Misty

Update: just received the BoI Notification Letter to apply for LTR e-visa today. Have submitted the LTR e-visa application and now waiting for US consulate to process and issue. Some notes for other applicants: 1) Submitted pre-screen mid-Aug, application 2 Sep, received approval 10 Oct, received LTR Notification Letter 25 Oct. 2) BoI is a pleasure to deal with. 3) Unfortunately though BoI has been overly optimistic on timeframes almost the entire way. Also gave some wrong information which ended up delaying things. 4) US consulate says 7-15 days to process e-visa application (much longer than BoI's optimistic "1-2 days" or "2-3 days" 5) Have asked US consulate for consideration to speed up process if at all possible. All these delays are not at all their fault, of course. However, we're a long way from the initial timeframes BoI was suggesting. I had thought 2 1/2 months should have been long enough to allow even for delays, but I may need to purchase a new airline ticket soon. 5) E-visa payment system (KBANK Worldpay) remains very difficult. Only 1 of 5 of my various debit & credit cards would work to make payment. My US credit cards suspected fraud. Even a KBANK debit card rejected the system. Will update when I get the e-visa

Yes, the BoI has said that the LTR annual report works the same as the 90 day report - the calendar restarts every time you leave the country. So if you never stay in Thailand for more than 365 days, you never have to do the LTR annual report. Wonder if you get an extra day in leap years?

Yes, although this is not an impression from reading this forum. Right now with the apparent lack of communication between the BoI and overseas embassies/consulates, it's hard to see how many LTR visas from outside Thailand could be being granted. It would have been good if these issues had been worked out before program launch. But whatever the reason, I hope they can get it straightened out soon.

Yes, the 625 number refers only to the smart visas, a different category. If you look at the pie chart next to that number, it's broken down by smart visa type, i.e. Smart Visa S,O,T,I, E. The LTR visas have different letters. The "Smart visa by month" bar chart next to it seems out of date too. I think the overseas LTRs must be lagging due to disconnects between the BoI and overseas embassies/consulates. It's kind of a shame, since I thought this program was intended - at least in part - to attract new people and investment to Thailand. Instead for now it seems mostly to be cannibalizing existing programs.

Problems indeed with the BoI - Overseas embassy/consulate connection. I decided against traveling to Thailand on visa exempt when I learned you can't even apply to get the Notification letter until you have entered Thailand and have a visa exempt number. I selected overseas consulate instead. But I'm still in no man's land - got approval 10 Oct, and still waiting for the BoI to issue the Notification letter so I can complete the LTR e-visa application. BoI says they are waiting for "feedback" from the US consulate. The US consulate says that is not correct, they don't give "feedback" to the BoI - they just need the BoI's Notification letter to process the e-visa. Even once the BoI letter is issued, there's differing stories. BoI says the online LTR e-visa application will take "1-2 days" or "2-3 days" until the US consulate issues the e-visa. But the US consulate says no, it will be 7-15 working days. Not sure what's going on other than more kinks for them to work out. I should note it's been a different experience for some. One poster received his approval same day as me, his Notification letter a few days later, and was able to get his LTR visa at the HK consulate within 1 week of approval.

Of course I hope that you are right, but I think that may not be correct. Thai sourced income like salary earned while working in Thailand does appear to be taxed, although there may be some tax breaks on the percentage due for certain categories of the LTR visa. Screenshot below from BoI's site: https://ltr.boi.go.th/#pri Only overseas income appears to have a tax exemption. Salary earned while working in Thailand is Thai-sourced, not overseas:

On the question about Thai income tax, my understanding is if you earn a salary while working in Thailand, that income is considered Thai-sourced for Thai income tax purposes. Thai income tax is due on Thai-sourced income. Unfortunately the rules about no tax if you don't bring the earnings into Thailand only apply to foreign-sourced income. So like dividends, interest, etc - earned on assets outside of Thailand. Not salary from working in Thailand.

Try this page from the BOI's LTR visa website: https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/required-documents.html Click on the appropriate icon for the visa you wish to get, and download the required documents. As an example, see screenshot below on what it says is required for "Wealthy Global Pensioners" Other than that, you may need to contact the BoI directly to get your questions answered.. Please let us know what you learn. Unfortunately these visas are so new this forum may not have all the answers.

Congratulations! Please let us know what happens when you go through Immigration upon arrival.

The ability to cancel or change an existing visa/visa extension seems to be limited to the BoI and its associated IOs. Some have described this as the BoI's "magical powers."

That's great news, thanks very much for the update. So good to hear you'll have the visa in two days. From what I'm hearing, apparently the process involved in e-visas and consulates may be more involved. An "introduction letter" has gone to our consulate since last week. The consulate has to send an acknowledgement of the letter back to the BoI, which takes time. (apparently it goes in a queue with all other such letters) . Only then can the Notification Letter be issued. So in a queue system now apparently in the US consulate.... after that, I can submit my e-visa application.

Thanks very much for the details. The NY consulate has been really helpful via FB DMs (both for the LTR and previous NonB e-visas). But I haven't had luck in trying to call the NY consulate. I wonder if the HK consulate uses FB DM? By FB DM, the NY consulate said an LTR e-visa would take 15 working days, after I submit my application and pay the fee. And the BoI letter is required to do that. It makes sense that the Thai holidays may have slowed things down. Also the various IT glitches. Hope things get a bit more smooth going forward! I'll be following up with the BoI this week to try to get hold of the Notification Letter and will post what happens. But it also seemed like the new LTR visa was intended to attract new people & investment to Thailand. So it would seem their target client would be people outside of Thailand, who would use Royal Thai consulates for the visa. So far however, the BoI seems more able to handle people who are already in Thailand and who aren't necessarily investing new funds and who already have Thai bank accounts....

Hi, how difficult was it to get the Notification Letter for Qualifications Endorsement to use with an overseas consulate? Did the BoI mention having to contact or interact with the HK consulate at all? Was this a long drawn out process? The reason I ask is that my timeline is similar to yours, but I'm still waiting on the Notification Letter. By phone, my BoI officer has been reluctant to issue a Notification letter for a consulate. Instead BoI staff were encouraging me to "just enter Thailand visa exempt" and then apply for the Notification letter inside Thailand, wait for it, make an appointment and wait for that. After I understood the time frames involved in entering visa exempt, I realized that that plan doesn't work in my case. My BoI officer has said it could take a long time to get a consulate Notification letter. She seems to think has to contact the consulate directly. Did that happen in your case? On my end, my LTR online e-visa application is complete except for this BOI Notification letter. On its part, the Royal Thai US consulate has been very helpful via DM. I'm wondering if my BoI officer possibly doesn't understand the process for external consulate visas as well as she understands the process inside their own office in Thailand.

LTR visas allow working, so also very suitable for those who wish to work. For some that may be the main attraction.

Sounds like that could be a mistake with the online application. Give them a call to check. Here's where it says $25,000:

The BoI website says for spouse or children health insurance equivalent, only a $25,000 cash deposit is required

Thanks Ryan I think this may be a case of apples and oranges though. The US consulates will grant actual visas, not not the "Notification of qualification endorsements" that comes from the BoI. The question is "how long is that e-visa good for". While the BoI's notification may only be good for 60 days, I think the actual e-visa may be good for at least as long as 5 years. The e-visa process as explained to me is: 1) Get BoI approval, 2) Tell BoI you want to receive the visa overseas, from a consulate (instead of at their office), 3) Get a Notification of Qualification endorsement addressed to the overseas consulate, 4) Submit that as part of the e-visa application. After e-visa approval, the overseas consulate then emails a copy of the actual e-visa, which you give to Immigration when you enter Thailand. After a couple more calls today it's starting to sound to me like entering Visa exempt may not in fact be our best option. So I may get to test the LTR e-visa system after all....

No, unfortunately I didn't get that far with the e-visa application before learning that it would be better in our case if we entered visa exempt and received the visa in Bangkok. Another poster (BritTim?) suggested an LTR e-visa holder should have a long time, perhaps up to 5-10 years to enter the country. That makes sense to me, since an e-visa is an issued visa. Would you have access to FB? The US consulates all seem to have FB sites and are good at answering DMs. My best suggestion would be to FB message your consulate and ask them directly.

Not sure there will be many getting an LTR e-visa outside of Thailand. I'm outside Thailand and my initial plan was to apply for the LTR e-visa from my US consulate. However the BoI staff tells me it would be easier/faster if I arrive in Thailand Visa exempt and then come to the BoI office for the visa stamp and digital work permit. Meanwhile, my US consulate says it will take 15 working days after I get the BoI letter (still waiting for that) for them to issue an LTR e-visa. So I'm planning to as BOI suggests: arrive Visa exempt, and forget the LTR e-visa.

Something like this?

He was also the Operations Director of the Business Class Group. Nowadays this page has disappeared from the Business Class website, and Business Class is careful to say it does not provide investment advice (although it did outsource investment management to Platinum in Hong Kong, interestingly where according to press reports Mark Kirkham apparently bit a policeman at one point).

No. https://sites.google.com/site/lminvestorvictimcentre/news/thaisecspreadsrogueadvisernetwiderstill

Ryan, Big Congratulations to you! Thank you again for posting all the important details - both now at completion, and also along the way. It's good to know about the required payment method. I'll have to get a Thai bank app, unless a credit or debit card will work. Also, it's excellent that the passport stamps make it clear the LTR visa is for 10 years, with a 5 year multiple re-entry. On the digital work permits, we heard from a different source today that "the system between the BOI and Labor Dept has not yet been completed." Further, the estimated completion time is "end of month" (but source was not sure which month - the source thought maybe Nov, but acknowledged it could be Oct : ) - (Side note: BOI previously said in a phone call it should be end of October, and hopefully that is still correct.) Our source also said that not to worry if digital work permits aren't ready until the end of Nov because "LTR visa holders can work even if they don't have work permits." I'll try to get further verification from the BOI directly on this point, especially if the digital work permits won't be ready until end of Nov.

Agreed. Backpackers seem to be a dying breed. All digital nomads now.

Yes, that's my understanding in terms of visas like NonB and NonO marriage visas - these visas by themselves are not enough to work in Thailand. You also need a work permit. In order to work in Thailand I've held the NonB visa and work permit with annual extensions for nearly 30 years, up until now and the new LTR program. It is also my understanding that neither NonB nor NonO marriage allow remote work for overseas companies. People with these types of visas may do so, but legally it's not allowed. Also any income earned would be considered "Thai-sourced" and reportable and taxable in Thailand. I don't think it's really a grey zone in terms of what the law allows in terms of these visas, just in terms of enforcement. The new LTR program is different in many ways from the NonB/NonO marriage + work permit combinations. Many of the differences have been clearly outlined, some less so. But at least some of the new LTR program categories do seem to allow working for foreign companies. But which of the LTR categories require a "digital work permit" isn't clear, at least to me. I know I do, since I will be working for my Thai company. Some of the others may not. Adding to the confusion is that the digital work permits aren't being issued yet (apparently the system isn't ready). Perhaps this will be more clear once BOI/One Stop Service begins to issue digital work permits. This is expected to begin later this month.