A tourist enjoys the view of the Hong islands from the infinity pool of a resort on Koh Yao Yai island in the Andaman Sea on November 23, 2020. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP)

 

The Thai cabinet has approved, in principle, two ministerial announcements aimed at attracting four specific groups of foreigners to stay in Thailand for up to ten years, in the hope that they spend their wealth, invest or make use of their special skills for the development of the Thai economy.

 

According to Deputy Government Spokesperson Dr. Rachada Dhnadirek, the people to be targeted by the Thai government are the wealthy people or pensioners, professionals who want to work from Thailand and highly-skilled professionals.

 

All these people will be granted long-term residence visas, which are good for ten years but must be extended after the fifth year of their stay in the kingdom, with the extension period to last for only another five years.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/cabinet-approves-plans-to-attract-long-stay-foreigners-to-thailand/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-01-18

 

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Can't see many takers for this that haven't already been "attracted" by the existing visa options.

Here we go again, another bright idea from the powers that be.

So 10 years max for pensioners? What then ?

Nice headline but as always lacking detail....

 

There would need to be some juicy nuggets in that visa to get people to buy into it. 5 year visa with a 5 year extension is not that nugget.

Besides, in the land of the flip flop, who would be crazy enough to get a visa that will be cancelled or altered two years in?

If only they would make life easier for ALL long term residents here, it would attract the wealthy and professionals.

 

In order to have anyone want to move here, they need to:

-change property ownership rules to allow land ownership, even small plots

-get rid of useless 90 day reporting

-stop idiotic visa paperwork and evidence of foreign transfers for 800k,

-dual pricing

-health insurance requirements for the uninsurable capable of self insuring

-keep stable government policies to allow investment in business or properties without high degrees of risk

-treat foreigners the same as Thais are treated in foreign countries

 

 

According to the story in thaipsworld, they want 10,000 baht year for a visa fee. No thanks.

 

Paul Laew

25 minutes ago, Chelseafan said:

So 10 years max for pensioners? What then ?

Nice headline but as always lacking detail....

 

They hope you have spent all your money and then quietly die

must be a slow week, looking forward to next year estimates by TAT next week ????

17 minutes ago, Paulaew said:

According to the story in thaipsworld, they want 10,000 baht year for a visa fee. No thanks.

 

Paul Laew

That's actually not a bad price if it includes multiple reentry permit and doesn't require 90 days reporting.

4 minutes ago, gearbox said:

That's actually not a bad price if it includes multiple reentry permit and doesn't require 90 days reporting.

The story didn't have any details on re-entry permits, but the reporting was annually rather than every 90 days. (If they can do that for them, why not for us?)

 

Paul Laew

32 minutes ago, Paulaew said:

According to the story in thaipsworld, they want 10,000 baht year for a visa fee. No thanks.

 

Paul Laew

Times 10 years gets you to a cumulative fee of 100,000 baht for the so-called 10-year visa -- assuming they don't increase the yearly fee again somewhere along the way.

 

And of course, no mention whatsoever of what their future criteria might be for the wealthy or pensioner categories in terms of things like Thai bank deposits or who knows what else.
 

Quote

 

the people to be targeted by the Thai government are the wealthy people or pensioners, professionals who want to work from Thailand and highly-skilled professionals.

...

Those who believe they are in one of these groups can apply for a qualification certificate by providing evidence and relevant documentation to prove their status with the Thai Board of Investment (BOI) or Thai embassies and consuls abroad.

 

 

18 minutes ago, Boyn said:

They hope you have spent all your money and then quietly die

I hope that for myself too... mostly the quietly die part.

35 minutes ago, Paulaew said:

According to the story in thaipsworld, they want 10,000 baht year for a visa fee. No thanks.

 

Paul Laew

less than 28 baht a day.

 

Peanuts.

come spend all your pension and all your money then die around 9 yrs + 360 days ....

that's what this guy wants .

1 hour ago, Chelseafan said:

So 10 years max for pensioners? What then ?

Nice headline but as always lacking detail....

 

Maybe they expect them to kick the bucket and leave all their assets for grabs.. ????

The visa fee is 10,000 baht per year for each applicant. They will be required to report to authorities once a year to confirm their place of residence.

 

Not so bad.

 

The visa type can be changed in accordance with immigration rules.

 

This means de facto no investment security for 10 years

Those who obtain the certificate can apply for long-term residence visas for up to ten years for themselves and their escorts.

 

This would be good for married pensioner couples if they no longer had to freeze 2*800K in the bank for 5 months.

Whatever the outcome is, one thing is for sure: a mountain of paper copies and a multitude of officials digging through the mush, each making their own rules.

2 hours ago, anchadian said:

Here we go again, another bright idea from the powers that be.

Yes, if they could just get some good brains to task on the entire immigration options and rules and keep the frikin rules stable it would be great...so great...and have all offices applying the same simple clear procedures...but it's a pipe dream as it seems morons probably buy their way into positions rather than get promoted due to brain skills.

Just wind them rules back 30 years and then leave the system alone

2 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

So 10 years max for pensioners? What then ?

Nice headline but as always lacking detail....

 

... i.e.: the price for this kind of visa. I guess not cheap.

As usual the devil is in the details; which are sparse in this announcement. 

 

If indeed a pensioner can get a 10 year visa that could positively impact a lot of average people who might be more inclined to retire or at least spend 6 or more months a year in Thailand.  But what is considered an adequate pension income?   In Jan 2022 the average social security in USA is $1657 a month.  There are many many people who could live just fine in Thailand for that amount.  Especially if they were allowed to buy into the Thai public health care system and think more with their big head than the little one.

3 hours ago, cheapcanuck said:

There would need to be some juicy nuggets in that visa to get people to buy into it. 5 year visa with a 5 year extension is not that nugget.

Besides, in the land of the flip flop, who would be crazy enough to get a visa that will be cancelled or altered two years in?

Having paid 10,000 baht for it...

17 minutes ago, pomchop said:

There are many many people who could live just fine in Thailand for that amount. 

But Thailand doesn't want those. They try for the wealthy. A bit like if the average Asean Now member were wooing Kim Kardashian...

5 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

But Thailand doesn't want those. They try for the wealthy. A bit like if the average Asean Now member were wooing Kim Kardashian...

As mick said:  "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you get what you need"

5 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

So 10 years max for pensioners? What then ?

Somebody in their 40s can apply and get the visa and then apply for retirement after 50. Great for nomads and remote workers. I bet lots of people will apply for that, including from CHina and INdia where the average salary of a software developers is reaching $2,000 per month and some of the big multinationals are offering up to 5-7K USD for remote workers in India. I think it's a good option for 10K baht fees a year.

 

I have a SMART visa. 10k per year, annual reporting, automatic re-entry. In comparison with other countries I've worked, this visa setup is mildly irritating. It's not a deal breaker, but it's definitely not a benefit.

People who specifically want to come to Thailand will come anyway. This isn't going to sway anyone who is open to other options.

This press release just spoke of the good stuff, the bad stuff will come later.......Lets not forget the O-X visa and the Smart Visas.....That sounded promising but turned out to be real stinkers....

Old news. Just go to any Thai Embassy website and you’ll see the 10 year “O-X” Visa listed.

I was issued an O-X Retirement Visa in October 2019.