Thailand green-lights 10-year long-term visas for foreign talent

Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) has started accepting applications for the new 10-year Long-Term Resident Visa (LTR) which aims to attract investors, talent, remote workers and retirees to live, work or invest in Thailand. According to BOI, the LTR programme, was approved by the Cabinet in September 2021, and it aims to further improve the ease of doing business in the country by addressing issues discussed with stakeholders including the foreign chambers of commerce and local industry groups.

“This represents a new approach to attract more long-term residents to Thailand that will help boost the Thai economy by spending and making investments in the country, as well as contributing professional skill transfer to drive new industries such as EV, smart electronics, and digital, and help move Thailand to the next level. The LTR visa is an important component of the Better and Green Thailand 2030 scheme,” M.L. Chayotid Kridakon, Thai trade representative and advisor to the prime minister explained.

“The LTR programme is designed to further enhance the country’s attractiveness as a regional hub for living and doing business for high-potential individuals in targeted groups, to facilitate their entry and stay, and to provide them with a range of tax and nontax benefits. Making the hiring of foreign talent easier will certainly enhance the country’s available talent tool and create more opportunities for technology and knowledge transfer to the Thai workforce,” Duangjai Asawachintachit, BOI secretary-general added.

Four visa categories 

The four categories of individuals targeted by the LTR programme are the following:

• “Wealthy Global Citizens” that targets investors.
• “Wealthy Pensioners" that targets retirees.
• “Work from Thailand Professionals”, targets remote workers.
• “Highly Skilled Professionals" targets talent and experts in key industries.

“Thailand has long been a popular destination for foreign tourists and remote workers apart from being a manufacturing hub for multinational corporations. There are countless reasons to live or work in Thailand, including strategic location with great connectivity to the rest of the region and beyond, delicious food, excellent health care services, tremendous business opportunities, business-friendly ecosystem, and Thailand’s well-known culture and hospitality,” Asawachintachit added.

According to BOI's data and report from August, Thai and foreign companies filed a total of 784 applications for investment promotion during the first six months of 2022, an increase of 4% from the year earlier period, while the combined investment value of 219.7 billion baht (US$6.2 billion). Investment applications in target industries accounted for 70% of total investment value in the first half, with 358 projects worth a combined 153.5 billion baht.

Also, BOI approved the addition of new BOI categories with attractive incentives to support the use of new technologies, namely manufacture and repair of high-precision machinery, equipment and parts, additive manufacturing, and production of electronics parts using microtechnology.

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