Several incentives approved to attract long-staying foreign investors, wealthy foreigners

[hotchilli]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Today (Tuesday) Thailand’s cabinet approved, in principle, a measure to attract “high potential” foreigners, including wealthy retirees and specialists, to stay long term in the country in a bid to promote foreign investment and to improve the struggling economy.

Help help help we screwed up the country, come bail us out by giving us all your money and get nothing in return.

[smudger1951]

14 hours ago, Almer said:

Im lacking in all there requirements, but i spend my pension here and keep out of trouble, and help the needy in the village if that counts for anything.

And I don't doubt you've provided work for the construction industry and helped children through school like me. None of which counts compared to some fictitious rich foreigner.

[hotchilli]

14 hours ago, Almer said:

Im lacking in all there requirements, but i spend my pension here and keep out of trouble, and help the needy in the village if that counts for anything.

For the village yes, for the government no.

[chilli42]

They really need to open a thesaurus and find a different word than “lure” it’s just too loaded with unintended meanings … even if lure is what they intend to do.

[mokwit]

24 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Help help help we screwed up the country, come bail us out by giving us all your money and get nothing in return.

Basically an official version of "hab ploblem, can give money me?"

[Khun Yogi]

These hair brained, pipe dream schemes are an insult to many of us foreigners who have invested 10's of millions into factories businesses etc over 2 to 3 decades only to to see our investment now worthless while "new money" gets all the benefits. You can now see why many foreigners are closing up shop and leaving.

[The Cipher]

There's a lot of negativity in this thread but I, at least, am potentially interested. Need more details on qualifications for this special remote work visa, and especially on tax treatment.

 

The opportunity to flip employment income tax residence to Thailand at a lower flat rate would definitely be something I'd take a long look at.

[khunjeff]

4 hours ago, nausea said:

In fact, I do wonder just who this new 10 year visa is aimed at, given the onerous qualifying conditions, though I could guess.

Not all of the conditions are onerous, but it's a fair bet that the various committees will figure out a way to make them onerous, just as they did with the failed OX visa. $80k income? Oh, you'll have to prove that by providing a certificate from your embassy. $1M in assets? Oh, you'll have to transfer that to a Thai bank, we don't understand your foreign documents. Or whatever - the only sure thing is that it will not be as straightforward as it sounds in the press releases.

[retsdon]

If I had more money, I wouldn't be here!!

[Whale]

If the pensioners are wondering what qualifies them for the new proposed visa its:

 

a) 50 years or older

b) invest 250,000 USD in bonds or property

c) Minimun annual income 40,000 USD

d) Health insurance 100,000 USD

 

 

 

[HeijoshinCool]

.

Based on my many years in LOS reading daily, or even twice daily announcements like this, I have no choice but to conclude that all Thai leaders are suffering from....

 

Schizophrenia: a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking.

[XJPSX]

This is a reprint from 6 months ago. They had already stipulated their rules. Must spent 15 million thb min on house blah blah….
As usual they are still discussing their plan lol. 

[DULEROY]

The great replacement !!! .... ????????
According to the PIBCIS immigration database there are about 400,000 foreigners in Thailand incus 68,000 pensions including 1800 French pensions the whole would be replaced by more than 1 million high potentials I wonder where they will find them ??? ? ????
  I enclose the Cabinet report and the eligibility conditions
2) Group of retirees from abroad (Rich retiree)
- Minimum investment of 250,000 USD (211,315 EUR) in Thai government bonds or foreign direct investments or real estate investments and have a minimum pension of 40,000 USD per year
- Minimum pension of 80,000 USD / year (67,592 EUR year or 5,632 EUR / month) (if no investment) ????

[worgeordie]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

and 270 billion baht in taxes.

 

That's going to put them off, the very wealthy don't like paying taxes.....

regards Worgeordie

[Nanaplaza666]

And these investors invest in things owned by the hi-so Thai and will after make money from their investments so the only 2 that will make money are the invester and the wealthy Thai so again nothing for the normal people that are being hit the hardest by this pandemic . Those wealthy people will survive this pandemic , try to look for solutions that will help the most needy first(vaccination and opening up the country). And other things that will help the needy that will not be helped by tourisme or these hi-so scams .

[Whale]

10 minutes ago, DULEROY said:

- Minimum pension of 80,000 USD / year (67,592 EUR year or 5,632 EUR / month) (if no investment) ????

If I had 80k pension I would not be navigating my way down a soi with huge potholes, raging dogs, open sewers, rotting food stall smells from the night before, motorbikes avoiding the road. I would be somewhere nice.

[Seeall]

15 hours ago, fangless said:

"To attract these high potential individuals, a new long-term resident visa or smart visa will be issued, under which they will be granted some privileges, such as not being required to notify Thai authorities every 90 days."

 

Does that that mean that the "these high potential  individuals" don't commit crimes so therefore they don't need to report every 90days?

 

You got it, same how VIP are imune from C19 as they are above all that....

[Seeall]

15 hours ago, Lingba said:

give us your money...oh please we want your money...we dont crae about anything else..just give us your money so we can scam you in the end

Its like a baby screaming out for help... pathetic.....

[DULEROY]

8 minutes ago, Whale said:

Si j'avais une pension de 80k, je ne naviguerais pas dans un soi avec d'énormes nids-de-poule, des chiens déchaînés, des égouts à ciel ouvert, des odeurs de nourriture pourrie de la veille, des motos évitant la route. Je serais dans un endroit sympa.

At this level of income people do not come to settle in Thailand only to get hit ..... there are places in the world much more beautiful and more comfortable with lots of sun and very beautiful beaches than Thailand. but you have to have the income accordingly......

[Gecko123]

While there is a statistical correlation between how much wealth a person has and how much they spend, it is entirely possible to have great wealth and spend very little, in fact, many people accumulate significant wealth simply by spending below their means. Thailand, with its low cost of living, is attractive to people interested in spending below their means, so it's by no means certain that people meeting these asset tests will in fact boost consumption as much as the powers that be anticipate. The same principle applies to the 800K bank deposit requirement for retirees. Someone with 800K in the bank or showing monthly income of 'xyz' can easily spend very little here if they chose to.

 

Speaking personally, the thought of having my bank records scrutinized by immigration officers, and worrying about who might have access to those records sends a chill up my spine. A long time ago I set up a separate 800,000 immigration account simply because I worried about the confidentiality of immigration records. This was after an immigration official sitting at a back desk in the immigration office saw what village I lived in and started telling me his girlfriend ran the pharmacy in my village. In other words, if this guy knew how much money I had in my Thai bank account, he could spread this all over town in a heartbeat, obviously not something I wanted everyone in my small village to know. That may sound paranoid to some, but my experience with people keeping government records confidential at the local level has been anything but confidence inspiring.

 

I flat-out would be very reluctant to disclose my net worth to immigration. In my opinion, that information has too much potential for misuse and exploitation, and I don't have confidence that the confidentiality of those records would be closely guarded.

[wwest5829]

15 hours ago, Almer said:

Im lacking in all there requirements, but i spend my pension here and keep out of trouble, and help the needy in the village if that counts for anything.

I'm thinking we are where the potential growth is located. Yes, agreed it is more "mass market" rather than appealing to the far fewer "designer brands" market. The vetted retired working middle class outpriced in their home countries can certainly be attracted to Thailand's physical and cultural climate.

[Seeall]

15 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

They didn’t really think the numbers.. 

 

1 million foreigners.... 1 trillion baht over 5 years. 

 

Thats only 1 million baht per foreigner over 5 years. 

(1,000,000 foreigners x 1,000,000 baht = 1,000,000,000,000 Baht (1 trillion).

 

 

“Hey Noppachai.. look, big numbers, we can pay for our Mia-noi’s now’.... 

“Good Man, Thanakorn, lets make an announcement, we can start a ‘scheme’... later we can announce a hub, then once we have their money, we can announce a crack-down'

1+1 = 11 right?

[wwest5829]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Cabinet approves long-term 10-year visa to attract foreigners

By Erich Parpart

 

 

The cabinet on Tuesday approved measures to attract foreign investors and experts to Thailand for a long-term stay with a 10-year visa.

 

Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, the government’s spokesman, said that the measures should attract more than one million foreign investors and experts within five years, which should increase the amount of money spent in the economy by more than one trillion baht.

 

“This includes 800 billion baht from the expected increase in investment and 270 billion baht from the expected increase in tax collections,” he said.

 

Full story: https://www.thaienquirer.com/32668/cabinet-approves-long-term-10-year-visa-to-attract-foreigners/

 

-- © Copyright Thai Enquirer 2021-09-15

 

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As always, wishing Thailand well but I sure would not take this on as a winning bet.

[Farmerslife]

It's no longer "good guys in, bad guys out" it is now "rich guys in, poor guys out"

 

The new slogan reads

"We are not remotely interested in your character, just your wealth"

[Sir Dude]

I guess it's mainly aimed at Chinese who will be happy to move money out of China for property. Trouble is, no guarantees that things or laws don't do a 180 one morning at short notice and the goal posts shift... probably not in your favour. It would give me the sh!ts having that sort of money "invested" here as a non Thai. No way Jose. Since when has anything not changed for 10 years here? Good luck with that visa.

[Pedrogaz]

The ten year visa as last described in the media was not attractive (a 5 year visa you could renew once). The ball ache with Thailand's visa is not the one year trip to immigration to have it extended, it's the 90 reporting. Does the 10 year visa still require 90 day reporting?

[vandeventer]

6 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

 

Assuming this 20 year plan does not work, do they just say OK let's have a new 20 year plan.

 

These people are complete fools. How about a 20 year plan reviewed every year and amended - not fly headlong into a complete 20 year disaster, only declared so after its finished !

 

 

With the 10 year visa they seem to have 80,000 on the brain but they don't say 80,000 what ,US dollars? Australian dollars? Thai baht? Japanese yen? Who knows. I would be happy with Japanese Yen!

[BestB]

Maybe I missed it but not a single word of the actual plan or benefits.

 

OP does mention of some changes to be made but business ownership still remains 49/51?

[Walker88]

48 minutes ago, Whale said:

If the pensioners are wondering what qualifies them for the new proposed visa its:

 

a) 50 years or older

b) invest 250,000 USD in bonds or property

c) Minimun annual income 40,000 USD

d) Health insurance 100,000 USD

 

 

 

Yes, do all of that and more, then go with your agent to Immigration (let's temporarily ignore the fact one needs an expensive 'agent' just to get a visa), where the IO, without either hesitation or shame, explains to you and agent that 'there's a slight problem with your application', but that '38000 baht in cash can clear it up pretty quickly'.

 

THAT is the reality of these 'schemes'.

 

Seems there is a niche market somewhere on this planet for an honest, non-corrupt country that both wants to attract capital and aid its citizens in finding gainful employment. Sadly, Thailand it ain't.

[Seeall]

22 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

While there is a statistical correlation between how much wealth a person has and how much they spend, it is entirely possible to have great wealth and spend very little, in fact, many people accumulate significant wealth simply by spending below their means. Thailand, with its low cost of living, is attractive to people interested in spending below their means, so it's by no means certain that people meeting these asset tests will in fact boost consumption as much as the powers that be anticipate. The same principle applies to the 800K bank deposit requirement for retirees. Someone with 800K in the bank or showing monthly income of 'xyz' can easily spend very little here if they chose to.

 

Speaking personally, the thought of having my bank records scrutinized by immigration officers, and worrying about who might have access to those records sends a chill up my spine. A long time ago I set up a separate 800,000 immigration account simply because I worried about the confidentiality of immigration records. This was after an immigration official sitting at a back desk in the immigration office saw what village I lived in and started telling me his girlfriend ran the pharmacy in my village. In other words, if this guy knew how much money I had in my Thai bank account, he could spread this all over town in a heartbeat, obviously not something I wanted everyone in my small village to know. That may sound paranoid to some, but my experience with people keeping government records confidential at the local level has been anything but confidence inspiring.

 

I flat-out would be very reluctant to disclose my net worth to immigration. In my opinion, that information has too much potential for misuse and exploitation, and I don't have confidence that the confidentiality of those records would be closely guarded.

I am not wealthy but 800k is not anything to worry about about really...