Hi all. Hope your well

What is the best way in getting insured on my girlfriends bike so im fully legit. I have full uk motorbike license and IDP. I visit for 5 months of the year. Currently on standard tourist visa but from next year I will do the multiple entry visa.

Is it easy enough to add me or best to do my own for the bike whilst im here. Anybody have a rough idea of cost for either 5 months or 1 year if that's the only option?

I have travel insurance from UK that covers me to ride bikes over 500cc and includes medical. The bike in question is a 2020 Yamaha XSR 700

I would like to get a 2 year thai license at some point but unsure if that's possible on a multiple entry visa?

Thanks

Matt

Thai insurers only offer annual policies for motorcycles. Some insurers may require a Thai license after the driver has been present in Thailand for 90 days.

The owner needs to insure the bike in their name as they are named on the registration. New regulations are coming this year that will require naming primary drivers of autos to be declared to the insurance company. I suspect this may carry over to motorcycles as well. Named drivers may need to have a Thai license, but I'm not sure about this.

Best to contact a good insurance broker and ask what your options and responsibilities are.

My motorcycle is owned by my wife but I am the named rider for the second class insurance. Can't remember if I needed to provide my Thai motorcycle licence when I applied for the insurance. My wife's name only appears on the registration not on any insurance documents.

On 1/14/2026 at 9:19 PM, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

Thai insurers only offer annual policies for motorcycles. Some insurers may require a Thai license after the driver has been present in Thailand for 90 days.

The owner needs to insure the bike in their name as they are named on the registration. New regulations are coming this year that will require naming primary drivers of autos to be declared to the insurance company. I suspect this may carry over to motorcycles as well. Named drivers may need to have a Thai license, but I'm not sure about this.

Best to contact a good insurance broker and ask what your options and responsibilities are.

I have insured all my cars with 1st class insurance and was never asked to show a DL. Same with my bikes insurance.

I buy Roojai online. 3rd party is about 1000baht a year for a 150cc scooter.

Unless your gf opted for named drivers only (unusual), all drivers will be fully insured. Here they insure the vehicle, not the driver.

If she only has government minimum, all drivers are insured, no licence required.

2 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

I have insured all my cars with 1st class insurance and was never asked to show a DL. Same with my bikes insurance.

As I mentioned in my post, new regulations for auto insurance are coming into force in 2026 and will require naming primary drivers of automobiles. I do not know whether this will require providing DL details or not, but would not be surprised if it does.

At a guess, the UK travel insurance cover will make the Thai offerings look quite meh!

The only selling point they have is solid liaisons with Thai hospitals

if she's let her 1st class insurance run out it can be difficult to take out a new 1st class policy on an older bike, the limit used to be 5 years old, and then the most they would offer was 3rd party fire and theft , I don't bother with bikes anymore but I heard from a mate that some companies will go to 10 or even 15 years nowadays, check out "roojai"

As for getting a licence on a tourist visa,? well its a simple enough question and I bet you were expecting a straightforward answer, but be prepared for quite the opposite. Assuming anybody responds to that part of your post, invariably some on here will say you can, whilst others will say you cannot, and the thread will quickly descend into a slanging match as those with opposing views hurl insults at each other.

The fact is both points of view are equally correct ( or incorrect) and reflect the answers you would get if you were to enquire at several different licencing offices. even different people at the same office will give different answers, I think in extreme cases their answers change to suit their mood and their impression of you, its not uncommon for the uniformed people here to behave like that

So the only way to find out for sure, is to go and see them and ask, however if they do say "yes you can" that is not the end of it

You'll then be subject to the whims of further people in uniforms as you will then need to get a certificate of residence from immigration, verifying where you live, which can also be a bit of a yes / no lottery on a tourist visa these days, and , whoever owns the property you live in will have to register with immigration that you live at that address,

Luckily your british , those whose licences are not in english have to get a translation and have it verified at their embassies'

I'd say its possible to get one but in no way guaranteed,

If you are on a M.E tourist visa you'll be fine with your uk licence and the pointless IDP it only lasts for 90 days but you'll be leaving after 90 days anyway for a border bounce, and on your return the 90 day count will start again, at least as far as the police are concerned , but it might be wise to check out the insurance companies take on that though before thrashing around at 100mph on your return from your border run

Which would of course be very enjoyable especially in the weather we get at this time of year