LTR Visa Thailand - Long Term Resident Program

WHAT IS LTR VISA

Thailand is introducing a new visa called “Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa” which is a program that provides a range of tax and non-tax benefits to enhance the country’s attractiveness as a regional hub for living and doing business for ‘high-potential’ individuals. Today, Thailand is already home to multinational corporations from all over the world and one of the most important tourist destinations in Asia.

Thailand presents itself as a very attractive location for “work from anywhere” professionals. This new visa program is expected to attract new foreign residents, technologies and talents contributing to domestic spending and investment while supporting economic growth. The Thai government has set the target of attracting one million wealthy or talented foreign residents into the country over the next five years.

WHAT PRIVILEGES WILL BE OFFERED TO LTR VISA HOLDERS

10* years renewable visa Permission will be granted to stay in Thailand the first time for five years which can be extended for 5 more years if qualifications are met.

Exemption from 4 Thais to 1 foreigner employment requirement ratio

Fast Track Service at International Airports in Thailand

90-day report extended to 1-year report and exemption of re-entry permit

Multiple re-entry permit

Permission to work in Thailand (Digital Work permit)

17% Personal income tax for Highly-skilled professionals

Tax exemption for overseas income

Immigration and work permit facilitation services at One Stop Service Center for Visa and Work Permit

TYPES OF LTR VISA

There are four types of LTR visas designed to facilitate different types of individuals: Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioners, Work-from-Thailand Professionals, and Highly skilled Professionals. Spouse and children of LTR visa holder or applicants of any of the 4 types of visas are also eligible to apply for dependents’ visa.

NOTE FOR ALL VISA TYPES: Every condition and requirement must be maintained during the length of the visa, including investment amounts, employment status, bank account balances, and insurance coverage.

Wealthy individuals holding at least USD 1 million in assets

Owning at least USD 1 million in assets under the applicant’s name

Minimum average personal income of USD 80,000 / year in the past two years

Combined investment in Thai government bonds OR direct investment in companies registered in Thailand OR Thai property of at least USD 500,000

Insured under a health insurance covering a minimum of USD 50,000 OR receiving social security benefits in Thailand OR deposit and maintain at least USD 100,000 in bank account balance under the applicant’s name during the past 12 months

Retirees aged 50 years and older who have an annual pension or stable passive income

Minimum unearned or passive income* of USD 80,000 / year at the time of application (Note that earned income and salaries WILL NOT be considered for the personal income requirement for wealthy pensioners)

In the case that unearned or passive income is lower than USD 80,000 but not lower than USD 40000, the applicant is required to make additional investments of USD 250,000 combined in Thai government bonds OR direct investment in companies registered in Thailand OR Thai property

Insured under a health insurance covering a minimum of USD 50,000 OR currently receiving social security benefits in Thailand OR deposit and maintain at least USD 100,000 in bank account balance under the applicant’s name for no less than 12 months

unearned or passive income includes, but are not limited to pension, rental, realized capital gain, dividend, and interest payments

Remote workers working for well-established overseas companies

Minimum average personal income of USD 80,000 / year in the past two years

In the case that average personal income is lower than USD 80,000 but not lower than USD 40,000, the applicant must show additional documents as proof of qualification, i.e. a certificate for master’s degree or higher

Have an employment contract with a public company listed on stock exchange or a private company that is operating for at least 3 years, with a minimum combined revenue of USD 150 million for the last 3 years

At least 5 years working experience during the last 10 years in a field relevant to current work position or field of expertise

Insured under a health insurance covering a minimum of USD 50,000 OR currently receiving social security benefits in Thailand OR deposit and maintain at least USD 100,000 in bank account balance under the applicant’s name for no less than 12 months

Professionals or experts in targeted industries working for business entities or higher education institutes or research centers or specialized training institutions in Thailand or Thai government agencies

Minimum average personal income of USD 80,000 / year in the past two years
Applicants who are working for Thai government agencies are exempt from minimum personal income requirements for this visa type

In the case that average personal income is lower than USD 80,000 but not lower than USD 40,000, the applicant must show additional documents as proof of qualification, i.e. a certificate for master’s degree or higher in sciences and technology

Employed by contract in either Thai or foreign company whose activities fall under the scope of the targeted industries OR the applicant must provide proof of expertise in the fields specified by BOI

At least 5 years working experience during the last 10 years in specified targeted industries. Applicants with a PhD or higher degrees and applicants working for Thai government agencies, including public higher education institutes, research institutes, and specialized training institutes are exempt from this requirement

Insured under a health insurance covering a minimum of USD 50,000 OR currently receiving social security benefits in Thailand OR deposit and maintain at least USD 100,000 in bank account balance under the applicant’s name for no less than 12 months

Spouse and children under 20 years old of LTR visa holders
(Maximum 4 dependents in total per one LTR visa holder)

Insured under a health insurance covering a minimum of USD 50,000 OR currently receiving social security benefits in Thailand OR deposit and maintain at least USD 25,000 per one dependent in bank account balance under the applicant or the dependent’s name for no less than 12 months.

Dependents must be legal spouse or children of one LTR visa holder. (Note that same-sex marriage and partnerships are currently not recognized by law in the kingdom of Thailand)

Children will be granted dependents’ visa until 20 years of age.

APPLICATION PROCESS OVERVIEW

LTR Visa Application Steps Overview from Application submission to visa issuance

1

Application Submission

Register and submit online an application for qualifications endorsement and supporting documents for LTR Visa.

* Note:

The dependent will need to create a separate account, one account per person. The main applicant should initiate the application process in the system to obtain a document number (DOC.NO). Once this is done, the dependent can then submit their application. After the dependent submits their application, the main applicant must log into their account to approve the dependent's request, thereby completing the linking process.

2

Qualifications Endorsement

After receiving complete and valid documents, the application will be registered and sent for the qualifications endorsement by relevant agencies (such as Immigration, Thailand’s Board of Investment, Department of Consular Affairs, etc.). Applicants will be notified of the qualifications endorsement result within 20 working days (processing time might take longer if additional documents are requested).

* Note:

1. Applicants may be requested additional documents/information to support the consideration of the government agencies during this process.

2. Please be advised that any decision or judgment made by the government agency regarding the LTR Visa qualification endorsement result is considered final and binding.

3

Visa Issuance

Once approved, qualified applicants will be notified to submit additional information and documents for the pre-approval process, which takes 1-3 working days (processing time might take longer if additional documents are requested). After the pre-approval request has been approved, the applicant will receive the notification of the qualifications endorsement letter so that he/she can make an appointment for LTR Visa issuance at the Royal Thai Embassies/the Royal Thai Consulate Generals overseas or One Stop Service for Visa and Work Permit Center (Bangkok) within 60 days from the issuance date of the letter.

* Note:

The processing fee for the 10-year visa with multiple entry is 50,000 Baht per person in case of collecting LTR Visa in Thailand. In the case of collecting LTR Visa at the Royal Thai Embassies/the Royal Thai Consulate Generals overseas or E-visa, the fee may vary and considerably be more expensive than 50,000 THB per person per 10 years. (The fee also depends on the currency exchange rate of each country.)

4

Work Permit Issuance

LTR Visa holders who work for an entity in Thailand are required to apply for permission to work immediately after receiving LTR Visa or before employment with an entity in Thailand starts

After LTR Visa issuance, LTR Visa holders are required to apply for a work permit for their employment in Thailand via LTR Visa application system. The process takes 3-5 working days (processing time might take longer if additional documents are requested).

Once the work permit request is approved, LTR Visa holders can make an appointment to collect the work permit at the Department of Employment at One Stop Service Center for Visa and Work Permit, Chamchuri Square Building, Bangkok. The processing fee is 3,000 Baht per year to maintain the work permit.

* Note:

1. While the work permit request is still in process, LTR Visa holders are temporarily allowed to work in Thailand without the work permit.

2. Work permit will not be granted for Work-From-Thailand Professionals holders since foreigners under this LTR Visa category are applying for the purpose of working for foreign employer abroad remotely from Thailand. Therefore, the person do not have Thai employers according to the digital work permit purpose.