Elite Card to dangle more privileges for foreign investors

[Enzian]

No way I'd ever buy anything in this country when it is going to be a renters' market forever and the government can change the rules and pull the rug out at any moment and have a well deserved reputation for doing so.

[SymS]

How would the work permit be handled? Do you still need to work for a Thai company, or can you somehow work by yourself? If so, how do you handle taxes and social security?

[Gee Ku]

TAT's pipe dream is resuscitated  again. Are there so many as 2000 deluded rich foreigners annually so in love with Thailand they would spend a few million Baht to come and live here.....hahaha, we are laughing until our <deleted> ache!

[Mr Meeseeks]

1 minute ago, SymS said:

How would the work permit be handled? Do you still need to work for a Thai company, or can you somehow work by yourself? If so, how do you handle taxes and social security?

farang think too mut

[Clarkey611]

Todays 5555555

[wolf81]

Quote

Yuthasak expects the schemes to be implemented next year, adding that they will inject about Bt20 billion in extra foreign investment if the TAT can sell 1,000 elite cards under the programme.

Sure, and I'm sure they'd be able to inject an extra Bt100 billion in extra foreign investment if the TAT can sell 5,000 elite cards under the programme.

 

But did these guys even do some market research? Do they have some very clean indications that they'd be able to sell an extra 1,000 elite cards under the programme? Or are they just pulling numbers from where the sun don't shine and hope for the best? 

[aussienam]

So if property developers pre-purchase the Elite cards, do you think the cost will be stacked into the condo prices?  10 Million baht worth of properties - worth 10 million baht at the market value?  I wonder???? 

Like saying, we'll throw in 'free.furniture' or a 'free car's etc.  Sales techniques.  Nothing in life is free.  

[P100]

3 hours ago, condobrit001 said:

"The TAT-owned Thailand Privilege Card, which runs the programme, aims to lure more investors with two stimulus schemes it will propose to the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA)."

 

The word here is "lure", which for those not sufficiently educated in the english language means to influence or encourage someone to perform certain actions - often by deception. Enough said.

20 years visa can get cancelled any time if they end the program. Does anyone trust and believe in Thai government's consistency ?

[bipper]

New bits and dangles on. Says it all really.

[IamNoone88]

Want to boost the economy (i) Allow 100% owned foreign companies (ii) Allow free foreign investment in real estate and land of less than 10 rai. Simple.

[holy cow cm]

Out with the old and who cares about you who spent money here already, and in with the new s-u-ckers. C-r-a-ppy way to treat people who are already vested invested here. Land of phony smiles.

[SupermarineS6B]

Isn't it strange how whenever someone pops up from any corner of the Gov or TAT or wherever there's an idea of making a quick buck they're always from a certain, shall we say background........ never the little old bloke from Isaan that we've all grown to love over the years.....  ( More so the little angels of Isaan as well )

It's a sad fact that the real people of Thailand that made it the LOS for many of us don't have a voice and are getting the same treatment as we farangs are.............  Mmmmm, me smells big trouble in this department in the future.......  

[thairookie]

An elite card will not make you an elite in Baan Nok (village).  You are still behind the cow and ox in the pecking order.

[SupermarineS6B]

i'll repeat it again...... " Never have anything in Thailand you can't pick up and run with, because one day you'll have to " ........ Wise words from an old soak on Suk years ago.......

Hopefully if everyone Sh&% cans all these stupid get rich ideas they'll creep back under their rocks and just let Thailand run itself like it used to.......  I reckon Mr T must be auditioning in the background with a certain tourist who cannot be named........ and good luck if they are....... Otherwise it'll be a while before i'm reinstated in Cowboy....... supporting those single mums of Isaan....... Bless their little cotton socks.... 

[Ketyo]

With an investment of over 10M people can get an investment visa that can be renewed every year indefinitely anyway.

 

The Elite visa just gives a few other bits on top like fast-track immigration, car from the airport and a few massages.

 

So will that encourage another 1000 people to invest 10M in property if they were not going to do it in the first place? Not sure about that.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Ketyo

[spidermike007]

It matters little how many programs you come up with, if you do not come up with ways to get foreigners back into Thailand. Few are buying condos now. Prices are dropping. Both rentals and sales. Do any of you guys have a clue? The lack of courage and the extreme levels of timidity being shown right now, are deplorable. Man up guys. Every aspect of life requires some risk. Let the people get back to work. Trillions are being lost, and the longer you wait, the more Thailand will be forgotten, and left in the rear view. 

 

Even as of now, you will never be able to get back to where you were. There were too many problems already, long before Covid. Now? Expect one million tourists in 2021, if you can figure out a way to open up. Maybe five million tourists by 2026. Maybe. I doubt if we will see 20 million tourists again, in our lifetime. Far fewer people are now willing to get onto a long haul flight. And there is less money to spend, by the masses.

 

For those members who have paid between 500,000 and 2,000,000 baht for an elite visa, you should not be required to jump over these hoops, and you should NOT be required to have health insurance, as you have already demonstrated the financial ability to cover yourself, if the need arises. Duh! And you should be assigned a personal "consultant" by the government, and they should be able to fast track your return process. Otherwise, what is the point of the expense, and what is Thailand offering in the way of real value? You should be treated as a VIP, and placed in high regard. Another example of the utter hypocrisy of immigration here. They claim to want wealthy tourists and ex-pats. And I keep asking the same question. What are you willing to sacrifice to attract them? Or do you just assume, that by thinking you are the center of the universe, that is enough?

 

This toxic administration refuses to learn, and progress, even now after the tragic collapse of one of their most profitable industries. It is hard to educate the brain of a dinosaur. Get a grip. Be courageous. Develop a sensible plan. Do something. Just do not continue your sabotage, by doing nothing. 

Edited October 14, 2020 by spidermike007

[2 is 1]

6 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I doubt if we will see 20 million tourists again, in our lifetime.

Yeah and Thailand have come like Canary Islands everybody has visit and nothing new to see! And for Europe people Thailand is much more far , also hard to reach. 

Edited October 14, 2020 by 2 is 1

[jollyhangmon]

 

... 555, sweet ... I'd say dangle that for your mamas, maybe that'll get you some takers, 5555 ...

 

[agood1963]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The TAT-owned Thailand Privilege Card, which runs the programme, aims to lure more investors with two stimulus schemes it will propose to the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA).

Keep dangling that carrot Thailand people with money are not that stupid 

[JusticeGB]

In 2009 Thai Elite had racked up losses of over 1.4 trillion baht. It has fallen short of target sales in every year since then. The company can't have recovered its losses of 1.4 trillion so almost certainly is still in the red. If it was a private company it would be trading illegally. 

[LivinLOS]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The "Flex One" scheme will offer 5 to 20-year visas to foreigners who buy properties worth at least Bt10 million. The cards, worth Bt500,000 to Bt2 million, will be purchased by property developers and then passed on to foreign clients.

So simply add to the cost of the development then !! 

 

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile the "Flex Plus" scheme will offer a work permit to foreigners who invest at least US$1 million in Thailand. However, they must hold the top-tier Elite card costing a minimum Bt1 million and must invest the $1 million in the first year after visa approval.

Anyone investing 1 million usd, has zero issue obtaining a work permit, the cost of incorporation, for any wor that they may wish to do, comes in at far less than the offering being presented to them. 
 

None of these 'perks' make much sense to increase the appeal of anyone not already doing this ?? 

[Sammyinla]

8 hours ago, madmen said:

What's the bloody point when both elite card and condo owners ARE NOT ALLOWED IN! 

I am an Elite card holder and I have FINALLY received approvals to come back to Thailand. Finally!! Of course now I have to get an ASQ hotel, repatriation flight, and insurance for a year before I can get a COE. Then I have to test negative for covid 72 hours before my flight or else I have to do this all over again. What a pain, but at least there seems to be a way back now. 

[Pedrogaz]

Apart from some of Caribbean Islands that offer citizenship as well, the Elite card must be the worst money in the world. If you had held one for the past 6 months you would not have been able to get your discount on the spa and green fees.

For the type of money being talked about you could with ease go to a country that is not run by ex-military idiots.

[Bangkok Barry]

Why do they think that anyone would be in the slightest bit interested in this?

[khunPer]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The "Flex One" scheme will offer 5 to 20-year visas to foreigners who buy properties worth at least Bt10 million. The cards, worth Bt500,000 to Bt2 million, will be purchased by property developers and then passed on to foreign clients.

Hm, does that mean that the property prices raise with from 500,000 baht to 2 million baht to cover the Elite Card cost – i.e. buy an 8 million baht condo for 10 million baht, and get a "free" 2 million baht worth Elite Card on top – or do you really get something for free...????

 

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile the "Flex Plus" scheme will offer a work permit to foreigners who invest at least US$1 million in Thailand. However, they must hold the top-tier Elite card costing a minimum Bt1 million and must invest the $1 million in the first year after visa approval.

I'm normally very positive, but I would honestly think that if you invest 30+ million baht in establishing a business in Thailand, then a work permit, and extensions based on same, would not be one's biggest concern; the accountant, or law firm, would be able to do the paperwork for many years for 1 million baht, i.e. 1 million baht over 20-years is equivalent to 50,000 baht a year with the relative cheapest Elite Card-solution.

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, 2 is 1 said:

Yeah and Thailand have come like Canary Islands everybody has visit and nothing new to see! And for Europe people Thailand is much more far , also hard to reach. 

Somehow, they have to develop some humility, and realize that Thailand is NOT the center of the universe, nor is it the most desirable country in the world to visit. It might have been 20 years ago. But now? So much has changed, and the authorities, the PM, the officials in tourism, Pipat, and many others just do not, and cannot see it. They are harboring way too much fake nationalism to be able to see things with 20/20 vision, perspective, or sensibility. And it is grossly damaging to the nation, the people and the industry. 

 

 

[spidermike007]

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. First they need to figure out a way to attract tourism, WITHOUT quarantine. That is fairly simple. A very reliable lab based test in the home nation, with test results before you board the plane. Then a simple antigen test at the airport. It takes 15 minutes for results. Sure, Thailand would have to invest in the test kits. Some general would have to be willing to part with a few million dollars. Each test itself, only cost $5 with the new Abbott test, which is available now. 

 

Then they could get on to reform. Sacrifices need to be made. I do not hear ANY discussion about what sacrifices Thailand is willing to make, to get the tourists, and that multi trillion baht cash cow back.

 

The very first thing would be to repeal the anti faring wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 365%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here.

 

Thailand keeps droning on and on and on, about how they want wealthy tourists. Again, what sacrifices are you willing to make? Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax, instead of the 100% of more, which discourages most people from buying. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane.

 

They will continue to get more Indian and Chinese tourists. But most will be lower income, and lower middle income tourists. Thailand just cannot attract higher income tourists anymore. Very few. The focus on quantity over quality will continue to erode the nation on countless levels. More is rarely better. It just lowers the quality of life for nearly everyone, creates more congestion, more smog, more traffic, longer lines at immigration, and makes life difficult, especially in the big cities. There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists, and go for quality over quantity. 

 

Quantity over quality is never a good thing, unless you are selling one dollar items at a swap meet. It just lowers the quality of the experience for all.

 

These issues and problems were becoming apparent long before Covid. And none were being addressed. That is part of my point. Tourism had been declining for years already. The numbers were up. But the quality of tourist was way down. And according to everyone I spoke to last year, the year before and the year before that, income was way, way down. So, "this blame it all on Covid scenario" is somewhat disengenuous. Sure, Covid is huge. And the drop now is stunning. But, my point is there were plenty of issues prior to Covid. And are any of them being addressed? 

[DrTuner]

9 hours ago, madmen said:

What's the bloody point when both elite card and condo owners ARE NOT ALLOWED IN! 

That is the point. TAT thinks they have figured out how to get the money from foreginers without letting them in. They must have the IQ they think their victims got, in the negative.

[DrTuner]

4 hours ago, SymS said:

How would the work permit be handled? Do you still need to work for a Thai company, or can you somehow work by yourself? If so, how do you handle taxes and social security?

I think the only value you'd get for the 1M$ would be the comedy of seeing Thai officials actually trying to figure that out.

[Pancho]

All the businesses are gone.

who wants to go to Disneyland with all the rides closed?

 

There is that pesky Chi$@ debt.

 

Any investors will only be willing to pay pennies on the dollar. Think fire sale.

 

The future will only brighten up with some serious fundamental changes.

 

 

It is doable, only with true bargaining.

i believe the first wave will be 1 yr after the US election. NASURA.

Covid will disappear Nov 4th 2020.

back everything up, store In faraday bag.

 

Sources Say.