LTR Visa is Now available for Long Term Residency

[mudcat]

Head scratchers indeed - what is supposed to go where is unclear.

 

Should you choose to upload U.S. tax documents it would be good to let them know what they are looking for:

 

On a 1040 pension income is on line 5B and gross Social Security Benefit is on line 6a (6b has the 85% that is taxable income).

On the transcript my pension is on the bottom line of the first page, while my gross Social Security Benefit is on line 14 of the second page .

[ThailandRyan]

5 minutes ago, Pib said:

But aren't all of the LTRs "approved" (or maybe you can even say "issued") by the BOI regardless of whether the actual visa may be issued/stamped into your passport like at BOI immigration or a Thai embassy/consulate?   The BOI basically approves/directs/tells the immigration section at BOI  or Thai embassy/consulate that issue of a LTR visa is approved...the applicant now only needs to fork out the $50K payment to get the visa stamped into his passport.

You would be correct but then the numbers have been static and no one is maintaining the counter it appears.

[Pib]

5 minutes ago, mudcat said:

Head scratchers indeed - what is supposed to go where is unclear.

 

Should you choose to upload U.S. tax documents it would be good to let them know what they are looking for:

 

On a 1040 pension income is on line 5B and gross Social Security Benefit is on line 6a (6b has the 85% that is taxable income).

On the transcript my pension is on the bottom line of the first page, while my gross Social Security Benefit is on line 14 of the second page .

Initially I'm not going to upload my tax return unless I gotta....like they come back later and ask for it.  But for the pensions statements/letters I'm uploading I'm including a memo  that briefly explains I'm a govt retiree, receive X-amount of lifetime govt pensions, fixed income, etc.  That memo will also included a table listing each pension, the amount, and some remarks that some are 100% tax free, not reportable on a tax return, etc.  

[JimGant]

22 minutes ago, Pib said:

And there are various disconnects/conflicts/head-scratchers between the general info on the public LTR website and the actual online application.  

Haven't seen the actual online application, but only the requirements delineated here:

https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/application-forms.html

 

Where there's no requirement for tax forms, just: "Evidence showing the incomes in current year, e.g., pension."  And tax returns, being historical, wouldn't seem to fit the bill....

 

So, yeah, a disconnect, indeed, when you get to the actual application (oh, do you have to wear "business attire" in the photo required in the actual application?).

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, JimGant said:

Haven't seen the actual online application, but only the requirements delineated here:

https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/application-forms.html

 

Where there's no requirement for tax forms, just: "Evidence showing the incomes in current year, e.g., pension."  And tax returns, being historical, wouldn't seem to fit the bill....

 

So, yeah, a disconnect, indeed, when you get to the actual application (oh, do you have to wear "business attire" in the photo required in the actual application?).

I wore a polo shirt for my photos I brought with me to the LTR unit, but wore a nice bottom up shirt, no tie and a pair of dress pants. I felt very overdressed when I went to the immigration side.

[Pib]

Regarding folks who do want to see the actual online application you can signup which is easy and fast.  Then surf around an application....even start a draft.  BUT, DO NOT upload any docs until you are ready to really apply/submit an application because you may not be able to delete "some" docs you upload. 

 

 

[JimGant]

9 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

dress pants.

Dress pants? Aren't those the things in my closet that belong to some skinny kid?

[Pib]

16 minutes ago, JimGant said:

 

So, yeah, a disconnect, indeed, when you get to the actual application (oh, do you have to wear "business attire" in the photo required in the actual application?).

What I'm providing is a passport type picture which shows my upper chest and hansum face.  Now at the photo shop I just wore a tee-shirt, but I had them magically finalized the photo with me in a suit and tie.  I got some hard copy photos and the shop sent the file image via LINE.   The file image is now uploaded to the application....one hansum devil I am.  

[ThailandRyan]

14 minutes ago, JimGant said:

Dress pants? Aren't those the things in my closet that belong to some skinny kid?

From back in the day.  Do you roll on into immigration yearly in shorts and a T-shirt, I now many that do.  Many years ago I went in a pair of shorts and a Muay Thai shirt from the gym I train at, it was in Phuket and all I was doing was getting a 90 day.  I was instructed by the I/O at the front desk to go dress appropriately.  Yet at the Chamchuri Square BOI Immigration office I saw many foreigners wearing Tank tops and work out shorts.....must have been ok since Lumpini Park is just a block over....

[JimGant]

1 minute ago, ThailandRyan said:

Do you roll on into immigration yearly in shorts and a T-shirt,

No, in golf attire. But if I had to knot a tie, I'd probably flunk. Fortunately, things aren't overly formal here.

[aublumberg]

24 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

When I obtained my LTRWP I asked how many they had issued since the program went live in September and I was told I was the 15th person to obtain my LTR Visa.  I just summarized by that statement that it included all of the LTR's and only those issued by the LTR Unit in Bangkok, and not any from overseas.

Yes, I would estimate less than 100 across all visa types and locations approved thus far, perhaps even less than 50 ... early days.

[keemapoot]

On 10/18/2022 at 3:42 PM, Misty said:

That's great news, thanks very much for the update. So good to hear you'll have the visa in two days.

 

From what I'm hearing, apparently the process involved in e-visas and consulates may be more involved. An "introduction letter" has gone to our consulate since last week. The consulate has to send an acknowledgement of the letter back to the BoI, which takes time.  (apparently it goes in a queue with all other such letters) .  Only then can the Notification Letter be issued.  So in a queue system now apparently in the US consulate.... after that, I can submit my e-visa application. 

 

Yes, this situation with embassies and consulates and even the US e-visa online system is full of problems. In my case, I can't use the Embassy of the Asian country I'm now living in (Japan) because they are not yet ready for the LTR. I also cannot use the evisa system for my home country, USA, because after clicking through and detailing where I currently reside, the system informs me I am unable to use it unless in the continental USA. Therefore, I would like to try to use the consulate system abroad, but am unable to do so. My only option is to try to travel back to Thailand to do it at the BOI office, but even then, another poster said they will not schedule an appointment with you unless you can provide current visa details and are in Thailand. I may have to wait until the end of next year, because I only have a 2 month window based on my insurance renewal.

[K2938]

6 hours ago, Pib said:

But does the BOI know or even care how a tax return could greatly under reflect a person's income. 

I would suspect that most probably the BOI does not know because these rules were drawn up by people who do not know much about any of this and have no idea that Jeff Bezos or Warren Buffet for example basically have no taxable income because that is how they structure their affairs which rich people can.  But at the same time I would hope the BOI can be educated and is open to learn as time goes on.  So just explain things and hope for the best

Edited October 24, 2022 by K2938

[K2938]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

It can be found above your log in name. There will be a notification bell which will indicate you have a notice to look at. Click the notification and it will tell you what they need you to upload.

And do you also get an email saying you have a notification or do you constantly need to login to the system to check yourself if you have a notification, like every day?

[ThailandRyan]

1 minute ago, K2938 said:

And do you also get an email saying you have a notification or do you constantly need to login to the system to check yourself if you have a notification, like every day?

Only e-mail I received was when they accepted it for filing and then when it was approved.  Had plenty of others as I have posted here but they had nothing to do with my application rather they were system glitches with having my name included for all 5 types of Visas......So yes, I checked back on the app daily to see what might be wanted and to Check Status in that section.  I have my LTRWP Visa now but the system still shows pre-approved, and never changed.

[tingtongfarang]

On 10/23/2022 at 3:37 AM, Northwest87 said:

An easy-to-find 3-bedroom bungalow at that price-range in Bangkok, that means you must be in the boondocks of the city.

bangkapi

[ThailandRyan]

9 minutes ago, tingtongfarang said:

bangkapi

Thai style house for that price. Looking at plenty of rentals down there through the past 3 years and the cheapest was 25k a month for a 3 bed 3 bath townhouse in Huai Kwang.  Everything else, house wise is above 50k and then you have the single story Thai style house 1bed 1 bath which has barely any furniture and really no kitchen for between 6k-8k Thb. Found this one for 12k, but you need to add all of your own furnishings.  Not doubting you as anything is possible yet I find it very hard to believe.  Now a 25sqm condo, oh hell yes it is doable, but I have never seen a house at the prices you list unless it is total Thai style.

 

https://www.hipflat.co.th/en/ads/a1l7lcul18cuehcn4l280t3093c9n318.

 

To rent a house of any standard with furniture will run you more than your indicating, and then I would not live anywhere near where the house I listed is........

 

This one would need you to add furniture and misc. and is 35 K a month.

https://www.hipflat.co.th/en/listings/bangkok-house-todrfpxs

 

I believe you are trolling.

[Northwest87]

5 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

No, just fill out the 3 pages of required info. Upload all required on page 4 and hit submit after checking that box just above and to the left of submit. There is an other box for uploading any other documents or letters needed. This was where I uploaded a Word document which indicated I did not require nor did I want a work permit, as they requested an upload of the work permit even though I check the box No.  System still has some glitches.

 

Filling it out and emailing it was for the pre-screening some of us did.

Thanks, much appreciated.

[Northwest87]

5 hours ago, aublumberg said:

No change, application has always been via the BOI online system since start on 01 Sep 2022 when it was launched. If you go to https://ltr.boi.go.th/ in the upper right hand corner is an 'Apply' icon. Just click that and follow the instructions. Subject to the LTR visa type, details are provided what information and which documents are required, it's fairly straightforward. I don't believe applications by email are (or ever were) entertained. Suggest you register the online account and have a look around the forms, even if you're not ready to submit just yet. 

And thanks here too, much appreciated.

[Mike Teavee]

Genuine question, Is this visa worth jumping through all the hoops to get over the 1Million Baht 20 year PE visa? 
 

As a 56yr old retiree who has no interest in working again (certainly not in Thailand) & no interest in buying Property in my own name does it offer anything beyond the fact that I’d need to pay 1Million THB for the alternative (in reality its only 200k as I keep a deadweight 800k in the bank for the “Retirement” visa anyway) 

 

I’m assuming it comes with Fast Track Airport lane access so I guess that would save me 20k pa (oh wait, the PE visa has that as well).

[Northwest87]

2 hours ago, tingtongfarang said:

bangkapi

Hey, not too bad. I would have thought much further than that, but it all depends on what you get for this price. I don't know the neighborhood but I worked in Minburi for a while, so I have a general idea.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Northwest87

[ThailandRyan]

29 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Genuine question, Is this visa worth jumping through all the hoops to get over the 1Million Baht 20 year PE visa? 
 

As a 56yr old retiree who has no interest in working again (certainly not in Thailand) & no interest in buying Property in my own name does it offer anything beyond the fact that I’d need to pay 1Million THB for the alternative (in reality its only 200k as I keep a deadweight 800k in the bank for the “Retirement” visa anyway) 

 

I’m assuming it comes with Fast Track Airport lane access so I guess that would save me 20k pa (oh wait, the PE visa has that as well).

That dead 800K would be liberated as you could do with it what you wanted and so its 100K if you think of it that way as you could get the LTR Visa twice covering that same span.  If you stay year round in the country then even with the Elite Visa you still need to do 90 day reports and then pay 1900 baht at the end of the year for your next stamp.  Not with the LTRWP visa.  You get stamped in for 5 years with a 5 year multiple re-entry permit included and you only report once a year to immigration for a 365 day report.  To me it was a no-brainer as I refused to throw away money for the Thai Elite Visa, which could be used to sustain life here while the other gets invested to raise more capital.

[K2938]

32 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

Genuine question, Is this visa worth jumping through all the hoops to get over the 1Million Baht 20 year PE visa? 
 

As a 56yr old retiree who has no interest in working again (certainly not in Thailand) & no interest in buying Property in my own name does it offer anything beyond the fact that I’d need to pay 1Million THB for the alternative (in reality its only 200k as I keep a deadweight 800k in the bank for the “Retirement” visa anyway) 

You save 1 MM THB.  And it is not only 200k THB as you do not need to keep 800k THB in the bank at a close to zero interest rate for LTR

[Mike Teavee]

2 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

That dead 800K would be liberated as you could do with it what you wanted and so its 100K if you think of it that way as you could get the LTR Visa twice covering that same span.  If you stay year round in the country then even with the Elite Visa you still need to do 90 day reports and then pay 1900 baht at the end of the year for your next stamp.  Not with the LTRWP visa.  You get stamped in for 5 years with a 5 year multiple re-entry permit included and you only report once a year to immigration for a 365 day report.  To me it was a no-brainer as I refused to throw away money for the Thai Elite Visa, which could be used to sustain life here while the other gets invested to raise more capital.

I get that, but the 800K in my mind is dead (written off in my mind as I'll never see it again, I understand that it's money that could be passed on to my heirs but It's a fraction of what they will get so thinking maybe I'll spend it on me ???? ) ... To me it's the difference between investing 200K to get 20 years Vs investing 50K to get 10 in the hope that you'll be able to do the same in 10 years time (Odds on that?) 

 

Hand's up, if I had 40/80k income in 2020/2021 (no problem this year) I would probably have a different view on things, as it was (with Covid decimating dividends) I had about a 20k (GBP) income in 2020 so the 1Million PE is a lot easier for me to get. (2021 was approx. 35K GBP so I'd need to wait until 2025 If I'm honest)

 

Again, it was a genuine question, I'm not trying to call out anybody's personal situations or decisions out, I don't qualify so am asking what I'm missing if I did ???? 

 

Could be worse, the GF keeps telling me we should gett married so we can spend 1/2 of the 800K in the bank... How much is that going to cost me ???? 

 

[Mike Teavee]

26 minutes ago, K2938 said:

You save 1 MM THB.  And it is not only 200k THB as you do not need to keep 800k THB in the bank at a close to zero interest rate for LTR

It's exactly the fact that the 800K is of so little use to me that I'm writing it off as a irrelevant

 

What would you suggest doing with it bearing in mind that you're a Retiree so safety is more important to you than returns...  How much is securing your next 20 years of tenure worth in returns? 

 

 

(Please don't tell me to invest it in higher yielding assets, that's what the rest of any assets I have is doing, including re-investing dividends).  

 

[Misty]

3 hours ago, keemapoot said:

Yes, this situation with embassies and consulates and even the US e-visa online system is full of problems. In my case, I can't use the Embassy of the Asian country I'm now living in (Japan) because they are not yet ready for the LTR. I also cannot use the evisa system for my home country, USA, because after clicking through and detailing where I currently reside, the system informs me I am unable to use it unless in the continental USA. Therefore, I would like to try to use the consulate system abroad, but am unable to do so. My only option is to try to travel back to Thailand to do it at the BOI office, but even then, another poster said they will not schedule an appointment with you unless you can provide current visa details and are in Thailand. I may have to wait until the end of next year, because I only have a 2 month window based on my insurance renewal.

Problems indeed with the BoI - Overseas embassy/consulate connection.  I decided against traveling to Thailand on visa exempt when I learned you can't even apply to get the Notification letter until you have entered Thailand and have a visa exempt number.  I selected overseas consulate instead.

 

But I'm still in no man's land - got approval 10 Oct, and still waiting for the BoI to issue the Notification letter so I can complete the LTR e-visa application.  BoI says they are waiting for "feedback" from the US consulate.  The US consulate says that is not correct, they don't give "feedback" to the BoI - they just need the BoI's Notification letter to process the e-visa.

 

Even once the BoI letter is issued, there's differing stories.  BoI says the online LTR e-visa application will take "1-2 days" or "2-3 days" until the US consulate issues the e-visa.  But the US consulate says no, it will be 7-15 working days. 

 

Not sure what's going on other than more kinks for them to work out. 

 

I should note it's been a different experience for some.  One poster received his approval same day as me, his Notification letter a few days later, and was able to get his LTR visa at the HK consulate within 1 week of approval.

[ThailandRyan]

18 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

I get that, but the 800K in my mind is dead (written off in my mind as I'll never see it again, I understand that it's money that could be passed on to my heirs but It's a fraction of what they will get so thinking maybe I'll spend it on me ???? ) ... To me it's the difference between investing 200K to get 20 years Vs investing 50K to get 10 in the hope that you'll be able to do the same in 10 years time (Odds on that?) 

 

Hand's up, if I had 40/80k income in 2020/2021 (no problem this year) I would probably have a different view on things, as it was (with Covid decimating dividends) I had about a 20k (GBP) income in 2020 so the 1Million PE is a lot easier for me to get. (2021 was approx. 35K GBP so I'd need to wait until 2025 If I'm honest)

 

Again, it was a genuine question, I'm not trying to call out anybody's personal situations or decisions out, I don't qualify so am asking what I'm missing if I did ???? 

 

Could be worse, the GF keeps telling me we should gett married so we can spend 1/2 of the 800K in the bank... How much is that going to cost me ???? 

 

More than the cost of 5 Thai Elite visas to began with. A house, a car, house for mom.....etc....

[Misty]

5 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

That number of 625 has not changed since the program went live unfortunately.  When I obtained my LTRWP I asked how many they had issued since the program went live in September and I was told I was the 15th person to obtain my LTR Visa.  I just summarized by that statement that it included all of the LTR's and only those issued by the LTR Unit in Bangkok, and not any from overseas.

Yes, the 625 number refers only to the smart visas, a different category.  If you look at the pie chart next to that number, it's broken down by smart visa type, i.e. Smart Visa S,O,T,I, E.  The LTR visas have different letters.  The "Smart visa by month" bar chart next to it seems out of date too.

 

I think the overseas LTRs must be lagging due to disconnects between the BoI and overseas embassies/consulates. It's kind of a shame, since I thought this program was intended - at least in part - to attract new people and investment to Thailand. Instead for now it seems mostly to be cannibalizing existing programs.

[Mike Teavee]

20 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

More than the cost of 5 Thai Elite visas to began with. A house, a car, house for mom.....etc....

I'm assuming you've been there & have the T-Shirt, Baseball cap to prove it ????

 

Sorry to drag the conversation away from the original subject, some great info on here, my agent keeps making my annual Non-Imm O extension easy (8K as I keep the 800K in the Bank all year round) but every year I am reviewing my options.

 

As I've said I don't qualify for this one until 2025 (Well I could, but I'm not moving $1M US to Thailand anytime soon) so I'll keep the PE 20 year one in the back pocket ???? 

 

As an aside, the biggest issue Ex-Pats seem to have with the longer tern visas is the Insurance, I use Pacific Cross "Visa Friendly" policy, cost me 27K last year (55) but I took out all the outpatient cover + added a 200K voluntary excess for $100K USD cover.

[K2938]

19 minutes ago, Misty said:

It's kind of a shame, since I thought this program was intended - at least in part - to attract new people and investment to Thailand. Instead for now it seems mostly to be cannibalizing existing programs.

Difficult to say.  Could be true, but could also just be an impression based on reading this forum where most of the participants are people already living in Thailand.  And this program is brand new, so again most people first hearing about this will be people already living in Thailand

Edited October 24, 2022 by K2938