Visa: Thailand LTR Visa Requirement Revisions

Brief Background about LTR Visa:

In September 2022, Thailand introduced the LTR Visa, which is a special visa category that offers foreigners in certain categories up to 10 years of renewable permission to stay in Thailand, along with various privileges and exemptions during their stay.

The LTR Visa is divided into four sub-categories: (1) Highly Skilled Professionals; (2) Work-from-Thailand Professionals; (3) Wealthy Global Citizens; and (4) Wealthy Pensioners.

Privileges for the LTR Visa holder:

Some of the key privileges for the LTR Visa holder are as follows: 

• 10 years of renewable permission to stay in Thailand.
• 90-day report extended to 1-year report.
• Exemption of re-entry permit (multiple re-entry permits).
• Tax exemption for overseas incomes.
• Entitlement to apply for a digital work permit. 
• Fast-Track services at international airports in Thailand 

The Revision of Applicant’s Qualifications:

The BOI has deemed it appropriate to adjust the applicant’s qualifications to ensure inclusivity and to expand the target applicants, believing that the changes will further strengthen Thailand and make it a global hub for investments.  

The change proposed to the applicant’s qualifications includes: 

1. Expanding the List of Target Sectors for the Highly Skilled Professionals: In addition to the current list of targeted industries (e.g., Electronic, Automation and Robotics, Automotive, Biofuels and Biochemicals, Medical, Petrochemical and Chemical, Digital Industries) focusing on sciences and technologies, the proposed changes intend to include professors in higher and vocational education institution in various filed to help improve the capacity of Thai personnel. 
2. Removing the Working Experience for the Highly Skilled Professionals and Work-from-Thailand Professionals: In order to eliminate the redundancy with requirements that verify the applicant’s skills and qualifications, the BOI proposed to remove the work experience criteria in order to increase accessibility for a wider range of high-potential applicants. 
3. Reducing the Corporate Revenue Requirement for Overseas-Based Employers: Where currently requires the employer sponsoring the applicant’s corporate income to be over 150 million USD, the proposed change reduces the corporate income to 50 million USD and permits the employee of a company whose affiliate to a mother company having corporate revenue not less than 50 million USD to be eligible as well.
4. Removing the Minimum Annual Income Requirement for Wealthy Global Citizens: The BOI proposed to remove the minimum annual income requirement and shift the focus to a more stable income from cumulative wealth and investment in Thailand. This will also encourage more investment activities in Thailand. 
5. Expanding the Rights of Dependents: As opposed to the current regimes, the proposed change intends to include the parents and legal dependents of the LTR Visa holder without limitation on the number of dependents.

Conclusions: 

The changes proposed by BOI intend to attract more foreigners and to drive more investment activities into Thailand by revising several criteria and qualifications making it easier and more inclusive for potential applicants to apply for the LTR Visa, which will in turn enhance the growth of Thai economy, increase Thailand’s competitiveness and elevate Thailand to become a world-class resident and talent hubs. 

Author: Panisa Suwanmatajarn, Managing Partner.

Other Articles

• Proposed Amendments to Anti-Corruption Legislation to Align with OECD Standards
• Notification of the Competent Officer on Exchange Control (No. 38) — Draft Amendment
• Thailand’s Proposed Updates to the Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin Framework for Exports to the United States and the European Union
• Thailand’s Expanding Trade Network: Key Updates on FTAs with Partner Countries
• Thailand FDA — Proposed Food Labelling Rules for Prepackaged Foods
• U.S. Tariff Developments Post Supreme Court Ruling