lkv Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 (edited) 8 minutes ago, wobalt said: Criminal record has not be done in the home country if your residency is in Thailand. In that case a police record is demanded. However do not think that the approval is such easy. It needs exordinary achievements in certain segments to get the approval. Have a look in the application documents. Gesendet von iPhone mit Thaivisa Connect SMART Visa “S” (Startup) 1. Completed APPLICATION FORM FOR QUALIFICATION ENDORSEMENT FOR SMART VISA “S” 2. Copy of currently valid passport 3. Criminal record certificate, issued by the country of which the applicant is a national and a permanent resident (not more than 3 months old) 4. Medical certificate issued from the country of which the applicant is a national or a permanent resident or where the application is submitted, showing no prohibited diseases (Leprosy, Tuberculosis, drug addiction, Elephantiasis, third phase of Syphilis) as indicated in the Ministerial Regulation No. 14 B.E. 2535 5. Police clearance certificate from the country of which the applicant is a national or from the Royal Thai Police in case that the applicant stays in Thailand 6. Copy of certificate of incorporation, memorandum of association and company registration certificate in Thailand (not more than 3 months old) (if any) 7. Financial evidence showing fixed saving in Thailand or in a foreign country with balance of not less than 600,000 Baht per person or equivalent and the remaining maturity term of at least 1 year *In the case of being accompanied by spouses and children, an additional amount of fixed saving of at least 180,000 Baht per person or equivalence is required. 8. Copy of health insurance policy covering entire course of stay in Thailand 9. Company’s annual report, brochures and catalogues (if any) 10. Power of attorney if the application is submitted by a representative Edited February 2, 2018 by lkv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wobalt Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 I was yesterday in the application center and this was clearified. See also point 5 ..in case the applicant stays in Thailand. I live since more than 10 years in Thailand and I am not a resident in my home country since then.Gesendet von iPhone mit Thaivisa Connect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkv Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 (edited) 3 minutes ago, wobalt said: I was yesterday in the application center and this was clearified. See also point 5 ..in case the applicant stays in Thailand. I live since more than 10 years in Thailand and I am not a resident in my home country since then. Gesendet von iPhone mit Thaivisa Connect Good info thanks. Stays in Thailand means "on an extension of stay" or it means "happens to be in Thailand on a tourist visa when he applies"? Edited February 2, 2018 by lkv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 (edited) 10 minutes ago, lkv said: 3. Criminal record certificate, issued by the country of which the applicant is a national and a permanent resident (not more than 3 months old) Obviously something was lost in translation here, you can't expect the boi to translate something properly to english Let's say you are a national from country abc and are a permanent resident in xyz, then from who are you supposed to get the criminal record? Need to have a look at the Thai original 16 minutes ago, wobalt said: However do not think that the approval is such easy. It needs exordinary achievements in certain segments to get the approval. Have a look in the application documents. I didn't see anything like this in any of the documents, could you provide a link? And we are talking about founding a new company, which achievements could it have? Edited February 2, 2018 by jackdd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkv Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 (edited) 10 minutes ago, jackdd said: And we are talking about founding a new company, which achievements could it have? They may want to have a closer look at the founder's track record , I have a feeling. Or perhaps not. Edited February 2, 2018 by lkv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackThompson Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 45 minutes ago, samran said: The Smart S visa needs 600,000 in the bank at all times. However there is no income threshold needed to maintain the visa. I went to a couple of the consultations in the past 12 months on this. While they aren't wanting, to use their words 'anyone with a laptop', they have been presented with case study after case study of the young foreigners here 'doing their thing'....and are interested. Otherwise the 'S' category would have never been on the agenda. I see that one - but "set up a company" doesn't work, if it is 2M Baht of capital, which few digital-startups need. Might as well just pay an agent to set up a company, get work permit, do 90-day reporting for you, etc. Again, I don't see any significant advantage of this "smart visa" over what is already in place. If they are worried about riff-raff poor kids with laptops selling on Amazon, then a prove-able income flowing into Thailand - but a reasonable amount for Thailand (not Switzerland) - would close that loophole. Maybe add in a degree in the field, to appease the "smart" label aspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 (edited) 4 minutes ago, JackThompson said: If they are worried about riff-raff poor kids with laptops selling on Amazon, then a prove-able income flowing into Thailand - but a reasonable amount for Thailand (not Switzerland) - would close that loophole. Maybe add in a degree in the field, to appease the "smart" label aspect. They could also simply remove the 50 year minimum from the retirement visa, then i put 800k on a bank account and would be good, but somehow it seems that they don't want this. Edited February 2, 2018 by jackdd 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackThompson Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 (edited) 10 minutes ago, jackdd said: They could also simply remove the 50 year minimum from the retirement visa, then i put 800k on a bank account and would be good, but somehow it seems that they don't want this. Well, they designed that system to work with their "agent-kickback" scheme - so they know many of those with "retirement extensions" don't really have 800K. It seems they are OK with poorer people faking the financials, as long as they are over 50 and willing to line their pockets for the privilege. I was suggesting a verified-income scheme for younger folks. But with that scheme, there would be no agent-kickbacks, and no "giant-fee envelope" to the Elite guys, so ... will never happen, I suppose. When I look at this list, I see options that look like they started out well, but them someone with "something to lose" took a pen and wrote in values to torpedo it's usefulness - to protect the current schemes that benefit them. Edited February 2, 2018 by JackThompson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wobalt Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 I didn't see anything like this in any of the documents, could you provide a link? And we are talking about founding a new company, which achievements could it have?Look for example in the 9 pages application form for Qualification endorsement SV-T-01-.... . I received that at BOI. Unfortunately the online registration is not working yet.Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impulse Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 (edited) Makes the Elite visa look even more attractive from a strict cost and effort standpoint. Not to mention the probability of a successful application. As long as you can keep any income derived from your activities in Thailand off the radar (that is, not get caught working), I can't see any advantages here. Which really defeats the stated purpose of these programs. But probably not the ulterior motives. BTW, I hope I'm proven wrong when people start applying and getting approved. But that's not the way I'd bet... Edited February 2, 2018 by impulse 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 22 minutes ago, JackThompson said: I see that one - but "set up a company" doesn't work, if it is 2M Baht of capital, which few digital-startups need. Might as well just pay an agent to set up a company, get work permit, do 90-day reporting for you, etc. Again, I don't see any significant advantage of this "smart visa" over what is already in place. If they are worried about riff-raff poor kids with laptops selling on Amazon, then a prove-able income flowing into Thailand - but a reasonable amount for Thailand (not Switzerland) - would close that loophole. Maybe add in a degree in the field, to appease the "smart" label aspect. You don't need 2MB paid up capital though, that is only if you are getting a traditional work permit. Registered capital can be anything without the work permit requirement, but you can chuck a bit in which is then just working capital. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Here is the application form for the smart s: https://smart-visa.boi.go.th/document/SMART_S.pdf Looks like many things, but actually it's nothing that would worry me, when i founded a company in Estonia they asked nearly the same questions, maybe they copied it from them I don't know why some people think it will be difficult to get approved, why should it be like this? I think the people who made this program want to show that it's a success, so they can give them self a pat on the shoulder. So i could imagine it's quite easy to get it. Not so nice is of course that you have to make the investment for founding the company first, and then it could happen that you get denied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattd Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 4 hours ago, lkv said: Does a director have to get paid a salary or can it be 1 baht as jackdd stated earlier? You could appoint a non-executive director, who would then not actually be employed by the company and could, only if they choose, get compensated for attending board meetings etc. Not sure, in the context of the smart visa, if they would allow this, it is very common in industry though and it is allowed within the normal framework of work permits etc. I suspect in this instant that they would expect a director to be part of the executive team, hence the no need for a work permit perk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkv Posted February 2, 2018 Author Share Posted February 2, 2018 2 minutes ago, Mattd said: You could appoint a non-executive director, who would then not actually be employed by the company and could, only if they choose, get compensated for attending board meetings etc. Not sure, in the context of the smart visa, if they would allow this, it is very common in industry though and it is allowed within the normal framework of work permits etc. I suspect in this instant that they would expect a director to be part of the executive team, hence the no need for a work permit perk! How about executive directors receiving remuneration in shares? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattd Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 1 minute ago, lkv said: How about executive directors receiving remuneration in shares? ? Actually, that would be allowed probably as a part of the compensation package, or even some other benefit in kind, housing, car etc. etc. very common practice here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 On 2/2/2018 at 2:43 PM, jackdd said: They could also simply remove the 50 year minimum from the retirement visa, then i put 800k on a bank account and would be good, but somehow it seems that they don't want this. Agreed but its the work permit exemption which is appealing also. The whole 'working online isnt working' thing is so blatantly incorrect its not worth bothering to argue, but the situation of a part time visiting CEO, who has companies outside of Thailand, but has a residence here and large income. Would be great to have a legal solution to allow legal work and long term stay in one package. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 26 minutes ago, LivinLOS said: Agreed but its the work permit exemption which is appealing also. The whole 'working online isnt working' thing is so blatantly incorrect Not really incorrect. I mean the whole purpose of work permits is to protect the locals, so that the foreigners don't take their local job. If somebody is working online and making his money abroad he is not taking away a local job from a Thai in Thailand, so they tolerate this. A problem with the "online working" people is of course to prove the income, and that you really generated the income abroad, that's way more difficult to prove than a steady pension every month and way easier to cheat on, which is why they probably have so much trouble to make an "easy" visa. They could save everybody all this hassle if they just sold a reasonable visa, for a reasonable price. For example this new "smart" Visa for maybe 40k THB per year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wobalt Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 This visa has nothing to do with an ordinary visa for online working. Your business model must be based on exordinary knowledge which you would transfer to the Thais.Gesendet von iPhone mit Thaivisa Connect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivinLOS Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 3 minutes ago, wobalt said: This visa has nothing to do with an ordinary visa for online working. Your business model must be based on exordinary knowledge which you would transfer to the Thais. Gesendet von iPhone mit Thaivisa Connect I thought that was only the versions with the lower income threshold.. Initially it seemed that high earning execs / CEOs could use this with the 200k per month minimum income category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wobalt Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Of cause this would work. I worked about 10 y for the agencies which would approve you technically.Gesendet von iPhone mit Thaivisa Connect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 30 minutes ago, LivinLOS said: Initially it seemed that high earning execs / CEOs could use this with the 200k per month minimum income category. They can, but only if they work in Thailand, not if they just live here. So before these people had a non B plus work permit, now a small number of them can get this new smart visa, doesn't change too much for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SicTransit Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 This visa has nothing to do with an ordinary visa for online working. Your business model must be based on exordinary knowledge which you would transfer to the Thais.Gesendet von iPhone mit Thaivisa ConnectPlenty of people and business entities in Thailand could benefit from some *ordinary* knowledge transfer still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wobalt Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Sure, but it is not in focus of this program Gesendet von iPad mit Thaivisa Connect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Basically there are number of agencies that will be involved behind then scenes. They are the NSTDA, NRTC, TISTR and DEPA. depending on the visa you apply for, you either need to have your skills or investment vetted by them, or for the enterpaneurial visa, be working on a project which is either a designated accelerator or incubator programme. The million dollar questions are: - what are then key skills that are wanted - or/ what are the designated accelerator and incubator programs, can you get a gig helping them, and if not, how to establish your idea as an established and vetted incubator or accelerator project there isn’t much guidance out there on how to register yourself as an incubator or accelerator and until that become clear it might be that certain categories of the visa are largely stillborn... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkv Posted February 9, 2018 Author Share Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, jackdd said: They could save everybody all this hassle if they just sold a reasonable visa, for a reasonable price. For example this new "smart" Visa for maybe 40k THB per year. They are selling visas. It's 50K per year. The only issue is that they want 20 years in advance. It's called Thai Elite Superiority Extension. There are already agents that can apparently assist with this smart visa. What "assist" means exactly needs to be determined and at what cost. Edited February 9, 2018 by lkv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackdd Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 4 minutes ago, lkv said: They are selling visas. It's 50K per year. The only issue is that they want 20 years in advance. It's called Thai Elite Superiority Extension. Yes, that's the problem with Thai Elite, who knows what's in 2 or 3 years... and impossible to tell what's in 20 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wobalt Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Basically there are number of agencies that will be involved behind then scenes. They are the NSTDA, NRTC, TISTR and DEPA. depending on the visa you apply for, you either need to have your skills or investment vetted by them, or for the enterpaneurial visa, be working on a project which is either a designated accelerator or incubator programme. The million dollar questions are: - what are then key skills that are wanted - or/ what are the designated accelerator and incubator programs, can you get a gig helping them, and if not, how to establish your idea as an established and vetted incubator or accelerator project there isn’t much guidance out there on how to register yourself as an incubator or accelerator and until that become clear it might be that certain categories of the visa are largely stillborn... Simply go to the OSOS center and ask them.Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elviajero Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 On 09/02/2018 at 7:13 AM, jackdd said: ... I mean the whole purpose of work permits is to protect the locals, so that the foreigners don't take their local job. No it’s not. Virtually every local job being done by a foreigner could be done by a Thai. A specific list of jobs that are protected is published to protect Thai labour/jobs. The Alien Employment act was enacted to control alien employment. That includes anyone (online work or otherwise) making a living, without permission. Work permits are issued when giving a foreigner permission to do a specific job. On 09/02/2018 at 7:13 AM, jackdd said: If somebody is working online and making his money abroad he is not taking away a local job from a Thai in Thailand, so they tolerate this. Just because they aren’t “taking away a local job” is irrelevant. If you are physically in Thailand while carrying out ‘online work’ you need permission. Without it you are breaking the law. Thailand could quickly and easily make it legal for ‘online work’, but they haven’t. Currently Thailand only wants certain groups of visitors to stay long term and ‘online workers’ isn’t one. They don’t actively hunt people down or stop those working online at businesses based abroad because it’s not practical to do, and because they have to let ‘tourists’ keep up with ‘work’ while on holiday, which means all (even long term) tourists are left alone. So, for now, anyone doing ‘online work’ is tolerated because enforcement is almost impossible, not because it’s wanted, not taking away a Thai job, or the income is earned abroad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasabi Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 On 2/9/2018 at 1:09 AM, jackdd said: Yes, that's the problem with Thai Elite, who knows what's in 2 or 3 years... and impossible to tell what's in 20 years The Thailand Elite Visa is also available in 5 year increments. I'd hoped the Smart Visa would be more straightforward for freelancers, but it seems that you must be associated with a company as well. The best option I've found is the IGLU relocation service, but this is essentially $9000 a year. I believe that comes out higher than the Elite Visa but it only needs to be done in yearly increments, can also sponsor family members, and gives you access to the Thai Social Medical care system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djlest Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 my opinion: stay far away from the Thai medical system and stick with the elite and get private health insurance instead. As for the person saying elite visa costs 50k a year i believe its actually 100k a year, unless something has changed? Its a shame Thailand desperately tries to change for the better but everytime they seem to shoot themselves in the foot by trying to recreate the wheel or by trying to be clever. far to much beurocracy these days. The worst attempt ive seen yet is the new changes the gov has made to imports, taxes, license per invoice, customs. many business now are collapsing due to the ever increasing pedantic rules and regulations. this is no different in my book... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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