Thailand or Türkiye
Two countries side by side across the same rows as the full comparison. A dash means the value is missing: fields are not filled with guesses. about the data
| Thailand | Türkiye | |
|---|---|---|
| Salary in IT | — | — |
| Citizenship | 5 years | 5 years |
| Partner can work | — | — |
| Parents | difficult | difficult |
| Pets | no trouble | difficult |
| Pet limit | no limit | 2 |
| Quarantine | — | — |
| Residence permit fee | — | — |
| Rent, 2 bedrooms | $ 863 · estimate | $ 1 191 · estimate |
| Basket | $ 34,2 | $ 22,8 |
| Life expectancy | 76.56 | 77.42 |
| Homicides/100k | 4.79 | 2.41 |
| Natural hazards, 0–10 | 5.9 | 5.4 |
How the two sets of routes differ
Long-stay routes in this reference: Thailand — 65, Türkiye — 15. Types present in both: work, study, family, investment and talent. Thailand adds: remote work, startup, repatriation, retirement and working holiday. Türkiye adds: job seeking.
Fees, thresholds and deadlines
Thailand: fees range from 80 to 400 USD. Routes with no fee: 1. Routes stating an income threshold: 46; the lowest is 5,000 AUD a month. Routes with a published decision deadline: 10; the shortest is 28 days. Türkiye: fees range from 4,677.9 to 125,802.2 TRY. Routes with a published decision deadline: 15; the shortest is 30 days.
Beyond the first permit
Permanent status: Thailand after 3 years, Türkiye after 8 years. Citizenship: both after 5 years. Bringing your own parents: Thailand — yes, Türkiye — no.
Thailand in brief
Thailand is a Southeast Asian country outside the EU with a well-developed system of long-term visas: the DTV for 5 years for remote workers and freelancers (a balance of THB 500,000 in the account), the LTR for 10 years with a digital work permit and a preferential income tax rate, the SMART Visa for up to 4 years without a separate work permit, and the Non-B with a work permit for local employment. Suits those who receive income from abroad and are not counting on quick permanent status. Limitations: permanent residence and citizenship are hard to obtain and are decided at discretion, naturalisation requires 5 years, the Thai language and a declaration renouncing the previous citizenship; parents are not among the dependants under the DTV and LTR; a visa in itself does not grant the right to work; foreigners are prohibited from owning land. The cost of living is lower than in Singapore and Europe; no verifiable data on the salaries of IT specialists with 5+ years of experience could be found. The main risks are monsoon flooding in Bangkok, seasonal smog in the north, tsunami on the Andaman coast and a high level of perceived corruption.
Türkiye in brief
Turkey is a transcontinental country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, with access to four seas. The work-permit system is built around a tie to the employer (for fixed-term permits), with the possibility of moving to indefinite status after 8 years of lawful employment or through the “turquoise card” for highly qualified specialists. Permanent residence is granted after 8 years of continuous residence, citizenship no earlier than 5 years, but by law the naturalisation decision is discretionary: meeting the formal conditions alone does not confer the right. Multiple citizenship is allowed. The family residence permit covers the sponsor's spouse and minor children, but not parents — neither one's own nor one's spouse's: only the general short-term residence permit on other grounds (for example, owning real estate) is available to them. Bringing in cats and dogs is possible subject to a mandatory laboratory rabies antibody titre test (no later than 30 days after vaccination and at least 3 months before entry) and a limit of 2 animals per passenger; official quarantine on arrival is not mentioned in the sources found. Six dog breeds, including the American Pit Bull Terrier and the American Staffordshire Terrier, are banned from import and ownership. The country's largest cities differ markedly in character: Istanbul is the business and financial centre with the country's highest seismic hazard, Ankara is the administrative capital away from the sea, Izmir and Antalya are coastal cities with resort and tourism economies, and Bursa is an industrial automotive centre with the most affordable rent among the five largest cities.
Other comparisons
Thailand or… Taiwan · South Korea · Japan · Kazakhstan · Lebanon · Uzbekistan · Malaysia · Azerbaijan
Türkiye or… Philippines · Bangladesh · Kuwait · Iraq · Mongolia · Oman · People's Republic of China · Sri Lanka
More on each: Thailand · Türkiye. Build your own comparison — up to four countries
This material is for reference and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Visa rules, tax thresholds and prices change. Before deciding anything, check the official sources and consult a licensed professional in the relevant country.