Thailand set to approve Special Tourist Visa for digital nomads

[Jonathan Fairfield]

 

Thailand is preparing to accommodate an increasing number of “digital nomads” with eyes on Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai as work and vacation destinations.

 

Spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the three cities were ranked by Germany-based vacation search engine company Holidu on its list of the best ‘workation’ cities in 2021. One of the groups included in the survey comprised workers who travel to different locations, using mobile devices to perform their jobs remotely at coffee shops or public libraries.

 

A recent survey by the Adventure Travel Trade Association found Thailand to be among the most popular destinations for these digital nomads. Respondents cited blazing internet speeds, affordable living costs, and scenic tourist attractions are some of the factors that attracted them to the Kingdom, especially with so many others now working remotely due to the global pandemic.

 

The spokesperson said the government is working to accommodate the increasing numbers of digital nomads by approving a Special Tourist Visa (STV) that allows foreigners to stay for 90 days.

 

The visa can be extended twice, meaning tourists can stay up to 270 days at a time. The government hopes that STVs will help revitalize the tourism industry under effective COVID-19 control and prevention measures.

 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has commended relevant agencies and the Thai people for making Thailand one of the best destinations for travelers. He also assured that the government would be ready to listen to all constructive feedback in order to draft policies that benefit everyone.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2021-12-12

 

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[MadMac]

No doubt this comes automatically with the required work permit attached and easily extendible to 270 days.

[khunpa]

Now wait for the conditions…

[tingtongfarang]

7 minutes ago, khunpa said:

Now wait for the conditions…

Which will make this visa totally uninteresting

[BangkokReady]

11 minutes ago, khunpa said:

Now wait for the conditions…

Exactly.  My first thoughts: "This sounds way to easy and there are no racist comments.  What's the catch?"

[StayinThailand2much]

27 minutes ago, khunpa said:

Now wait for the conditions…

Buy 1 billion baht in government bonds, paying 0.001% a year interest, 1 million dollars in health insurance (covering black death, smallpox, ebola, elephantiasis, and leprosy), with payouts at the discretion of the insuring company (owned by uncle of Immigration chief's wife), and a work permit based on yearly income of a billion baht and IRS records for the past 50 years.

[cnx101]

32 minutes ago, khunpa said:

Now wait for the conditions…

And the costs 

[ezzra]

And in other publications it goes to say that Thailand is not in big favor of the riff-raff, shoe string budget tourists and now looking for the well to do kind who can come in and invest $250,000 to $500,000 on bonds and business.. yeah right...

[smedly]

we have enough broke youtubers/bloggers sticking cameras where they are not wanted 

[mockingbird]

A special tourist visa that gives a 90 day stay and can be extended twice to give 270 days.

 

....so he's basically touting a visa that already exists.

[BestB]

Putting aside prosecution of digital nomads for years before, one thing i do not really understand.

So government is aware digital nomads working but approving tourist visa?

 

Would it not be wiser to offer digital nomad working visa and perhaps collect some taxes?

[mockingbird]

2 minutes ago, BestB said:

Putting aside prosecution of digital nomads for years before, one thing i do not really understand.

So government is aware digital nomads working but approving tourist visa?

 

Would it not be wiser to offer digital nomad working visa and perhaps collect some taxes?

The devil will be in the detail.

 

You can be sure that what they propose will be designed to extract as much cash as possible. 

 

It's certainly won't be for their love of so called digital nomads.

[BestB]

1 minute ago, mockingbird said:

The devil will be in the detail.

 

You can be sure that what they propose will be designed to extract as much cash as possible. 

 

It's certainly won't be for their love of so called digital nomads.

I am assuming to be eligible for this visa, one would have to prove he/she really is a digital nomad, otherwise everyone will be getting one. Only conditions i can see would be able to show funds in the bank and some kind of proof of being a DN

[Callmeishmael]

27 minutes ago, BestB said:

I am assuming to be eligible for this visa, one would have to prove he/she really is a digital nomad, otherwise everyone will be getting one. Only conditions i can see would be able to show funds in the bank and some kind of proof of being a DN

You forgot the Graduate Degree, the proof in x-amount of income, and whatever other nonsense that they can dream up to make this unusable for any real digital nomad.

[SymS]

The government is about to launch a Special Tourist Visa to let people work in Thailand for up to 270 days... I'm not sure how this would work, or is the government  just confirming it's perfectly legal to work on your laptop without work permit, as long as you're paid from overseas.

I can also remember last time they mentioned the STV, the "digital nomad" had to be employed by a company with several million dollars in sales, so not exactly your typical freelancer.

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Thailand is preparing to accommodate an increasing number of “digital nomads” with eyes on Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai as work and vacation destinations.

I don't think they understand the term "nomads"....

[scorecard]

Just now, MadMac said:

No doubt this comes automatically with the required work permit attached and easily extendible to 270 days.

And what personal tax % is applicable, and how will it be monitored/collected?

 

If there's no tax, wait for the outcry from other foreigners employed here and paying tax. 

[tingtongfarang]

5 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

I don't think they understand the term "nomads"....

a member of a people who have no fixed residence but move from place to place

Obviously any visa they design will not be intended for nomads

[malibukid]

55 minutes ago, ezzra said:

And in other publications it goes to say that Thailand is not in big favor of the riff-raff, shoe string budget tourists and now looking for the well to do kind who can come in and invest $250,000 to $500,000 on bonds and business.. yeah right...

the Thai government should look after its people and crumbling infrastructure and not pass it on to us.

[Greenwich Boy]

I fail to see the relevancy here. I have been here on a STV since May and am no digital nomad. Anyone who satisfies the requirements can get one. Do they really think any self respecting nomad is suddenly going to declare income he receives because he has a STV? I may be missing the point but unless it is a new type of visa this is not a story at all.

[rtco]

What they should be doing is making it possible for individuals to work and set up officially as independent consultants rather having to go through that stupid company set up process of employing 4 x (ghost) employees, paying their SS etc etc.

[robsamui]

Old Chinese proverb - "When the boat is on fire, worms of despair crawl out from the wood".

Judging from the record number of evasions, contradictions, inconsistencies and just plain idiotic statements that have been uttered by Thai government representatives this year, the boat of Thailand must be already well-ablaze.

 

[mokwit]

5 minutes ago, rtco said:

What they should be doing is making it possible for individuals to work and set up officially as independent consultants

that was possible in the '90's but they closed it off - you had to be paid from abroad which just meant the company routed it overseas and back. To this day I suspect this was something Lawyers said could be done but Immigration/Labour Dept might not have shared that interpretation.

 

 

[Caldera]

I've always thought that it's a real shame that they don't do more to attract more digital nomads. They clearly like Thailand and are eager to spend some time here, why not cash in on that right now instead of chasing pipe dreams that never seem to materialize!

 

The STV sounds like a more sensible idea than their previous proposals. Hopefully they'll make it clear to their own officialdom that working in Thailand as a digital nomad is legal - there seems to be quite some confusion!

[wensiensheng]

Sounds like a tourist visa in a fancy wrapping to me. So all hype and no substance.

[mtls2005]

First up, form a committee to define "Digital Nomad".

 

"Alien must have between one and eleven fingers"

 

Why not just allow them to obtain an STV?

 

 

[Old Croc]

Will they be required to park large sums in a bank and buy useless health insurance?

Can an O-A transfer to one if they buy a gopro?

[mockingbird]

1 hour ago, BestB said:

I am assuming to be eligible for this visa, one would have to prove he/she really is a digital nomad, otherwise everyone will be getting one. Only conditions i can see would be able to show funds in the bank and some kind of proof of being a DN

Yes for sure proof will be needed.

 

I would say supporting documentation from the company you are employed by/contracted to, at a minimum.

 

As anybody can register a company, these companies would obviously have to pass a certain criteria determined by Thai immigration, and proof would be needed of this too .

 

And of course you are now registered in the Thai system officially as working from Thailand, so there's all the tax implications that go with that.

 

Thailand operates a duel taxation agreement with most western countries, so there's now the chance that the taxation department in your home country will know that you're effectively living in thailand.

[The Hammer2021]

1 hour ago, BangkokReady said:

Exactly.  My first thoughts: "This sounds way to easy and there are no racist comments.  What's the catch?"

Racist comments? Please give an example

[The Hammer2021]

24 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I've always thought that it's a real shame that they don't do more to attract more digital nomads. They clearly like Thailand and are eager to spend some time here, why not cash in on that right now instead of chasing pipe dreams that never seem to materialize!

 

The STV sounds like a more sensible idea than their previous proposals. Hopefully they'll make it clear to their own officialdom that working in Thailand as a digital nomad is legal - there seems to be quite some confusion!

They spend time but not money. Sex tourists and clubbers are the big spenders