LTR Visa is Now available for Long Term Residency

[oldcpu]

2 hours ago, Schorsch0815 said:

Anyhow, for 2024 I didn't transfer any funds into Thailand and only used local credit cards. So there was/is no foreign income transferred into Thailand in 2024.

 

For the future I  planning to only  transfer funds that I owned pre-2024 to support my life in Thailand. As most of my assets are investments in stock markets it's a bit of a nuisance to distinguish between assets owned pre-2024 and assets bought from income that I earned later on, in particular if I buy/sell share. 

 

If someone has guidance on how to prove/document that money transferred into Thailand comes from "old (pre-2024 assets)" versus "new" income, please let me know.

 

 

That is also my approach at present time (I also have an LTR-WP visa), where for year 2024-to-2026 or so, I have no plans to bring more money into Thailand, until it is more clear as to the Thai policy with the LTR visa and the need (or no need) in regards to tax returns. 

 

If not clear by ~2026 or so, then any income I bring in will be from funds saved from before 1-Jan-2024.

 

What I have done is make a print / electronic copy of my financial position (equities/cash) dated 31-Dec-2023 at the close of business day, so that I can prove its credible that any money that I might bring into Thailand (likely bring in after year 2026) is from savings BEFORE 1-Jan-2024.  I will keep those records.

 

My hope is that NONE of this is necessary, and that in the next year or two it shall be more clear that no-income tax return will be needed for LTR-WP visa holders.   I feel fortunate to have the luxury to be able to adopt this approach.

[JimGant]

13 hours ago, oldcpu said:

the deciding criteria (re: tax return needed or not needed for an LTR Wealthy pension visa holder) is the Thai Revenue Department (RD) and not BoI - although obviously it is of interest to hear of the BoI opinion.

A Thai tax return is required only if you have assessable income. To be assessable income, it has to be subject to Thai taxation (subject, but not necessarily taxable, if exceeded by TEDA). If your DTA says certain income, when remitted, is not taxable by Thailand, then ipso facto it is also not assessable income. If a Thai law says pre-2024 savings are not taxable, then they, too, are not assessable. If a Royal Decree says remitted income by LTR holders is not taxable -- it too is therefore not assessable.

 

Thus, if no assessable income, then no requirement to file a Thai tax return. IMO. Lady at BoI knows of what she speaks.

[oldcpu]

3 hours ago, JimGant said:

If a Royal Decree says remitted income by LTR holders is not taxable -- it too is therefore not assessable.

 

Thus, if no assessable income, then no requirement to file a Thai tax return. IMO. Lady at BoI knows of what she speaks.

 Lets hope you are correct.

 

Note thou, the Royal decree does NOT say " remitted income by LTR holders is not taxable"

 

Rather (modifying your words) it states " remitted ASSESSABLE income by LTR holders is not taxable"

 

Note the word "assessable". 

 

The Royal Decree to the best of my undestanding is clear there. 

 

It says remitted foreign ASSESSABLE income is not taxable.  It does NOT say the remitted foreign income is not assessable. 

 

Is that important?  I don't know.  But I am going to be cautious.

 

I would be happy to be proven wrong in my understanding of the translations of the Royal Decree but I suspect I do have the translation right.

 

So it now comes down to, is foreign income remitted to Thailand that the Royal Decree  CLEARLY indicates is assessable income, suddenly magically now not assessable because the Royal Decree says no tax is due.

 

Don't get me wrong.  I want to believe your view correct, ...  i want to believe BoI statement is correct, but I also note what the Royal Decree states and what the Thai RD state. 

 

Hence MY choice to manage my finances for the next few years until any ambiguity on this is removed best can be determined by experiences reported in the next few years..

[Ben Zioner]

45 minutes ago, oldcpu said:

 Lets hope you are correct.

 

Note thou, the Royal decree does NOT say " remitted income by LTR holders is not taxable"

 

Rather (modifying your words) it states " remitted ASSESSABLE income by LTR holders is not taxable"

 

Note the word "assessable". 

 

The Royal Decree to the best of my undestanding is clear there. 

 

It says remitted foreign ASSESSABLE income is not taxable.  It does NOT say the remitted foreign income is not assessable. 

 

Is that important?  I don't know.  But I am going to be cautious.

 

I would be happy to be proven wrong in my understanding of the translations of the Royal Decree but I suspect I do have the translation right.

 

So it now comes down to, is foreign income remitted to Thailand that the Royal Decree  CLEARLY indicates is assessable income, suddenly magically now not assessable because the Royal Decree says no tax is due.

 

Don't get me wrong.  I want to believe your view correct, ...  i want to believe BoI statement is correct, but I also note what the Royal Decree states and what the Thai RD state. 

 

Hence MY choice to manage my finances for the next few years until any ambiguity on this is removed best can be determined by experiences reported in the next few years..

But is it such a big issue to file a tax return if our income is exempt?

 

I have only pensions so it'll be a simple case Expat Tax Thailand (or equivalent). It'll cost me a couple of hundred USD, no big deal. But I won't to do it before 2026 anyway.

[JimGant]

1 hour ago, oldcpu said:

It says remitted foreign ASSESSABLE income is not taxable.  It does NOT say the remitted foreign income is not assessable. 

Yeah, meaning income otherwise taxable (i.e., assessable income), 'cause not exempt by DTA -- is by Royal Decree -- now not taxable. And, ipso facto, income not taxable is also income that is not assessable. Thus, no tax return required. Fun games with word salad. This element of what the Royal Decree really means ain't what gets my concern -- it's when we go to worldwide income taxation -- and then what does the Royal Decree encompass?

[oldcpu]

38 minutes ago, Ben Zioner said:

But is it such a big issue to file a tax return if our income is exempt?

 

 

No.  Its not a big deal.

 

But in my case, if I were to decide to submit a Thai tax return for the 2024 tax year, I would have to either:

 

(1) print out 2024 tax forms on paper, fill them in by hand, and then hand carry to Phuket RD (likely with my pink-ID # filled in place of the Thai TIN, or leave that TIN field blank and see what Phuket RD says).  It likely means some time spent filling in tax forms prior to going to RD office, and then maybe 1/2 day or longer sitting at the Phuket RD office while they sort what to do with my tax return,

 

or

 

(2) first go to Phuket RD office, and again apply for a Thai tax ID number (TIN) where some months back the Phuket RD refused to give me a TIN. Again, possibly 1/2 day or longer sitting in the Thai RD office while they scratch their heads and figure out what to do with me. And then after getting a TIN, going back home and doing the online Thai tax submission.

 

However, given I elected to remit NO foreign income into Thailand for year-2024 tax year, and given my interest from Thai bank/bonds is less than the amount needed to file a Thai tax return ... I don't have to do anything now.

 

But I am most curious to know.  There could be an unexpected reason in next few years when I may have to bring more money into Thailand, so I want to understand the full implications of that, if and when the time comes.

[JohnnyBD]

8 hours ago, Schorsch0815 said:

If someone has guidance on how to prove/document that money transferred into Thailand comes from "old (pre-2024 assets)" versus "new" income, please let me know. 

I can't advise anyone else what to do, but I will share what I did. At the beginning of 2024, when I was on marriage extension, I kept my pre-2024 monies separate by opening new accounts for my 2024 monies, and for my Gov't Social Security. I will keep my 2025 monies in a separate account also. As for my stock investments & retirement accounts, I don't need to remit any of those monies. I will only remit pre-2024 and non-assessable monies going forward. I received my LTR-WP visa in June 2024 and was told that any monies remitted from now on, would be tax exempt. I didn't think to ask if I needed to file a Thai tax return, but I'm not going to get a TIN and will not be filing a Thai tax return. I already file & pay taxes in the US. Good luck...

[Ben Zioner]

3 hours ago, JimGant said:

Yeah, meaning income otherwise taxable (i.e., assessable income), 'cause not exempt by DTA -- is by Royal Decree -- now not taxable. And, ipso facto, income not taxable is also income that is not assessable. Thus, no tax return required. Fun games with word salad. This element of what the Royal Decree really means ain't what gets my concern -- it's when we go to worldwide income taxation -- and then what does the Royal Decree encompass?

Well if I was "them" and if RD 743 remained in effect unchanged I'd say "income remitted to Thailand will be exempt of income tax". 

[Desmond77]

Hi everyone,

 

I have submitted my application for the LTR (Work From Thailand Professional). I am currently based in Thailand on Non-B visa with Work Permit. I am holding 2 jobs - one for a Thai company and another with a UK-based company which allows me to work remotely.

 

I have submitted my application on the 25 Nov. Documents which I have submitted include the following:

1. Passport with all the pages that have the Thai immigration stamps

2. My Non-B visa and work permit

3. Tax returns for the last 2 years - 2023 and 2022 (Both fulfilling the minimum annual salary of USD80,000) 

4. Pay slips and bank statements from Jan to Nov 2024, showing that the required salary from the UK-based company has been paid to my bank account every month.

5. My full Curriculum Vitae for the past 24 years of my career

6. Employment contract issued back in 2021 when I was being promoted to be the Regional Director ( I have been with the company since Jun 2018)

7. A recent Certificate of Employment from the UK-based company stating my current position, my pay package and my term of employment, which is ongoing.

8. Certificate of employment from my previous employer.

9. Authorisation from my UK-based company, stating that I am authorised to work remotely from Thailand and I will not be engaging any form of employment or business entities in Thailand.

10. An organization chart of my UK-based company, showing that the person who signed all my supporting documents are authorised to do so. The signatory is my Regional CEO.

11. Corporate profile of my UK-based company, showing that it is a legit global company.

12. 3 years of audited statement of accounts of my UK-based company, audited by Deloitte, showing that the total revenue generated over the last 3 years (2021, 2022, 2023) are more than the required amount of USD150M.

 

On the 3 Dec, BOI requested for the termination letter from the Thai company to prove that I will be resigning from that company. I have submitted the letter on the same day.

 

On the 9 Dec, BOI has requested for my insurance coverage of minimum THB2M, which I have purchased from AXA and submitted it on the same day. 

 

The current status still shows "Consideration by Government Agencies@ and I have not heard from BOI since the 9 Dec. Should I be worried about my application?

[Pib]

Since you submitted additional docs on 9 Dec and 10 Dec was a govt holiday it's only been around 3 business days.  Probably not enough time for BOI to fully evaluate your application with the upload of the new doc.  Good luck.

[Pib]

As FYI regarding 1 year address reporting at BOI/Chamchuri Square Immigration I did my 2nd report today...hard to believe I'm just a few days short of having my LTR Pensioner visa for 2 years already.

 

Anyway. at the BOI website under the Manager LTR Visa pull down menu they list the forms/docs required to do the reporting.  However, when went today I had prepared the 4 required items (but not the TM61 since I was doing my own reporting) and the only thing they required from me was the TM95 and last year's 1 year address report receipt/notification.   They "immediately" handed me back copies of my passport and TM6 card without review.  Now, if reporting at another office they may require all the items listed below but they sure didn't at BOI/Chamchuri Sq Immigration.   

 

Total time "within" the immigration office was only about 5 minutes...really fast.  Can not do the report online.   BUT my round trip drive time this afternoon from my western Bangkok home to the central Bangkok Chamchuri Sq Immigration Office was around 2.5 hours as traffic was horrendous (kinda typical for central Bangkok with various road construction project underway that snarls traffic).   Happy Holidays.

 

https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/1-year-reporting.html

 

[OneZero]

Did my one-year report at CM Imm drive thru window wo problem in minutes.  All I gave them was TM95 & passport.

[JimGant]

3 hours ago, OneZero said:

Did my one-year report at CM Imm drive thru window wo problem in minutes.  All I gave them was TM95 & passport.

That's good news; will, next year, save me two trips (delivery, pickup) to Thai Visa for agency service, plus a few baht.

 

Was your receipt still using the 90 day report boilerplate? No big deal -- just a curiosity....

[Wagyu]

Question to all successful LTR Visa holders:

 

I just got my LTR-WP visa endorsed. It wasn't that easy but finally success. Seems the rest of the procedure is quite easy. 

 

I'm at the moment outside of Thailand and do not have any visa. I plan to enter next month on a visa free tourist stamp and get my LTR visa in Bangkok. Any problems with that? From what I believe, the tourist stamp will be cancelled and a 5 year LTR permit stamped instead. Correct?

 

As I'm married with a Thai woman, it seems I have to present or upload marriage certificate and a copy of her ID card. Do I need to bring the original certificates or is it sufficient to bring copies?

 

Any other hints for finalising the LTR visa?

 

Thanks for your answers!