Government makes bold move to woo wealthy, highly skilled foreigners

[StayinThailand2much]

13 hours ago, Crossy said:

Highly skilled professionals could choose to pay a flat income tax rate at 17 percent, or they could opt to pay the same income tax rate as Thais

0%, then?

[StayinThailand2much]

7 hours ago, mokwit said:

It strikes me as less than competitive. Thailand expecting to deal 100% on its terms as usual. They have been very lucky with that so far - starting with Thailand for a while being the cheapest labour option, cheapest "2week James Bond" option - they misguidedly expect to be able to dictate the terms going forward.

If I had the dosh and the qualifications they require, I'd rather go to Bali, French Polynesia, or the Seychelles.

 

Could have any chicks, throwing around that kind of money, too.

 

What's the appeal of Thailand?

[CartagenaWarlock]

13 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Here is a question? If one is already here and is a pensioner and can buy a new place of at least 250k USD, house or condo and then meets the annual requirements would they be considered for this plan, or because they are already here they would be denied.  Asking because if it is only for new folks then there is an inequality already.  I myself might be interested if I could qualify as I am thinking of buying a house that I would move to and keep my current condo in BKK for my children and friends to stay in when they visit.

I don't think there is any new or old folks. Any body who qualifies can get the visa and all the privileges, even if the person lived in Thailand for life using any type of visas.

[tgw]

13 hours ago, Crossy said:

The bar is set pretty high, should keep out the riff-raff:-

 

The package targets four groups.

1. Wealthy global citizen: It applies to rich expats investing a minimum of US$500,000 in Thai government bonds, as FDI or property. They must have a minimum monthly income or pension not less than $80,000 a year in the last two years. They also must have health insurance covering medical expenses up to $100,000 throughout the visa period.
2. Wealthy pensioners: They are retirees over 50 years old who receive regular pensions from foreign countries. He or she must invest at least $250,000 in Thai government bonds, as FDI or property. A minimum pension of $40,000 a year is mandatory, or $80,000 a year in case they are not making investments. They must have health insurance covering medical expenses of $100,000 throughout the visa period.
3. Work-from-Thailand professionals: They must have had an annual income of $80,000 a year in the past two years, or an annual income of $40,000 for those with a master’s degree, own intellectual property rights and have five years’ experience. They must hold a health insurance policy covering medical expenses of $100,000 for the full visa period.
4. Highly skilled professionals: They are rich in experience and intend to work for targeted industries, government agencies or universities. They must have an annual income of $80,000 a year in the past two years, or annual income of $40,000 for those with a master’s degree, and have five years’ experience in targeted industries, such as new generation of automobiles, robotics, smart electronics, digital, circular economy. They must hold a health insurance policy covering medical expenses for $100,000 for the full visa period.

The Thai government will offer four types of privileges:

• Long-term residency (LTR) visa of 10 years without the need to submit a 90-day report. Their dependents, children and spouses also will get the same long-term visa.
• They will automatically get a work permit once they get a long-term visa.
• They are subject to progressive income tax rates, the same as Thai citizens.
• Revenue from outside Thailand will be exempted from taxation.
• They can own a house and land or have long-term lease rights.
• Highly skilled professionals could choose to pay a flat income tax rate at 17 percent, or they could opt to pay the same income tax rate as Thais.

objectively, this is a good package to finally attract people that will be beneficial to Thailand.

[The Cipher]

28 minutes ago, Albert Zweistein said:

Sponsored by..............................?

Nobody? It actually is possible to not be negative about every single thing related to Thailand, you know.

 

However if you do happen to know where I can receive sponsorship for my posts feel free to direct me that way ????.

[Albert Zweistein]

1 hour ago, The Cipher said:

Nobody? It actually is possible to not be negative about every single thing related to Thailand, you know.

 

However if you do happen to know where I can receive sponsorship for my posts feel free to direct me that way ????.

TAT.

[meechai]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

They argue that Thais could become tenants in their own country if foreigners are allowed to own houses and land.

Ok while I am not one who thinks Foreigners should own land in Thailand this quote is silly isn't it?

I mean do all Thai's own their homes & land now? Or are some tenants in their own country<sic>

 

Quote

They must have $80,000 a year in case they are not making investments.

This one is funny because it comes out to $6.666.666 coincidence? ????

 

Quote

They must have health insurance covering medical expenses of $100,000 throughout the visa period.

This one should be the final get aboard whistle for anyone who still does not have health insurance in Thailand

& thinks it will not be required for all visa extensions soon enough...It surely will ????

[mokwit]

8 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

It's like they expect to just suck the skills out of you without really giving you much in return.

Exactly it. Look at the terms of the tech entrepreneur visa they floated a while back - transfer all your knowledge to us and then leave.

[StayinThailand2much]

4 minutes ago, mokwit said:

Exactly it. Look at the terms of the tech entrepreneur visa they floated a while back - transfer all your knowledge to us and then leave.

Well, they learnt from their big brother China.

 

 

[Kinnock]

The Chinese will be happy to jump through any hoops if it means they can extract their grey market cash from China

[tjo o tjim]

20 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

The first question is

Why would wealthy foreigners choose Thailand.  

Not to offend anybody, but this isn’t exactly a very high bar for “wealthy.”  If you have a net worth of around $2 million (including a house in your home country) you could make it work pretty easily.  At half that or less you are taking some risks, but it still isn’t out of reach.

 

While I wouldn’t choose Thailand right now, I wouldn’t have had a problem with it two years ago.  Maybe when things are a little more “normal” I would contemplate it again.  The big things that make Thailand a hard sell are when the quality of life equation gets inverted— feeling like you are a walking ATM, being hassled, no smiles, things being dirty when you expect them to be spotless (last one isn’t intended to describe the streets or klongs of Bangkok).

 

If you have an income stream of $80k/year, your money is going to go a hell of a lot farther than it might in the US, UK, Europe.  If you are making $120k you can live quite well.

….now, if you start talking about the “super rich” that have ~10-100x the assets, the equation might not tilt in Thailand’s favor as a full-time residence.  But, those people have multiple homes, and the novelty of having one in Thailand might make it worthwhile.

[pedro01]

10 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

If I had the dosh and the qualifications they require, I'd rather go to Bali, French Polynesia, or the Seychelles.

 

Could have any chicks, throwing around that kind of money, too.

 

What's the appeal of Thailand?

Bald is full of drunk Australians. Seychelles us great for a holiday but boring otherwise - manybentrepreneurs aren't the type you sit on the beach all day, many have forms of ADHD that require near constant stimulus. Hence big cities like Tokyo, Paris and the dysfunctional Bangkok.

 

 

My route here was UK-US-Netherlands- Denmark-Japan-Thailand. Nomaddery stopped here. It gets dull moving your life after a while.

 

The appeal here is simply that some like it. There is no archetypal rich person that must like certain things. Plenty of rich people do not appear outwardly wealthy. I know many wealthy people here, many of them look like they don't have a pot to pee in.

 

You are trying to pigeonhole them. 

 

As for taxes, good luck with getting people to declare their entire income here.

[pedro01]

8 hours ago, itsari said:

Thailand needs skills not rich people . Bag of money is not creating a future for the youth and future  of  Thailand .

Rich and Skilled are not mutually exclusive. I am coaching my son through his first online business - a service he is providing at 19 doing something he loves. That is a skill. 

 

Thailand needs other skills of course - but the ability to make money from nothing at all is a skill and very much in line with the sort of online entrepreneurs they want to attract. 

 

So I think you'll get both. Many Entrepreneurs can't sit still for long - and will probably NOT start businesses here focused on other expats - because it is the smallest market in Thailand. They will focus on locals or those overseas. It's just the more inexperienced that open bars in bar-filled areas, expecting to make a profit.

[nycjoe]

They should limit the amount of land and only let individuals own to build a house. Otherwise there will be a land grab. After 2009 Wall Street bought a lot of real estate and controlled the market

[digger70]

18 hours ago, tonray said:

You're going to be filtering for 'well-off' riff raff unfortunately. Most well off respectable retirees/expats would likely settle somewhere else given resources to do so....unless...unless...they have questionable methods and means of acquiring that wealth/income. In the USA you're going to get lots of interest if and when you plunk large sums in a bank ...here not so much. For example, even renting a condo/apartment in the US requires a credit and security check as standard practice...here...just sign a lease and transfer a depost and you're in. Lots of folks from China and other areas of the world with the means to pay but can't risk using that loot in many places.

Money means Everything here ,they don't know /check were it comes from .

[garyk]

 

Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck are sure to apply... haha

Edited September 25, 2021 by garyk