51 minutes ago, JohnnyBD said:

Because BOI wanted a simple one-page document which shows a specific amount of coverage over $50k (see the doc below). Aetna only provides a 12-page Summary of Benefits and 93-page Plan Description. BOI approved my change to the $100k in bank, then when I go for my 5-year renewal, I will submit my Aetna plan docs again to see if they accept them. My heart won't be broken if they don't accept my Aetna medical plan...

Just kindly ask the person in charge of your account at Aetna to make this one page doc according to BOI requirements. It's a 10 minutes job.

If they don't want to help just make one. You are covered anyway.

4 hours ago, JohnnyBD said:

Because BOI wanted a simple one-page document which shows a specific amount of coverage over $50k (see the doc below). Aetna only provides a 12-page Summary of Benefits and 93-page Plan Description. BOI approved my change to the $100k in bank, then when I go for my 5-year renewal, I will submit my Aetna plan docs again to see if they accept them. My heart won't be broken if they don't accept my Aetna medical plan...

Like I said , i sent the BCBS folks my needs in order to obtain the 10-year visa and they immediately sent a signed letter stating 50K plus USD hospitalization and no end to policy and immediately got approved for the visa. The 1 year visit that i did since I was in BKK, took a total of 5 minutes at the immigration office. a perfect visa for some!

12 hours ago, JohnnyBD said:

Because BOI wanted a simple one-page document which shows a specific amount of coverage over $50k (see the doc below). Aetna only provides a 12-page Summary of Benefits and 93-page Plan Description. BOI approved my change to the $100k in bank, then when I go for my 5-year renewal, I will submit my Aetna plan docs again to see if they accept them. My heart won't be broken if they don't accept my Aetna medical plan...

That strikes me as being different from what I might try . Does not the currency need be in US$? How about something like :

" The insurance certificate is issued to XXXX-name-XXXX, Nationality, Date-of-birth: DD,MM,YYYY, insurance policy number XXXXXXX which covers medical expenses from illness (including COVID-19), injury and accident under this policy.

This medical plan covers XXXX-name-XXXX for their entire stay in Thailand with coverage of hospitalization treatment of no less than 50,000 USD and the remaining period of xx-month/years."

Perhaps check with BoI if such wording ok with them, confirm the time-frames, and if so, then see if your insurance company will support such.

Edited May 20May 20 by oldcpu

1 hour ago, oldcpu said:

That strikes me as being different from what I might try . Does not the currency need be in US$? How about something like :

Perhaps check with BoI if such wording ok with them, confirm the time-frames, and if so, then see if your insurance company will support such.

I posted a partial pic of the actual Thai AXA certificate of insurance (blanked out) that I submitted to BOI to get my LTR visa. I was just showing someone what it looked like. I wasn't trying to create a new letter. My Thai insurance docs are in THB, not USD. I recently asked BOI if I could switch to my company retiree insurance plan, but the only docs I could get from my company were the 18 & 93 page plan docs. Those were not acceptable to BOI. I then asked if I could switch to the $100k in bank, and they yes. So, I will use the $100k in bank going forward.

I may try again to use my retiree insurance at the 5-year renewal in 2029. The person I replied to said he only submitted his plan docs, and they approved his visa.

Edited May 20May 20 by JohnnyBD

Boi told me starting this year, they can accept money market fund in your brokerage account for 100k insurance besides the cash in your savings bank account . This is good news

2 hours ago, Alotoftravel said:

Boi told me starting this year, they can accept money market fund in your brokerage account for 100k insurance besides the cash in your savings bank account . This is good news

If that turns out to actually be true they are basically reverting to what they allowed for the first 6 months or so the LTR program....back in the Sep 2022 to early 2023 timeframe. After that early 2023 timeframe they switched to "not" allowing brokerage type accts to meet the 100K self insure requirement. I will definitely be good if they do indeed revert to what they allowed in the early days.

3 hours ago, Alotoftravel said:

Boi told me starting this year, they can accept money market fund in your brokerage account for 100k insurance besides the cash in your savings bank account . This is good news

That's good. The more options the better. My Fidelity MM fund is paying 3.23%, and my Capital One high-yield savings is paying 3.10%, so it's not much of a difference. I wish BOI would allow CDs to count. Short-term CDs are paying about 3.9% right now.

Edited May 21May 21 by JohnnyBD

23 hours ago, Alotoftravel said:

Boi told me starting this year, they can accept money market fund in your brokerage account for 100k insurance besides the cash in your savings bank account . This is good news

Great news.  Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund currently pays 3.61% (7 day SEC yield), at least for U.S. citizens.

I know I should ask BOI direct but I'd welcome any thoughts before I do...

In a nutshell I earned approx $60K in passive income last year (have no investments in Thailand so do not meet the Wealthy Pensioner criteria) but this year my pensions kicked in so will take me over the $80K limit & will meet the criteria next year.

My question is, I took 1 of my pensions as a lump sum (Approx $50K) & took a Tax Free PCLS (Pension Commencement lump Sum) of approx $250K so technically I've "Earned" $300K from pensions alone this year (PCLS aside as that won't go on my UK Tax Return with the 1st pension lump sum I will be reporting an income of >$100K on my Tax Return next month)...

Thoughts on me being able to qualify for an LTR WP visa based on 2026 income already "Earned"?

Edited May 24May 24 by SamSpade

22 minutes ago, SamSpade said:

I know I should ask BOI direct but I'd welcome any thoughts before I do...

In a nutshell I earned approx $60K in passive income last year (have no investments in Thailand so do not meet the Wealthy Pensioner criteria) but this year my pensions kicked in so will take me over the $80K limit & will meet the criteria next year.

My question is, I took 1 of my pensions as a lump sum (Approx $50K) & took a Tax Free PCLS (Pension Commencement lump Sum) of approx $250K so technically I've "Earned" $300K from pensions alone this year (PCLS aside as that won't go on my UK Tax Return with the 1st pension lump sum I will be reporting an income of >$100K on my Tax Return next month)...

Thoughts on me being able to qualify for an LTR WP visa based on 2026 income already "Earned"?

They will want to see your most recent tax return showing $80,000 in passive income. Pensions and certain types of investments qualify.

3 minutes ago, Martyp said:

They will want to see your most recent tax return showing $80,000 in passive income. Pensions and certain types of investments qualify.

Thanks, the Pension lump sum will show on there (HMRC owes me at least $8K in overpaid tax as they put me on an emergency tax code) but the PCLS (Tax free) won't - Should still take me over the $80K in reported passive income for the 2025/2026 tax return so will give it a go.

Another question, If I apply & fail will I lose the 50K application fee?

12 minutes ago, SamSpade said:

Another question, If I apply & fail will I lose the 50K application fee?

I paid my 50k fee when I went to get my LTR visa (stamps), after it was approved.

Edited May 24May 24 by JohnnyBD

39 minutes ago, Martyp said:

They will want to see your most recent tax return showing $80,000 in passive income. Pensions and certain types of investments qualify.

Also made > $90K in Capital Gains in Jan this year, but my problem is I cannot show > $80K in income for previous years, even though I had Capital Gains of approx $95K in 2025 as (because I'm Non-UK resident for Tax) these don't show on my UK Tax return.

3 hours ago, SamSpade said:

Thanks, the Pension lump sum will show on there (HMRC owes me at least $8K in overpaid tax as they put me on an emergency tax code) but the PCLS (Tax free) won't - Should still take me over the $80K in reported passive income for the 2025/2026 tax return so will give it a go.

Another question, If I apply & fail will I lose the 50K application fee?

There is no application fee. There is only a fee when you purchase the visa AFTER you are approved.

10 hours ago, SamSpade said:

Also made > $90K in Capital Gains in Jan this year, but my problem is I cannot show > $80K in income for previous years, even though I had Capital Gains of approx $95K in 2025 as (because I'm Non-UK resident for Tax) these don't show on my UK Tax return.

They do not necessarily go by calendar year, but might instead ask for the last 12 months

12 hours ago, SamSpade said:

I know I should ask BOI direct but I'd welcome any thoughts before I do...

In a nutshell I earned approx $60K in passive income last year (have no investments in Thailand so do not meet the Wealthy Pensioner criteria) but this year my pensions kicked in so will take me over the $80K limit & will meet the criteria next year.

My question is, I took 1 of my pensions as a lump sum (Approx $50K) & took a Tax Free PCLS (Pension Commencement lump Sum) of approx $250K so technically I've "Earned" $300K from pensions alone this year (PCLS aside as that won't go on my UK Tax Return with the 1st pension lump sum I will be reporting an income of >$100K on my Tax Return next month)...

Thoughts on me being able to qualify for an LTR WP visa based on 2026 income already "Earned"?

It depends on whether or not they want to see one year or two years worth of passive income >$80K. When I applied in 2024, I had to show two years but some recent applicants on this thread only had to show one year. But, be aware that you will also need to show passive income >$80K at the 5-year mark or they will cancel your visa at that time.

11 hours ago, SamSpade said:

Also made > $90K in Capital Gains in Jan this year, but my problem is I cannot show > $80K in income for previous years, even though I had Capital Gains of approx $95K in 2025 as (because I'm Non-UK resident for Tax) these don't show on my UK Tax return.

The income does not need to be taxable or need to appear on a tax return to qualify for LTR. Some people on this thread were approved based on non-taxable income such as certain pensions or other recurring payments. They showed the source documents from where the income originated and were approved. In your case, you need to show the original official document from the financial institution at which the gain was generated which clearly shows the amount of the gain and the year it was generated. As far as types of income, I believe they prefer pensions, U.S. social security or equivalent social insurance in other countries, dividends, interest, and rental income but some people have been approved based on capital gains (or at least part of their income was capital gains). I would ask BOI how much capital gain is acceptable.

1 hour ago, Richard007 said:

It depends on whether or not they want to see one year or two years worth of passive income >$80K. When I applied in 2024, I had to show two years but some recent applicants on this thread only had to show one year. But, be aware that you will also need to show passive income >$80K at the 5-year mark or they will cancel your visa at that time.

I applied in September 2025 and the PDF instructions said to show 'prior' year yet they (during the appication process) asked for the prior 2 years. I just made the cut (passive income) with 2023 :)

On 5/21/2026 at 4:02 PM, Alotoftravel said:

Boi told me starting this year, they can accept money market fund in your brokerage account for 100k insurance besides the cash in your savings bank account . This is good news

Thanks for posting! It is indeed good news, so I wrote BOI to confirm -- and got this response just 20 minutes later:

Cash in investment or brokerage account can now be acceptable for the requirement of 100,000 USD retained in the account for more than 12 months. The account must be able to withdraw the cash without any restriction at any time. If your account is indeed as we stated then it can be acceptable.

On 5/7/2026 at 10:20 AM, Pib said:

Almost 10,000 approved LTR visa applications as of 30 Apr 2026. The LTR visa program began 1 Sep 2022....44 months ago (3 years 8 months)....averaging approx 220 approvals per month. Based on this approval rate sometime in June 2026 the program will reach the 10,000 mark. Yea, yea, it's not the aspirational number talked by some government officials before the program kicked-off but it's still "ten thousand" and counting.

From 1 Sep 2022 (program kick-off) thru 30 Apr 2026....approved (i.e., endorsed) LTR applications.

The 10,000 mark reached as of 31 May 2026.

On 5/21/2026 at 5:01 AM, Pib said:

If that turns out to actually be true they are basically reverting to what they allowed for the first 6 months or so the LTR program....back in the Sep 2022 to early 2023 timeframe. After that early 2023 timeframe they switched to "not" allowing brokerage type accts to meet the 100K self insure requirement. I will definitely be good if they do indeed revert to what they allowed in the early days.

Newbie here. I emailed BOI to inquire specifically about using a money market fund (specifically SGOV which is a US ETF) within a brokerage account. Here is the response I received:

"As long as the cash in investment account can be withdrawn at any time without any requirement, it is acceptable."

I am just speculating, but I wonder if the BOI might informally loosen their requirements over time in order to increase the number of visas they can approve.

53 minutes ago, PHL1986 said:

Newbie here. I emailed BOI to inquire specifically about using a money market fund (specifically SGOV which is a US ETF) within a brokerage account. Here is the response I received:

"As long as the cash in investment account can be withdrawn at any time without any requirement, it is acceptable."

I am just speculating, but I wonder if the BOI might informally loosen their requirements over time in order to increase the number of visas they can approve.

Would anyone know if that money can be spread over 2 or three accounts.

14 minutes ago, Peter Crow said:

Would anyone know if that money can be spread over 2 or three accounts.

Probably, but that's a question for the BOI since they are the ones who make the decision, likely on a case by case basis.

1 hour ago, PHL1986 said:

Newbie here. I emailed BOI to inquire specifically about using a money market fund (specifically SGOV which is a US ETF) within a brokerage account. Here is the response I received:

"As long as the cash in investment account can be withdrawn at any time without any requirement, it is acceptable."

I am just speculating, but I wonder if the BOI might informally loosen their requirements over time in order to increase the number of visas they can approve.

Cash in a Money Market fund cannot be withdrawn at any time as you would need to sell the Fund and then wait until at least the next business day before the cash would become available (T+1 Settlement), in the worse case this could stretch to 5+ days.

E.g. If you held Royal London Short Tm Mny Mkt & tried to sell it after 12PM (11AM with Barclays) on a Friday your trade wouldn't execute until Monday (assuming Monday isn't a public holiday in which case it would be Tuesday) next day settlement means the earliest you'd get your money would be Tuesday.

Edited June 17Jun 17 by SamSpade

23 minutes ago, SamSpade said:

Cash in a Money Market fund cannot be withdrawn at any time as you would need to sell the Fund and then wait until at least the next business day before the cash would become available (T+1 Settlement), in the worse case this could stretch to 5+ days.

It depends on BOI definition of "can be withdrawn at any time without any requirement". Is time to sell and process the withdrawal a requirement per se?

Likewise, any bank transfer will not be readily available in Thailand unless it comes from Thai bank.

44 minutes ago, Yumthai said:

It depends on BOI definition of "can be withdrawn at any time without any requirement". Is time to sell and process the withdrawal a requirement per se?

Likewise, any bank transfer will not be readily available in Thailand unless it comes from Thai bank.

I agree with you but the MMF would have at least 1 extra business day on top of any Bank Transfers as you can't send the money until it's settled.

Reading between the lines I'm guessing they mean no restrictions (i.e. Lock Out periods) as to when you can realise the money - E.g if you put it into a Bond that you couldn't sell until maturity

But in that case, Stocks & Shares should be allowed as A lot of these settle on a T+1 basis (All US / Canadian Stocks) same as MMFs and where they don't (e.g. UK/EU) they're moving to T+1 (11th October 2027 at the latest).

In my Fidelity Investments brokerage account, the cash is automatically deposited in a MM fund (SPAXX) by default. When I want the cash, I just initiate a transfer, and the money is sent the same day. It arrives in my Chase bank account before the end of that same day. Fidelity takes care of converting the MM funds when I initiate my transfer request.

Edited June 17Jun 17 by JohnnyBD

2 minutes ago, JohnnyBD said:

In my Fidelity Investments brokerage account, the cash is automatically deposited in a MM fund (SPAXX) by default. When I want the cash, I just initiate a transfer, and the money is sent the same day. It arrives in my Chase bank acct before the end of that same day. I do not have to buy or sell a MM fund. It's all done the same day in one transaction.

I have Fidelity also. Money in SPAXX can also be accessed instantly via debit card from any ATM. It can also be run as a credit card transaction, but would be subject to foreign transaction fees.

SGOV just tends to pay a slightly higher interest rate. When SGOV is sold, the money goes into SPAXX so the longest it should take to get access is 1 business day.

Edited June 17Jun 17 by PHL1986

4 hours ago, PHL1986 said:

Newbie here. I emailed BOI to inquire specifically about using a money market fund (specifically SGOV which is a US ETF) within a brokerage account. Here is the response I received:

"As long as the cash in investment account can be withdrawn at any time without any requirement, it is acceptable."

I am just speculating, but I wonder if the BOI might informally loosen their requirements over time in order to increase the number of visas they can approve.

This is a major change - and frankly, pessimist that i am, I would be a bit skeptical. Still, very good news if true.

In my case in Jan-to-Apr-2023 when applying for my LTR-WP visa, for self-health insurance, I first tried a Canadian brokerage account, that had funds in cash that significantly exceeded the required amount. That was rejected by BoI.

I then tried a Government Registered Savings account (where stock trading is possible), again with amount in cash that significantly exceeded the required amount. That was also rejected by BoI. ...

So instead I used a Foreign Currency (Euros) account I had in Thailand with pre-requisite cash (which was accepted). I previous had other plans for those cash funds, so I had to financially restructure in order to have those Euros available for self health insurance .

For my year 2028 reproof of LTR-WP finances (5 year point), I plan to see if I can have my European global health insurance accepted (possible I think, since another LTR visa holder on this forum was kind enough to explain to me how they accomplished such with similar global health insurance).

Good luck in your efforts.

Edited June 17Jun 17 by oldcpu

On 7/10/2022 at 12:36 PM, portlandtree said:

A rip off that’s more than $4,000 compared to $1,900 as now the benefits are not even close to being worth it

Change the battery in your calculator 😉 50K Baht=1500 for a ten year Visa. 1900 Baht x 10 = 19000 is about $575 for the ten years. LTR is worth it to me to only visit Immigration twice in ten years, pay once and be done with it.