Make Thailand a "hub" for digital nomads, suggests influential Thai politician

 

 

The leader of the recently formed Kla political party believes Thailand should be joining the growing ranks of nations encouraging digital nomads to use their countries as their place of work. 

 

Korn Chatikavanij - who was born in London and attended Oxford University before becoming the finance minister in the Abhisit Vejjajiva government from 2008 to 2011 - wrote a piece called "Work from Thailand" that was picked up by The Bangkok Insight. 

 

Korn believes that Thailand should offer special work visas of two year duration to digital nomads. 

 

The much hyped STV (special tourist visa) just doesn't cut it, he said. The ridiculous hoops needed to get it were too onerous and besides it didn't allow the bearer to legally work. 

 

Thailand should be embracing the concept of attracting digital nomads who would spend money in the country and not represent taking a job away from anyone.

 

Essentially it was win-win for the country. 

 

As an example of what a digital nomad is, he cited the experience of three friends of his who were from the UK and stuck in Hua Hin during the height of the pandemic earlier in the year. 

 

Their colleagues in London were not even aware that they were not currently the UK, why should they be. 

 

Digital nomads and online workers are familiar with working from home and it doesn't really matter where they are.

 

Meanwhile, the benefits of being in Thailand would be obvious. 

 

For the Thai economy, they would spend plenty of money.

 

For the nomad there would be no Covid in the country and they would have freedom of movement after quarantine. 

 

They would be much better off than being in the UK, for example. 

 

As well as a special and easy work visa the government should be encouraging the infrastructure to enable digital nomads to work, expand the state quarantine program and provide better insurance options, he said. 

 

The ideas coming from Korn who set up the Kla Party this year after quitting the Democrats, are gaining traction around the world. 

 

The New York Times had a headline: "Why work from home when you can work from Barbados, Bermuda or....Estonia". 

 

This was a feature about countries increasingly offering long term visas and easy situations for digital nomads to use their countries as bases and contribute to their economies at the same time. 

 

Countries like Bermuda and Barbados are obviously sunny and attractive and Estonia is famous throughout the world for having the best broadband and internet infrastructure on the entire planet. 

 

Leading author Korn's message is that Thailand should not miss the opportunity to make the country a hub for digital nomads. 

 

Source: The Bangkok Insight

 

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18 minutes ago, webfact said:

Leading author Korn's message is that Thailand should not miss the opportunity to make the country a hub for digital nomads. 

 

Another day, another hub... 

18 minutes ago, webfact said:

For the nomad there would be no Covid in the country

That old chestnut again ! ????????????

 

lemme guess, are we up to hub thailand of hubs 5.0 now?

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

Leading author Korn's message is that Thailand should not miss the opportunity to make the country a hub for digital nomads. 

Ah the return of the ''hubs'', for some reasons Thai politicians like this word.

 

About the digital nomads, Korn is late at the party, Thailand has already

missed the opportunity few years ago, in a perfectly volontary way.

 

From the Thai authorities point of view. a digital nomad is a Youtuber

doing video in Thailand and on Thailand without paying any taxes on it

or an illegal internet scam artist (Nigerian romance, chinese gambling or russian forex)

 

It's an old idea. Korn is a supporter of the regime. I don't listen to him. If he were really for what he says, he would be for freedom of speech as a lot of online stuff is related to that. He supports keeping the people down.

Hub?.. I'm assuming that this is an abbreviation of the word "hubris" 

Good luck making them all get a work permit.

The trouble with opening up for all these previously undesirable "types" is that most people are aware that as soon as Thailand is doing well again the hubris will return, goalposts will move and they will be made unwelcome again.

 

You can't just turn on the tap when you need people and turn it off again when you don't. People learn from that and lose interest in the place.

 

Good luck getting tax out of that crowd of wandering dropouts. Try Google and Amazon first mates, see how that goes. 

I thought they wanted to get rid of all the dossers living on 20,000 baht a month.

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

The trouble with opening up for all these previously undesirable "types" is that most people are aware that as soon as Thailand is doing well again the hubris will return, goalposts will move and they will be made unwelcome again.

 

You can't just turn on the tap when you need people and turn it off again when you don't. People learn from that and lose interest in the place.

 

Exactly. Who wants one of these ‘special visas’ when the biggest perk is for the government and their right to cancel it for any reason or at any time. 
 

Thai bureaucracy: if it ain’t broke, break it.  

Hub of instantaneous you're now ok in the land of Hubba Hubba. That is until we shoot the messenger.

55 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Another day, another hub... 

a hub a day keeps reality away.

Due to covid, 'work from home' or 'remote work' (previously a privilege offered to only very high skilled workers) has become more acceptable in the workplace.
That has laid some groundwork for those skilled workers, who are in stable employment, to potentially negotiate with their employer - to essentially offer services as a remote contracter / consultant.

Effectively, work would be outsourced to Thailand.

 

Unofficially Thailand WAS a major global hub for digital nomads..

 

The nomads have lived up to their name and moved on.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The New York Times had a headline: "Why work from home when you can work from Barbados, Bermuda or

the back of beyond in Nakhon Nowhere ..

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

 

no Covid in the country

yawn ..

 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

For the Thai economy, they would spend plenty of money.

my mate who does this sort of freelancing won't be living up to that expectation if he comes back .. His bird asked him to get her some new tights to replace her laddered one's when he was in the supermarket that he always walks to .. he took a look saying " I know they're on their last legs but they haven't come apart at the seams yet " .. an' it nearly kicked off in Soi/6 when he discovered the lady drink scam .. alas Thailand I fear you haven't done your research if you think digital travelling folk are big spenders .. 

Yet another visa, yet another set of unreachable requirements that will mean no one will apply for it.

 

Korn is the guy who was slagging off the NHS in the BKP because his kids (at school in London) had to pay for treatment even though they had British passports. He, and they have never paid a days NI contributions I assume. Hard for those born with a silver spoon to accept they are the same as the rest of us.

Did his friends in Hua Hin have WPs...if not they are working illegally.

Born in London...attended Oxford...sounds like a real "man of the people," and surely one to know the needs of Thailand's farmers and manual laborers, who make-up the vast majority of the workforce.

Remember, they all know that Thailand is the best place on earth and if the floodgates were opened, the whole world would move here next week and destroy everything.

For all the slagging, theres a huge market out there and Thailand has many of the appeals which could make this work.. 

What they need to do is have crystal clear rules and a system of enforcement that works in real world practice, to enable this through visa, work legality, and any taxation or tax waiver. 

It would be very simple for example to covert the current 'media' visa for freelance media professionals into a similar visa for freelance / online workers. They could hold a deposit against taxation for min wage for the duration of the visa issued and make 2nd year contingent on accepted simple accounts.

These things are possible but it requires vision, consistency, clarity, rules that are applied nationally etc etc. Which is why so many see it as impossible. 

Lot of skewed ideas here.

 

First, google facebook and apple have made working from home mandatory not optional. Not just senior staff, all that can, do.

 

3 out of 5 office based workers in the UK are still working from home.

 

Wfh - learn the abbreviation gents it's gone mainstream and yeah I agree those trend sheep scratching cash together working online free lancing were a bad example of digital nomads who thought being broke was part of the nomad dna. Then you got those nomad exploitation specialists doing bootcamps and all kinds of utter <deleted>.

 

The new wave of nomads will not be like the above and some have been around for years already but more will come and the real deal are dropping 60k a month in this country continually every month for years and saving just as much as the cost of living allows for it.

 

ASQ and then NQA no questions asked just show you have $15000 on arrival and <deleted> off, enjoy thailand.

 

Splatter it that's it bon voyage see you later but if you can show that same amount 12 months from now welcone to thailand.

 

Rinse and repeat. 

 

Where have I seen something similar????

 

Be afraid, be very afraid, worlds moved on be thankful you had a taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If this weak and dishonest peanut didn't so wholeheartedly support coup after coup because of his sides inability to win an election perhaps he'd now be able to to actually propose policies for the betterment of the citizenry in a democratic nation instead of one still ruled with an iron fist by those he so meekly allowed to steal power over and over again. You had your moment, you failed, please shuffle off to oblivion with Abhisit - the students have got it from here.

Agreed. Make it easier, not harder to come here. Also offer long term tourist visas. Think outside the box. The economy is dying without foreigners.

 

If people need to quarantine (and they should have to) then make it easy and pleasant to come here. Don't try to track them by GPS, etc. People won't go for that who come from first world countries.

I wonder when they will announce the first incoming flight full of digital nomads on STVs. Tens of thousands of them all over the world are already on the waiting list.

7 minutes ago, brucegoniners said:

Agreed. Make it easier, not harder to come here. Also offer long term tourist visas. Think outside the box. The economy is dying without foreigners.

 

If people need to quarantine (and they should have to) then make it easy and pleasant to come here. Don't try to track them by GPS, etc. People won't go for that who come from first world countries.

I hate to remind you but if you buy a sim card you are trackable.  As a person venturing into the dig nomad world. I would welcome it I can tell you that Thailand already benefits from a large number of nomad's we are called retiree getting pensions from outside the country and spending it here.  Hopefully they would also allow us to set up bank accounts.  That would be the best way to tell the diff between a nomad and a tourist

A hub?.... then when I heard Oxford I had heard enough!!!

oxford the land of Ferrari's and you know who! 

 

1 minute ago, miamiman123 said:

A hub?.... then when I heard Oxford I had heard enough!!!

oxford the land of Ferrari's and you know who! 

 

I don't... went to Cambridge

I welcome this idea, since I work remotely quite often, even pre-CVD19. However, this is Thailand, so I guess such an idea will remain as yet another pipe dream.