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  5. Thailand: New long-term resident visas provide economic and investment stimulus

Thailand: New long-term resident visas provide economic and investment stimulus

08 Aug 2022    4 minute read
EC Featured Content Workforce Redesign Inclusion & Diversity

In brief

The much-awaited regulations for long-term resident visas ("VISA") were finally published in the Royal Gazette in June 2022. These include three important notifications from the three main responsible authorities, namely the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Labour and the Board of Investment (BOI). These regulations mainly aim to attract wealthy and skilled foreigners from four categories, namely wealthy global citizens, wealthy pensioners, work-from-Thailand professionals and highly-skilled professionals, to reside in Thailand on a long term basis to draw investment and specialized workers into the country.

Contents

Key benefits

  • Upon arrival in Thailand, the VISA holder could be granted with the permission to stay up to five years with multiple entry permits which can be extended for another five years.
  • The VISA holder's legal spouse and children (who are aged 20 years or younger) will also be eligible to apply for the VISA for a maximum of four persons per VISA holder.
  • The normal 90 day reporting requirement to the immigration bureau will now be extended to a one-year requirement for the VISA holder.
  • Work permits will be based on the validity of the VISA holder's employment contract, or as per the request by the applicant in the case of working without an employer, but will not exceed five years.
  • The VISA holder may be eligible to certain personal income tax reductions or exemptions, subject to the relevant legal requirements.
  • Work permits can be issued to the VISA holder who will work from Thailand, even when the employer of the VISA holder does not have a legal presence in Thailand.
     

Main qualifications of the four categories for the VISA

1

Wealthy global citizens

  • Proof of investment in Thailand in the name of the applicant of at least USD 500,000, as specified in the BOI Notification before the date of application
  • Proof of an average personal income of at least USD 80,000 per year in the last two years before the application date
  • Proof of assessable assets in and outside Thailand of at least USD 1,000,000 as of the date of application
2 Wealthy pensioners
  • Being at least 50 years old and a retiree as of the date of application
  • Proof of a pension and/or regular personal income of at least USD 80,000 per year as of the date of application, or in case the pension and/or regular personal income is less than USD 80,000 per year, it must not be less than USD 40,000 per year and the applicant must also meet the criteria on investment in Thailand as specified in the BOI Notification of at least USD 250,000 before the date of application
3 Work-from-Thailand professionals
  • Proof of an average personal income of at least USD 80,000 per year in the last two years before the date of application, or in case the average personal income is at least USD 40,000 per year in the last two years before the date of application, the applicant must also meet the specific criteria as specified in the BOI Notification, including the educational degree
  • Proof of working with an overseas employer that meets the criteria, i.e., a company listed in a stock exchange in any country, or a company that has been in operation for at least three years and have a certain level of income
  • Proof of work experience in the related field for at least five years during the last ten years as of the date of application
4 High-skilled professionals
  • Proof of employment or service agreements with the businesses in Thailand or overseas with the assignment to perform work in Thailand or the evidence of working with the specified institutions in Thailand, such as universities or a government organization within the Targeted Industries*
  • Proof of a personal income of at least an average of USD 80,000 per year in the last two years before the date of application, or in case the average personal income is at least USD 40,000 per year in the last two years before the application date, the applicant must also meet the specific criteria as specified in the BOI Notification, e.g., completed a Master’s Degree in a certain field
  • Proof of work experience in the Targeted Industries* for at least five years during the last ten years as of the date of the application, except working with the specified institutions in Thailand, such as public universities or a government organization
  • In case of working with the specified government institutions in Thailand, such as public universities or other governmental organizations, the minimum income's requirement is exempted.
  * Targeted industries include, among others, new-generation automobiles, smart electronics, quality tourism, agriculture and biotechnology, high-value-added food processing, and robots.


All VISA applicants of the above categories are required to present the proof of health insurance with an insured amount of at least USD 50,000 for medical expenses in Thailand or other eligible types of medical coverage, in accordance with the notification issued by the BOI, and must not fall into any prohibitions prescribed by the immigration laws.

The interested foreigner can submit the application to the BOI, which the application process will be open to the public from 1 September 2022, according to the official BOI materials.

Contact Information
Suriyong Tungsuwan
Partner
Bangkok
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suriyong.tungsuwan@bakermckenzie.com
Nam-Ake Lekfuangfu
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Bangkok
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nam-ake.lekfuangfu@bakermckenzie.com
Theeranit Pongpanarat
Partner
Bangkok
theeranit.pongpanarat@bakermckenzie.com
Panitan Pruksakasemsuk
Associate
Bangkok
panitan.pruksakasemsuk@bakermckenzie.com

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