport and not being barred from entry. It lists no income or insurance requirement. ⁵

There are two catches. The portal grants e-visas to foreigners outside Vietnam, and getting a new visa from inside the country needs a sponsor (a person or organization that invites or guarantees you). ⁵ In practice, then, about every 90 days you either leave the country and apply for a new e-visa from outside, or have a sponsor apply for a new visa or an extension for you, which isn't guaranteed. ^{5 2}

Vietnam does have longer routes, but they depend on who you are, not on your age:

• Family of a Vietnamese citizen. The parent, spouse or child of a Vietnamese citizen can get a TT visa and then a TT residence card of up to 3 years. ²
• Overseas Vietnamese (Việt Kiều) and family. People of Vietnamese origin living abroad, and foreign spouses and children of Vietnamese citizens or of overseas Vietnamese, can get a visa exemption certificate. ^{6 7} It is valid for up to 5 years, and each entry lets you stay up to 6 months. ⁸ The fee is US$10. ^{4 9} Our Việt Kiều guide walks through it.
• Investors. See the investor cards on our visa page.

Rules and fees are from the official pages cited, as of Oct 30, 2026. Fees can change.

Living costs: what we can and can't compare

For Vietnam, our calculator puts one person aged 66 to 70 at $795–$1,246 a month at its comfortable level, across the seven cities it tracks. That's an estimate: rent and food are crowd-sourced prices retrieved Oct 27, 2026, health insurance is a company's published premium, and the totals include the calculator's own allowance of US$40 a month for e-visas and trips out, which is our assumption, not a price. ¹⁰ Run the calculator with your own numbers.

We don't print a Thailand budget. We don't have official or calculator-backed Thai prices, so we can't give you a fair side-by-side. We also left out the "Vietnam is 20–30% cheaper" lines that turn up online. The sites that make that claim don't show where the numbers come from.

What we can compare is what each visa costs and what it asks you to prove:

• Thailand: the US$200 O-A fee at the Washington embassy for a 1-year visa, and the money test above. How you stay on after the first year is set by Thai immigration; check before you count on it. Health insurance for the whole stay is required, and its price depends on your age and the policy. ¹
• Vietnam: estimate, US$100 to US$200 a year in e-visa fees: four e-visas at US$25 each if you use each one for a single stay, or US$50 each if you want multiple entries. Four e-visas of up to 90 days cover up to 360 days. ^{3 4} On top of that comes the cost of four trips out of the country, which depends on where you go.

Hospitals and health cover

The two U.S. embassies describe health care very differently:

• Thailand: "Most healthcare services in Thailand meet international standards, and many doctors have received training in the United States." The embassy adds that hospitals outside Bangkok and other large cities may not offer a wide range of English services. ¹¹
• Vietnam: "medical care in Vietnam generally falls below U.S. standards. Sometimes, even routine injuries or conditions may require medical evacuation to a regional medical center with higher standards." ¹²

Both embassies publish lists of local hospitals. ^{11 12} The U.S. Embassy in Thailand says it can't pay for medical care. ¹¹ For a medical emergency in Thailand, the embassy says to dial 191 from any Thai phone. ¹¹ In Vietnam, the ambulance number is 115. ¹²

Medicare is the same story in both countries. Medicare usually doesn't cover health care while you're traveling outside the U.S.; in most cases, you pay all of the costs. ¹³ Our post on Medicare Part B after you move covers whether to keep paying for it. For Vietnamese hospitals by city and what insurance costs at your age, see our healthcare guide.

Money, safety and paperwork

• Social Security: both Thailand and Vietnam are on SSA's International Direct Deposit list. ¹⁴ For getting the money into a Vietnamese account, see our banking guide.
• Taxes: this post doesn't cover Thai tax rules. For Vietnam, see our Vietnam taxes guide.
• Safety: the State Department rates Vietnam Level 1 in its travel advisory issued June 24, 2026. ¹⁵ Read its current advisory for Thailand on travel.state.gov before you decide.

Which one fits you?

• Thailand's O-A fits if you're 50 or over, can show the money and the insurance, and want one visa a year rather than a new one every 90 days. ¹
• Vietnam fits best if you have a family route (a Vietnamese spouse, parent or child, or Vietnamese origin), ^{2 7} or if you're happy with e-visas and a trip out every 90 days. ^{3 5}
• Not sure? Visit both before you decide. Our scouting-trip post covers the Vietnam side.

General information, not legal, tax or medical advice. Rules change; confirm with the official source.