aublumberg

This triggered a lot of controversy in the local news this week. Potentially a very significant added LTR perk for those interested in it.

https://www.nationmultimedia.com/thailand/policies/40021513

Only foreigners qualifying for Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa will be allowed to buy up to 1 rai of land, the government announced on Friday to clarify the confusion.

1 hour ago, Pib said:

Interesting they asked for additional docs...but apparently docs you had already provided?  If it had been a snake it would have bit them?

They wanted to see income proof, despite all salary statements and three year income tax declarations having been provided already. I think the BOI staff assigned to the case found it all ok (which it was) but then the manager threw it back due to his confusion around income vs tax, plus currency exchange rates. All part of the learnings when launching a new scheme, all good.  

So this morning I arrived in Bangkok for the first time after receiving my LTR-T visa sticker at the Royal Thai Consulate in Hong Kong. Used the Fast Track channel, LTR is not specifically written on the signage but Smart Visa is. This is the same channel used by Air Crew and what I normally also use with the APEC card. No material difference in queueing time as it was fairly quiet today, but can be helpful if it’s busy.

The very charming immigration officer Khun Annie had never seen a LTR visa and had to ring her colleague on the phone first to clarify but then swiftly figured out the five year entry duration. Her supervisor walked by and she double confirmed with him again. She was quite curious and asked how long it took to get the visa. Most pleasant conversation. 

1 hour ago, Pib said:

For those who have LTR application processing or already approved approximately how long was it "from the day you submitted your application" until you saw some type of tangible status change in your LTR online acct and/or got a notification/email from BOI asking for more docs or something along those lines.  Just some type of status change that indicated your application was actually being reviewed/processed "versus just setting in a BOI rep's inbox" pending processing.

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There is no way to tell from the online system what the progress is. Don’t interpret the status, it’s meaningless. I think Ryan got approved but it still says ‘processing’. You get an email when they need something. There is the notification box on the upper left in the system but that only updates when they email you. If you haven’t heard from them after three or four weeks, best is to call them, most effective channel. For reference, my dates were:

1 hour ago, BKK4 said:

I did this and was successful. If you meet the requirements it is possible. 

Llikewise. Applied 05 Sep, and got the visa sticker into my passport at the Royal Thai Consulate in Hong Kong on 20 Oct. As long as you meet the criteria and have the supporting paper work evidence, it's straightforward.

46 minutes ago, Misty said:

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.

If you think about it ... the collective insights, learnings, feedback and recommendations from the pioneers (early customers in fact) represented in this single forum thread alone should be extremely sought after by any Board Of Investment in order to finetune, adapt and improve the program. Oh well ...

Three more 'hidden feature' tips, two for before and one for after getting the visa:

(1) Whenever you make changes in the main data entry page or any uploads on the document page, go through each individual page one by one click next - next - next - save so that it retains the data input. I noticed (at least early Sep 2022) if you don't follow this then you may lose some of the data input.

(2) In the status page there is an acronym for the BOI staff handling your case, it reads e.g. StaffBoI1147. The last four digits are the phone extension of the person handling your case. They are organised by each of the four LTR visa types so in above example you can call the case handling officer under +6622091147 (replace last four digits accordingly). Forget about sending an email to them to check the status. Always call. If they don't pick up then call again until you get through. Super friendly and accommodating and the best communication channel.
 

(3) Once you have the visa and you have status [complete] on the summary page, you can still edit certain parts and you can delete all the documents uploaded. I am quite sure they keep copies of the documents elsewhere in another system but since the application system is internet facing, if you're concerned about the security of your sensitive data then it may be worthwhile to remove the documents. Plus change your password to a new, complex one.

4 hours ago, mrmagyar said:

Has anyone yet been approved for the 'Work From Thailand Professionals' visa, working for a private company?

 

Also, if applicants using this route were not bringing in their salary in the year that it was earnt, would it still be assumed that no Thai income tax was due?

This is no tax advise and I suggest anyone to seek professional advise for their own circumstances.

The following may provide context.

Royal Decree issued under the Revenue Code No.743 (TH).pdf (boi.go.th)

Royal Decree issued under the Revenue Code No.743 (EN).pdf (boi.go.th)

Notification of Income Tax No. 427 (TH).pdf (boi.go.th)

Notification of Income Tax No.427 (EN).pdf (boi.go.th)

Thailand Long Term Resident Visa Tax Concessions - SHERRINGS

Long-term resident visa approved for high-potential foreigners in Thailand - BDO

Got the ticket, take the ride. ????

Hi @Misty, looping back. Went to the Royal Thai Consulate in Hong Kong this morning with the BOI notification letter. Unlike the US, HK is not on the e-visa system, hence the visit in person.
 

Filled out a generic visa application form (neither TM94 nor STM8 required) together with one photo. They checked their computer and can see the LTR status from there, I assume it will be similar for the Consulate in the US.

Paid the LTR visa fee and can pick up my passport with the visa in two days.

Hope you were also able to make progress in the meantime.

For some of the early notification of qualification letters e.g. the one @ThailandRyan shared it states the letter is valid for 60 days. This is also consistent with the BOI communication on email and website. Upon double checking my notification letter however it is valid for 10 years. It seems that BOI may have changed this recently, providing more flexibility in timing and perhaps location to obtain your actual LTR visa.