BOI proposes new smart visa rules to lure foreign talent, digital nomads

[Arkady]

It is all very confusing. They say these visas have been issued since 2018 and there is no need to have a work permit. Is that true?

 

It is hard to imagine digital nomads wanting to apply for this, if they are already doing fine without it.  The hook seems to be that they could work for Thai firms which is not an interesting idea for most as they are very difficult to deal with and pay very little.

[yellowboat]

2 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

What a load of nonsense, there are loads of foreign people earning very good money and having a great life over here for a very long time already. You are the not so smart one as you haven't got a clue about business life here.

Pretty heavy on the insult and light on examples.   How is he wrong?   Give us some examples of foreigners doing great.

 

HSBC wrote report a year or two ago on how working expats were leaving Thailand.  

 

My experience with Thailand is that you can get most things done, cost effectively, if you have enough time, and that actually living in most other countries in Asia was far more convenient.     

 

The government has FINALLY woken up to the fact that the digital nomads are actually needed.   Something Taiwan figured out back in the 1990's.   You yourself showed scorn towards these nomads.   Afraid if competition now that the minimum salary is B50K? 

 

[Neeranam]

27 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

In fact apart from the shortest of tourist purposes its actually easier to long term visit / stay and most importantly naturalize in western counties than it is here. To pretend otherwise is simply incorrect. 

Nonsense. 

 

There are so many retirees here that have little to do to get a yearly extension, just put cash in the bank or pay an agent £400 a year. Try retiring to the UK!!I was told invest 16,000,000 baht for retiring in the US. 

 

3 months here as a tourist, easy. UK not. 

 

PR here pretty straightforward, if earning an average wage, £2000 a month or less if an English teacher. 

 

Naturalization here if married to a thai, cost me £125. I heard it was thousands of pounds in the UK. 

 

 

 

[2530Ubon]

16 minutes ago, Arkady said:

It is all very confusing. They say these visas have been issued since 2018 and there is no need to have a work permit. Is that true?

 

It is hard to imagine digital nomads wanting to apply for this, if they are already doing fine without it.  The hook seems to be that they could work for Thai firms which is not an interesting idea for most as they are very difficult to deal with and pay very little.

Yes.

 

There are several hooks;

 

No more tourist visa runs - this visa is good for up to 4 years. When your 4 year visa is finished, you can extend it for another 4 years.

No more dealing with immigration - EVER-  your visa is dealt with at the one stop service center in BKK.

No more 90 day reports - report your address once a year to the one stop service center in BKK.

No more re-entry permits. You can come and go as you please.

No work permit required.

Upon entry to Thailand, you don't have to wait in the long 'foreigner' queue - you can use the express & Thai national lanes.

Spouse & dependents can accompany you with this visa type. They must apply for a smart 'o' visa.

Permanent residency application is made much easier as you already have a visa for the required length of time (3+ years)

 

Most freelancers have contracts with entities they provide services for... at least I do anyway. I am extremely happy to have this visa type available.

So many benefits, and with COVID presumably putting an end to back to back visa stops then this couldn't have come at a better time. Tourist visas and exemptions were such a headache anyway - always wondering if today would be the day the IO turns you away. This is just a measure to legalise all of us working online and giving us a few perks along the way. Anything that makes my life easier and stops me having to go to immigratioin all the time is great in my opinion.

Edited December 16, 2020 by 2530Ubon

[Neeranam]

33 minutes ago, TProphet said:

What would totally work for remote workers: A no-hassle visa that is easily renewable via a simple, streamlined process for up to 6 months. Reasonable requirements would include health insurance for the stay, a ticket out of the country at the end of your stay, and proof of funds sufficient for the initial length of stay requested. If you can show proof of 6 months' funds, then you can get a 6 month visa. If you only have 1 month's worth of funds, then your visa is good for a month (but you can renew it by showing you have enough for the next month and so forth).

Do you think this should be reciprocal for Thai nomads in your country? 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Neeranam

[Freigeist365]

Let me guess, the good ol' LFBCDD scam?

Lure
Fleece
Bash
Criminalise
Detain
Deport

As they seem to focus on people with brains - I see this attempt, on rounding up another group of victims to feed the local biz owners' local politicians' greed, utilising a long term plan to keep their intense hatred against anyone non-Thai (except Korean asexual appearing superstars of course) and their overinflated pride under a lid for just that long, to remain a pipe dream.

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Freigeist365

[Neeranam]

2 minutes ago, Freigeist365 said:

Let me guess, the good ol' LFBCDD scam?

Lure
Fleece
Bash
Criminalise
Detain
Deport

As they seem to focus on people with brains - I see this attempt, on rounding up another group of victims to feed the Thai greed, utilising a long term plan to keep their intense hatred against anyone non-Thai (except Korean asexual appearing superstars of course) and their overinflated pride under a lid for just that long, to remain a pipe dream

Oh dear, I hope you don't have any Thai relatives with this view of them. 

[Freigeist365]

10 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Oh dear, I hope you don't have any Thai relatives with this view of them. 

Made a mistake there, not being specific enough. I meant the locals at the hekm calling the shots. I know that the average person on the street here has a very different outlook on things and also foreigners. I corrected the text accordingly. Thanks for pointing this out. 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Freigeist365

[brianthainess]

3 hours ago, jackdd said:

Somebody should explain to the BOI what a freelancer is.

But then they probably wouldn't understand anyway, guess you'd have to write your own contract. As said its the tax they are after. 

[Freigeist365]

1 hour ago, SymS said:

Many freelancers have setup their own one-person company. So all they have to do is to show a contract signed with their own company. Brilliant!

I doubt that most of the BOI guys wouldn't even be able to explain what BOI stands for ????

[khunpa]

1 hour ago, SymS said:

I'm confused by those numbers. The minimum salary for foreigners with a "normal" work permit is 50,000 Baht, and AFAIK, the minimum salary for the Smart Visa scheme was/is 200,000 Baht. So where does the 100,000 Baht number come from?

Smart Visa Scheme Salary = THB 200.000

”Normal” Work Permit Salary = THB 50.000

”New” Idea Salary = THB 50.000

 

200.000 - 50.000 - 50.000 = 100.000

 

There you go... Solved it for you ????

 

[shortstop]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

change every one of their antiquated foreign travel encouraging (visa runs for limited stay visas) immigration regulations.

 

 

Agreed.  If Thailand wants foreigners then give them a visa and charge an appropriate amount for the visa.  If Thailand doesn't want foreigners then eliminate loopholes such as visa runs.

 

A system that encourages the waste of time and money on a visa run is idiotic.

 

I have it pretty good with my annual extension of stay just 1900 baht and perhaps an extra 1000 for a re-entry stamp. 

 

My complaint is having to renew my extension of stay close to the renewal date.   

 

Somebody else in this thread mentioned proof of outbound travel.  My pet peeve when travelling to he Philippines is this requirement as I prefer to not have to lock in my departure date.  

[2530Ubon]

14 minutes ago, khunpa said:

Smart Visa Scheme Salary = THB 200.000

”Normal” Work Permit Salary = THB 50.000

”New” Idea Salary = THB 50.000

 

200.000 - 50.000 - 50.000 = 100.000

 

There you go... Solved it for you ????

 

Actually the smart visa scheme is 100K (Baht) for the 'S' tpe visa - reduced to 50k for retired experts and 50k for freelancers.

 

200K salary is for the 'E' type visa- executives

Edited December 16, 2020 by 2530Ubon

[ezzra]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

new smart visa rules designed to attract more overseas talent to work in Thailand.

I'm a talent, i can sing and dance and do tricks, will they give me a visa?...

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

47 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

No work permit required.

IF no work permit is required - will the smart visa holder be allowed to work?

very confusing all this.

how can you sign a contract with a company if you do not have a work permit?

and will the money you earn without the work permit will be taxed as work or investment or...what?

 

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

51 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

3 months here as a tourist, easy. UK not.

UK gives 6 months visa on arrival for anyone from the developed world.

and you can get retirement visa in the UK if you show enough income to support yourself.

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

Give us some examples of foreigners doing great.

doing great and GOOD MONEY are relative terms...once a french friend of mine

told me he is going to japan every summer and doing there very good money and good life.

when i asked how good is the money, he told me 2000 euro a month. apparently it was

better than the 1500 euro he earned in france....

[jackdd]

2 hours ago, SymS said:

Many freelancers have setup their own one-person company. So all they have to do is to show a contract signed with their own company. Brilliant!

I wonder if it works the same way for work qualifications?

Dear BOI,

Mr. jackdd is employed at my business for life.
He has many years of experience in doing x, y and also z.

Best regards,
Mr. jackdd

 

[Mike k]

3 hours ago, Watch Dog said:

Currently, Thailand offers four types of smart visa – the SmartT for talent, Smart E for executives, Smart I for investors, SmartS for start-ups and SmartO for family members.

 

Four Types of smart Visas.?.I count Five. So how smart is the BOI

How do you get a smartO visa 

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

54 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

Most freelancers have contracts with entities they provide services for... at least I do anyway

can you give examples for the contracts or type of work that is available for those types

of visas?

for example, the SMART INVESTOR visa - what kind of amounts and investments are we talking about ?

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

Pretty heavy on the insult and light on examples.   How is he wrong?   Give us some examples of foreigners doing great.

 

 You yourself showed scorn towards these nomads.   Afraid if competition now that the minimum salary is B50K? 

 

I know dozens in high management positions (like myself).

I don't like the freelancers who don't have a proper visa and don't pay tax, anyone who does is welcome.

A digital nomad is no competition for me at all.

Edited December 16, 2020 by FritsSikkink

[2530Ubon]

7 minutes ago, Mike k said:

How do you get a smartO visa 

You must be the spouse or child of a smart T/I/E or S holder.

https://smart-visa.boi.go.th/smart/index.html

 

The new visa type is not on the website yet as it's waiting for final approval

 

[2530Ubon]

7 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

I know dozens in high management positions (like myself).

A digital nomad is no competition for me at all.

You wouldn't be entitled to a freelancer visa, but you could apply for the executive class of visas. You would need a minimum salary of 200k, 10 years experience, a degree from a university and your job must be in one of the targeted industries

Edited December 16, 2020 by 2530Ubon

[Mister MXYZPTLK]

The issue with the smart visa program as well as all other tourist/employment related issues are the same.  You have a military government that has NO concept or idea of how to solve these issues since they have NEVER been a tourist nor an employee working in another country.  So don’t expect anything they are presenting to work!

 

A simple solution to this problem is to drop their ego’s at the front door and invite Falongs into their meetings and ask them what would want to make Foreigners visit, invest, and work in Thailand.  Diplomats aren’t the right people since they are not bound by the rules of tourist visa or work permits and are not investors.

 

If anyone from the government is listening, I’m here to help.  All you have to do is ask.

[FritsSikkink]

1 minute ago, 2530Ubon said:

You wouln't be entitled to a freelancer visa, but you could apply for the executive class of visas. You would need a minimum salary of 200k

I don't need a freelancer visa, I work for a BOI company and the salary isn't a problem.

[2530Ubon]

13 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

can you give examples for the contracts or type of work that is available for those types

of visas?

for example, the SMART INVESTOR visa - what kind of amounts and investments are we talking about ?

Direct investment in a start up - more than 5 million (must be in a targeted industry)

 

Direct investment OR venture capital - more than 20 milion (must be in a targeted industry)

 

 

[yellowboat]

3 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

I know dozens in high management positions (like myself).

I don't like the freelancers who don't have a proper visa and don't pay tax, anyone who does is welcome.

A digital nomad is no competition for me at all.

Which Thai or foreign companies in Thailand are hiring farangs for high management positions (like like self)?
 

[Asernume]

514 visas in 2 years, wow. Perfect product fit. We will see if the current modifications can improve things but that still doesn't sound like a future success.

 

This lunacy of focusing on high income tourists/expats has failed for years, it's maybe time they acknowledge this is just not going to happen.

[2530Ubon]

3 minutes ago, Mister MXYZPTLK said:

The issue with the smart visa program as well as all other tourist/employment related issues are the same.  You have a military government that has NO concept or idea of how to solve these issues since they have NEVER been a tourist nor an employee working in another country.  So don’t expect anything they are presenting to work!

 

A simple solution to this problem is to drop their ego’s at the front door and invite Falongs into their meetings and ask them what would want to make Foreigners visit, invest, and work in Thailand.  Diplomats aren’t the right people since they are not bound by the rules of tourist visa or work permits and are not investors.

 

If anyone from the government is listening, I’m here to help.  All you have to do is ask.

That's exactly what they did...

 

It's actually very well thought out. Here is a full paper with notes and criteria for applying

http://www.jfcct.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/1871/2020/10/Smart-Visa-Freelancers-v-3.5-21-October-2020.pdf?nocdn

[2530Ubon]

7 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

I don't need a freelancer visa, I work for a BOI company and the salary isn't a problem.

I'd recommend applying - who wouldn't want a four year visa without ever going to the IO again. No more 90 day reports or re-entry permits for you!

https://smart-visa.boi.go.th/smart/pages/smart_e.html

If your company is already endorsed by the BoI then it should be much easier to apply. You must work for a tech company.