LTR Visa is Now available for Long Term Residency

[aublumberg]

On 1/14/2023 at 9:59 AM, Misty said:

The latest LTR program numbers from a BoI LTR presentation yesterday:

 

Thanks much @Misty for sharing these updated figures. A slow drip with a lot of WIP.

[K2938]

21 minutes ago, aublumberg said:

A slow drip with a lot of WIP.

I would suspect the WIP is so big not only because the processing is so slow, but also because it contains a lot of in reality "dead" applications.  So a significant part of those should really be in rejected or withdrawn.  And by including dependent visas which account for over 20% of all visas issued the figures also get embellished.  So in reality the numbers look even less favorably. 

But hey, things could be even worse.  Indonesia's also newly introduced second home visa apparently got exactly zero applications so far in Bali

[Misty]

11 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Americans at the top of both nationality lists... I figured we'd be relatively high on the lists given the size of the U.S. population, but I didn't expect we'd be at the top of both... and by a pretty wide margin... especially considering the Chinese and Japanese business presences here.

 

But perhaps it's a result of that famous and often mis-attributed American slogan -- "there's a sucker born every minute."  ????

 

 

Yes, how about the Japanese, and Australians

[Misty]

25 minutes ago, K2938 said:

I would suspect the WIP is so big not only because the processing is so slow, but also because it contains a lot of in reality "dead" applications.  So a significant part of those should really be in rejected or withdrawn.  And by including dependent visas which account for over 20% of all visas issued the figures also get embellished.  So in reality the numbers look even less favorably. 

But hey, things could be even worse.  Indonesia's also newly introduced second home visa apparently got exactly zero applications so far in Bali

I do wonder where the Australians are.... Penang?

[ThailandRyan]

11 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Americans at the top of both nationality lists... I figured we'd be relatively high on the lists given the size of the U.S. population, but I didn't expect we'd be at the top of both... and by a pretty wide margin... especially considering the Chinese and Japanese business presences here.

 

But perhaps it's a result of that famous and often mis-attributed American slogan -- "there's a sucker born every minute."  ????

 

 

With your last sentence are you indicating that those Americans who applied and received the visa are "Suckers". I don't understand.

[Misty]

Another update from the BoI LTR unit call Friday:

 

Health insurance requirement:  some changes have been made, including that US Tricare coverage for retired military is now accepted. Also, health policies that otherwise meet the requirement and are "guaranteed renewable," but that may renew annually at a date that is less than 10 months from the LTR application date, will also be accepted

 

 

 

 

[Misty]

32 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

With your last sentence are you indicating that those Americans who applied and received the visa are "Suckers". I don't understand.

@TallGuyJohninBKK  have to concur, but I'm guessing it's a joke?

 

One thing was mentioned in the LTR call Friday:  Translation of documents for some nationalities is slowing applications down.  I was thinking maybe that explains Japanese, who are the largest, or at least one of the largest, foreign investors in Thailand and you might think would otherwise be in the top 5. 

 

Also, US citizens have something of an early advantage, language aside - due to the US system they are likely to readily have tax filings, proof of income.  These will be easily understood by the BoI LTR unit, at least as compared to a financial or tax statement in Japanese.

 

 

[Pib]

25 minutes ago, Misty said:

Another update from the BoI LTR unit call Friday:

 

Health insurance requirement:  some changes have been made, including that US Tricare coverage for retired military is now accepted. Also, health policies that otherwise meet the requirement and are "guaranteed renewable," but that may renew annually at a date that is less than 10 months from the LTR application date, will also be accepted

Well that's great news about Tricare. 

 

However, they did not accept my application using Tricare in late Nov 2022.  I had to self insure.  But when I asked in mid Oct 2022 before submitting my application they said Tricare is accepted but as mentioned they did not accept it when I actually applied in Oct. 

 

I do hope that BOI has indeed had a change of heart about Tricare "and similar type of US govt sponsored insurance policies that provide worldwide coverage and do not have an end date/are basically open ended.   That is, as long as you are still breathing and paying any required monthly premium the policy remains in force...is basically on autopilot till death due you part.

 

This LTR insurance policy change will make it easier for more retired military/government American retirees to meet the LTR medical coverage requirement.

 

 

[JimGant]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

I do hope that BOI has indeed had a change of heart about Tricare "and similar type of US govt sponsored insurance policies that provide worldwide coverage and do not have an end date/are basically open ended.

Yeah -- and any possibility that there could be an intragovernmental sameness and sanity policy on insurance, so that Tricare would now qualify for OA visa extensions? Probably not, as the insurance mafia would lose a chunk of premiums.

[Pib]

10 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Americans at the top of both nationality lists... I figured we'd be relatively high on the lists given the size of the U.S. population, but I didn't expect we'd be at the top of both... and by a pretty wide margin... especially considering the Chinese and Japanese business presences here.

The Japanese and Chinese investment in Thailand is generally the largest in "baht-amount" but the number of entities is really not that high.  Fewer entities (i.e., companies) then probably few long term visas needed.  Like this 15 Dec 2022 news article said the first 11 months of 2022 saw Japanese investment of 39 billion baht by 137 entities and Chinese investment of almost 23 billion baht but only 25 entities. 

 

Although China is close to Thailand and has largest population on Earth it seems its investments in Thailand are by a relatively low number of BIG companies versus a LOT of Chinese companies investing BIG amounts.   And I expect many Chinese companies prefer to manufacturer products in China....the land of huge cities and huge factories.....versus setting up a lot of companies outside China.   Manufacturing in China is probably the most cost effective location for the great majority of Chinese companies.

 

Plus, the SMART visa was totally focused towards business type visas....working in a company in Thailand; zero focus towards retirees.  And I think the longest a SMART visa was good for was 4 years costing 10K baht per year....even some were offered for only 6 months....all depended on the type of business and how long certain expertise was needed. 

 

Whereas the LTR visa is focused towards pretty much anyone that wanted to invest in, work in, or retire in Thailand for 10 years.  It's just opened to a wider group of people than the SMART visa.

 

 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, JimGant said:

Yeah -- and any possibility that there could be an intragovernmental sameness and sanity policy on insurance, so that Tricare would now qualify for OA visa extensions? Probably not, as the insurance mafia would lose a chunk of premiums.

I would agree with the "Probably not" for a visa that is totally managed and approved by Immigration (zero BOI involvement) who probably do not have the foreign language skills "nor desire" to review foreign insurance polices even if they required translation to Thai.  But the BoI does have the language and knowledge skills to evaluate foreign medical policies.   And yea, I'm sure the Thai insurance mafia lobby fiercely and monetarily  to keep it hard to use a foreign insurance policy for visa approval purposes.   Let's just call these types of 1 year max visas such a Non-O, Non O-A a "Standard" visa.

 

However for a visa like the Elite visas no insurance is required....basically only a police check and a LOT of money  is required to pay the visa Fee.  Like Bt600K for a 5 year Elite visa, Bt1M for a 10 year Elite Visa, all the  way up to Bt2M for a 20 year Elite visa.  I expect the govt figures anyone willing to pay that much money for a visa fee definitely has plenty of money, probably outstanding insurance, and/or can easily self insure.  And if the govt tried to require an insurance policy it would be enough to turn-off a lot of potential Elite visa applicants who would then just opt for a Standard visa or now the LTR visa.....and the govt probably much prefers to collect a high govt visa fee versus losing that big fee because they succumb to the Thai insurance mafia by requiring an insurance policy.   Let's call the Elite visa a "Premium Plus" visa.

 

And now we have the 10 year LTR visas for Bt50K but some healthy income requirements and medical insurance or Thai social security medical coverage or self insure is required.  It's kinda in-between a Standard visa and a Premium Plus visa   Let's call the LTR visa a "Premium" visa. 

 

[Misty]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

I would agree with the "Probably not" for a visa that is totally managed and approved by Immigration (zero BOI involvement) who probably do not have the foreign language skills "nor desire" to review foreign insurance polices even if they required translation to Thai.  But the BoI does have the language and knowledge skills to evaluate foreign medical policies.   And yea, I'm sure the Thai insurance mafia lobby fiercely and monetarily  to keep it hard to use a foreign insurance policy for visa approval purposes.   Let's just call these types of 1 year max visas such a Non-O, Non O-A a "Standard" visa.

 

However for a visa like the Elite visas no insurance is required....basically only a police check and a LOT of money  is required to pay the visa Fee.  Like Bt600K for a 5 year Elite visa, Bt1M for a 10 year Elite Visa, all the  way up to Bt2M for a 20 year Elite visa.  I expect the govt figures anyone willing to pay that much money for a visa fee definitely has plenty of money, probably outstanding insurance, and/or can easily self insure.  And if the govt tried to require an insurance policy it would be enough to turn-off a lot of potential Elite visa applicants who would then just opt for a Standard visa or now the LTR visa.....and the govt probably much prefers to collect a high govt visa fee versus losing that big fee because they succumb to the Thai insurance mafia by requiring an insurance policy.   Let's call the Elite visa a "Premium Plus" visa.

 

And now we have the 10 year LTR visas for Bt50K but some healthy income requirements and medical insurance or Thai social security medical coverage or self insure is required.  It's kinda in-between a Standard visa and a Premium Plus visa   Let's call the LTR visa a "Premium" visa. 

 

In Friday's BoI LTR call (it was sponsored by AMCHAM) I'm pretty sure the LTR senior rep mentioned something to the effect of "soon medical insurance will be required for tourist visas."  It was something of an aside, and unfortunately no one asked for clarification in the Q&A. I don't know how realistic that is, but there does seem to be a general trend in the direction of requiring insurance..

[ThailandRyan]

2 hours ago, Misty said:

In Friday's BoI LTR call (it was sponsored by AMCHAM) I'm pretty sure the LTR senior rep mentioned something to the effect of "soon medical insurance will be required for tourist visas."  It was something of an aside, and unfortunately no one asked for clarification in the Q&A. I don't know how realistic that is, but there does seem to be a general trend in the direction of requiring insurance..

In October of 2019 I talked to Bernard at the LA Consulate in Los Angeles just as I was obtaining my last O-A Visa. I needed insurance he said after October 31st 2019 for that visa class when entering Thailand he indicated.  I asked about just doing an O visa in Thailand so i did not require insurance. He was pretty sure that it would be rolled out to all visa classes within the next 2 years, so by 2022. However, Covid interjected and we saw it not followed upon. It is still in the Ministry regulations but it was just never rolled completely out.

[F Groenen]

I'm another happy recipient of a LTR-WFT visa and as confused as many by the unclear definitions.
My employer is concerned that there are compliance and tax obligations that still apply with their employee (me) working from Thailand under this LTR-T visa ;

• The Thailand Revenue Department (TRD) has not issued any special regulations or exemptions from taxation for foreign employers with staff working in Thailand under the LTR-T visa.  Since my employer does not have an active entity in Thailand, it is not able to meet the employer reporting, tax or pension related compliance requirements dictated by the TRD.
• With the employee's permanent presence in Thailand, my emploeyr has a Permanent Establishment (corporate tax exposure) issue.

Has anyone on this forum gotten any clarification on the Liability of their employer ?

[Pib]

On 1/15/2023 at 10:47 AM, Misty said:

Another update from the BoI LTR unit call Friday:

 

Health insurance requirement:  some changes have been made, including that US Tricare coverage for retired military is now accepted. Also, health policies that otherwise meet the requirement and are "guaranteed renewable," but that may renew annually at a date that is less than 10 months from the LTR application date, will also be accepted

On 1/15/2023 at 11:29 AM, Pib said:

Well that's great news about Tricare. 

 

However, they did not accept my application using Tricare in late Nov 2022.  I had to self insure.  But when I asked in mid Oct 2022 before submitting my application they said Tricare is accepted but as mentioned they did not accept it when I actually applied in Oct. 

 

I do hope that BOI has indeed had a change of heart about Tricare "and similar type of US govt sponsored insurance policies that provide worldwide coverage and do not have an end date/are basically open ended.   That is, as long as you are still breathing and paying any required monthly premium the policy remains in force...is basically on autopilot till death due you part.

 

This LTR insurance policy change will make it easier for more retired military/government American retirees to meet the LTR medical coverage requirement.

 

Update: I contacted BoI via their online contact form asking about the info in Misty's post regarding Tricare and similar type U.S. govt sponsored policies.   I got a quick response  shown below.  Now the response only mentioned Tricare vs also saying similar type U.S. govt sponsored coverage like I know a lot of U.S. govt or U.N. retirees have opened ended type medical coverage policies (i..e, no end date) sponsored by the government agency they retired from and the coverage is through a civilian insurance company.   That opened ended coverage basically renews automatically....and I think in those types of polices the members receive some type of policy coverage sheet/letter that closely resembles what a standard civilian insurance policy reflects with the exception of a end date.  Anyway, here is BoI's response.

Quote

Dear XXXXXX, 

Greeting from LTR Visa Unit. 

We are now accepting U.S. Tricare coverage, but please make sure to show part of the document that the insurance will renew itself annually.  Should you have any inquiries. We are much welcomed to assist you.

Kind regards,

LTR Visa Unit

 

Sure wish Tricare had been acceptable in Oct/Nov 2022 when I applied.  Now as I mentioned in a much earlier post in this thread BoI didn't flat-out reject my Tricare by saying such in an LTR online notification or email; it's just my application Status changed to "Request for Additional Docs" one day and in the area of the application/Docs Upload area there was just a comment which basically saying a Heath insurance policy with at least 10 months remaining OR Thailand social security coverage OR self insure is required.   To me that was a nice way of saying "No, your submitted Tricare docs are not good enough, so please submit one of above type docs.  And that is when I went the self insure route.

 

But unfortunately, as I have Tricare as a military retiree of many years, I do not know what document they are talking about which shows the Tricare insurance will renew annually.   The only document I'm aware of you can get saying you are enrolled in Tricare is a one page benefits letter you can download from the military "DEERS" system which stands for Defense Eligibility Enrollment Reporting System if you have a milConnect online acct.  I guess a person could also get the letter maybe by contacting DEERS via phone or in person, but I got mine by going online. 

 

This DEERS benefits letter is very generic in nature (snapshot below), lists your name and enrollment date up to six years earlier, but no where does it talk the coverage will renew itself annually.  A typical military type benefits letter that uses very generic wording.   See snapshot at bottom.

 

HOWEVER, there are variations of Tricare....such as Tricare for Life,  Tricare Prime, Tricare Select/Overseas, etc., which is meant for different groups of military active and reserve duty, retirees, etc.  "And there are several Tricare contractors involved in managing the worldwide Tricare program"...like a couple different contractors for people living in the U.S., a contractor for those living overseas, etc., and that is the contractor each enrollee will deal with when arranging medical care and filing a claim. There is "not" just one Tricare contractor the millions of Tricare enrollees worldwide will deal. See a list of the various contractor and partners at this Tricare weblink:  https://www.tricare.mil/About/Partners

 

The contractor that enrollees who live outside the U.S. and/or have Tricare for Life would probably deal with the WPS contractor based in Wisconsin who I think is a subcontractor to the SOS contractor.  And if you log onto your WPS online acct, which is basically just for filing a claim,  there is no such benefit letter available....I've been using the WPS claims portal for many years.     BUT MAYBE, other Tricare contractors on their websites do offer some type of coverage/benefits coverage letter that does talk auto renewal.  I plan to call WPS in the near future to ask abut such a letter, but I will be surprised to no end if there is such a letter they can provide saying I'm enrolled in Tricare for Life/Overseas and it automatically renews annually.  

 

More research to do I guess....maybe even go visa BoI in the near future  see if they would show me a redacted version of the letter they are talking about....the type of letter they are satisfied with.   I'm sure there are many military retirees with Tricare coverage monitoring this thread.  So, if you know what Tricare coverage letter BoI is referring to that says your Tricare coverage renews annually (versus some general info Tricare website/booklet that talks such) then please share that info.  It may boil down to some of the Tricare contractors might provide a coverage letter that provides the info BoI is looking for....a letter totally unrelated to the generic DEERS benefit letter.  I sure hope this don't end up being a situation where only those Tricare enrollees with certain contactors can get the type of letter BoI is looking for.  

 

Example of Tricare Benefits letter available from "DEERS"

 

[Misty]

On 1/16/2023 at 1:06 PM, F Groenen said:

I'm another happy recipient of a LTR-WFT visa and as confused as many by the unclear definitions.
My employer is concerned that there are compliance and tax obligations that still apply with their employee (me) working from Thailand under this LTR-T visa ;

• The Thailand Revenue Department (TRD) has not issued any special regulations or exemptions from taxation for foreign employers with staff working in Thailand under the LTR-T visa.  Since my employer does not have an active entity in Thailand, it is not able to meet the employer reporting, tax or pension related compliance requirements dictated by the TRD.
• With the employee's permanent presence in Thailand, my emploeyr has a Permanent Establishment (corporate tax exposure) issue.

Has anyone on this forum gotten any clarification on the Liability of their employer ?

As far as I know, how the various types of income of each LTR visa is taxed hasn't been clearly laid out, and as you say, even the definitions of the various types of income aren't clear-cut.  My best suggestion would be to ask your employer to consult with a legitimate tax firm regarding this issue.  One of the big 4 would be best, to get a real answer.

 

Questions were asked about this topic in the call with the BoI LTR unit last Friday, but there were no clear answers. A request was made for a tax summary table clarifying each type of visa, by each type of income, with clear definitions of the types of income being taxed. Let's see if that transpires. We know how what's legal is often are deliberately left unclear.... right up until the moment clarity arrives (take nominee structures).

 

The BoI LTR unit is great in many ways, but they aren't tax advisors and I think they may answer some questions optimistically, rather than factually.  For example, at one point an answer was "How would they (Thai Revenue Dept) know?"  Well, yes....but I can remember that used to be said about the IRS, and then FATCA arrived.

 

 

 

[Pib]

On 1/16/2023 at 1:06 PM, F Groenen said:

I'm another happy recipient of a LTR-WFT visa and as confused as many by the unclear definitions.
My employer is concerned that there are compliance and tax obligations that still apply with their employee (me) working from Thailand under this LTR-T visa ;

• The Thailand Revenue Department (TRD) has not issued any special regulations or exemptions from taxation for foreign employers with staff working in Thailand under the LTR-T visa.  Since my employer does not have an active entity in Thailand, it is not able to meet the employer reporting, tax or pension related compliance requirements dictated by the TRD.
• With the employee's permanent presence in Thailand, my emploeyr has a Permanent Establishment (corporate tax exposure) issue.

Has anyone on this forum gotten any clarification on the Liability of their employer ?

Congrats.  So those listening in can get an idea of how long it takes to get a LTR visa, when did you apply and when did you get the approval notice/endorsement from BoI?  And any other info about your application, like maybe a request for additional docs, would be good crossfeed.   Again, congrats.

[Boomer6969]

On 1/16/2023 at 5:18 PM, Pib said:

Sure wish Tricare had been acceptable in Oct/Nov 2022 when I applied. 

You are not the only one in this situation. All my UN former colleagues have managed to get their ASHI coverage approved, I quote our association's focal point:

 

"The only proof of my Cigna insurance was the very same you attached. I had applied end of September, perhaps by then, and as a reaction to your “groundwork” earlier that month, they had decided to accept the “open-ending-date” version. I am certain, for your next attempt it will be sufficient.".

 

The next attempt is 5 years down the road, but never mind the alternative didn't required any juggling, so I went down the path of least resistance.

[Ramilf]

Hello!

Guys, who collect LTR visa in Bangkok inrecent month. Could you specify please, can I pay with cash for visa or only QR system? 

[F Groenen]

1 hour ago, Ramilf said:

Hello!

Guys, who collect LTR visa in Bangkok inrecent month. Could you specify please, can I pay with cash for visa or only QR system? 

I got mine at OSS on Nov.24. Payment is with QR (local Thai bank app) ONLY ! (UOB and TMB excluded)

It took me 30min go get my darn app to do the right thing (pay).

[F Groenen]

2 hours ago, Pib said:

Congrats.  So those listening in can get an idea of how long it takes to get a LTR visa, when did you apply and when did you get the approval notice/endorsement from BoI?  And any other info about your application, like maybe a request for additional docs, would be good crossfeed.   Again, congrats.

I applied on day-1 (Sep.1 2022) and was approved on Oct.4 (exactly 20 working days).
In the approval email, I was told to update documents online, but it was not clear what.
At that time, the LTR online application allows you to add documents ONCE. If you try a next time, the documents are not uploaded. Best option is to email them to BOI-LTR. Hopefully this has been corrected.

 

Many emails with BOI (they do not respond most times) and a few calls with BOI, it became clear they did not accept my health insurance. I have Thai health insurance for past 7 years and approved for renewal next May, but this was not good enough. I had the insurance company cancel my policy and re-issue for 12 months in November. This was accepted.

 

The final approval was given on Nov.22, unfortunately with incorrect 'apply by' date.
I visited the BOI-LTR office on Nov.24, got the date corrected and was able to make the appointment with One Stop Service center (OSS) for the same day. (Same building, same floor, across from BOI-LTR office)

 

The LTR person was nice enough to walk me through OSS and get things done.
The ONLY payment accepted at OSS is with Local bank phone app transfer (QR code).
That is when I learned that LTR-WFT cannot get a Work Permit. It took 3 more weeks to get an email from BOI-LTR office, stating that no WP is needed for LTR-T (work from Thailand) visa. There is however a list of restrictions, basically stating that no work can be performed for any Thai company, directly or indirectly.

 

It seems the rules for local health insurance have changed recently and a guaranteed renewal is accepted now (can request this from your insurance agent/company)

[F Groenen]

8 minutes ago, F Groenen said:

I applied on day-1 (Sep.1 2022) and was approved on Oct.4 (exactly 20 working days).
In the approval email, I was told to update documents online, but it was not clear what.
At that time, the LTR online application allows you to add documents ONCE. If you try a next time, the documents are not uploaded. Best option is to email them to BOI-LTR. Hopefully this has been corrected.

 

Many emails with BOI (they do not respond most times) and a few calls with BOI, it became clear they did not accept my health insurance. I have Thai health insurance for past 7 years and approved for renewal next May, but this was not good enough. I had the insurance company cancel my policy and re-issue for 12 months in November. This was accepted.

 

The final approval was given on Nov.22, unfortunately with incorrect 'apply by' date.
I visited the BOI-LTR office on Nov.24, got the date corrected and was able to make the appointment with One Stop Service center (OSS) for the same day. (Same building, same floor, across from BOI-LTR office)

 

The LTR person was nice enough to walk me through OSS and get things done.
The ONLY payment accepted at OSS is with Local bank phone app transfer (QR code).
That is when I learned that LTR-WFT cannot get a Work Permit. It took 3 more weeks to get an email from BOI-LTR office, stating that no WP is needed for LTR-T (work from Thailand) visa. There is however a list of restrictions, basically stating that no work can be performed for any Thai company, directly or indirectly.

 

It seems the rules for local health insurance have changed recently and a guaranteed renewal is accepted now (can request this from your insurance agent/company)

The documents I submitted included;
  Annual reports for my employer for past 3 years.
  A certificate of employment issued by my employer.
  A number of certifications I earned related to my work.
  My complete CV.
  Year-end payslips for the past 5 years.
  Tax returns for past 3 years.
  Company provided Health Insurance (limited coverage in Thailand).
  Local Thai health insurance policy.

 

Not sure which were used for final approval, but in my experience more docs is better with any Thai application.

[F Groenen]

4 hours ago, Misty said:

As far as I know, how the various types of income of each LTR visa is taxed hasn't been clearly laid out, and as you say, even the definitions of the various types of income aren't clear-cut.  My best suggestion would be to ask your employer to consult with a legitimate tax firm regarding this issue.  One of the big 4 would be best, to get a real answer.

 

Questions were asked about this topic in the call with the BoI LTR unit last Friday, but there were no clear answers. A request was made for a tax summary table clarifying each type of visa, by each type of income, with clear definitions of the types of income being taxed. Let's see if that transpires. We know how what's legal is often are deliberately left unclear.... right up until the moment clarity arrives (take nominee structures).

 

The BoI LTR unit is great in many ways, but they aren't tax advisors and I think they may answer some questions optimistically, rather than factually.  For example, at one point an answer was "How would they (Thai Revenue Dept) know?"  Well, yes....but I can remember that used to be said about the IRS, and then FATCA arrived.

 

 

 

My employer is working with one of the big 4, to work through regulations for 'Digital Nomad visas'.
Ultimately they will need a statement from the Thai authorities confirming their findings.

 

I don't think the compliance and tax issues have been worked out by BOI-LTR.
As nice and helpfull as the LTR staff is, they are not experts and statements will need to come from other authorites.
Even the documents already posted on the LTR website, leave many item undefined.

 

I'm somewhat disapointed that BOI-LTR is not updating their website with the new rules and guidelines.

[khunjeff]

7 hours ago, Ramilf said:

Hello!

Guys, who collect LTR visa in Bangkok inrecent month. Could you specify please, can I pay with cash for visa or only QR system? 

I was there today for my friend's LTR appointment, and they accepted his cash payment. The sign at the cashier says "cash not accepted", and I believe that policy was enforced early on, but now you can pay the 50k fee by QR code or cash. (I had my own appointment last month, and even at that time they told me I could pay by QR or cash.)

[Pib]

7 hours ago, Ramilf said:

Hello!

Guys, who collect LTR visa in Bangkok inrecent month. Could you specify please, can I pay with cash for visa or only QR system? 

 

30 minutes ago, khunjeff said:

I was there today for my friend's LTR appointment, and they accepted his cash payment. The sign at the cashier says "cash not accepted", and I believe that policy was enforced early on, but now you can pay the 50k fee by QR code or cash. (I had my own appointment last month, and even at that time they told me I could pay by QR or cash.)

I too was at BOI and Immigration today....went to ask BOI some questions about Tricare health insurance and similar type insurance which are open-ended which I will post about later....and I also swung by the Immigration Office Fee Payment counter regarding Ramilf's question.   

 

Although Immigration has a sign on the fee counter window saying along the lines of Cash Not Accepted, Only QR Payment Accepted like khunjeff said above when I asked the fee clerk if cash is accepted she said Yes, for LTR visa only.  I then pointed to the sign saying Cash Not Accepted and she said it is accepted for LTR only. Don't know why they don't update the sign....guess it's their way of pushing QR payment and only having to deal with cash payment for the large LTR fee.

 

I then asked is debit and/or credit cards accepted and she said No, only cash or QR payment for LTR visa.   

 

Now I thought I remember someone posting in this long thread or maybe it was another thread saying they were able to pay their LTR visa fee at BoI immigration with a debit/credit card (but maybe I'm not remembering it right).  However, all I can say for sure is what I was told today/18 Jan by immigration face-to-face with the fee counter representative.   Cash or QR payment for LTR visa is accepted although the sign on the window will say Cash Not Accepted....and once again debit/credit cards not accepted.

 

[Pib]

8 hours ago, Ramilf said:

Hello!

Guys, who collect LTR visa in Bangkok inrecent month. Could you specify please, can I pay with cash for visa or only QR system? 

Have you been approved for an LTR visa or just want to know about the payment method if you do apply and get approved? 

 

If you have been approved, what day did you apply and what day did you get the "final" approval notice/email? 

 

And any additional details you might want to share about your application experience are appreciated as it's the details that sometimes provide real chunks of golden info.   Like F Groenen's post was full of great details.  Thanks.

 

 

[Pib]

6 hours ago, F Groenen said:

I applied on day-1 (Sep.1 2022) and was approved on Oct.4 (exactly 20 working days).
In the approval email, I was told to update documents online, but it was not clear what.
At that time, the LTR online application allows you to add documents ONCE. If you try a next time, the documents are not uploaded. Best option is to email them to BOI-LTR. Hopefully this has been corrected.

 

Many emails with BOI (they do not respond most times) and a few calls with BOI, it became clear they did not accept my health insurance. I have Thai health insurance for past 7 years and approved for renewal next May, but this was not good enough. I had the insurance company cancel my policy and re-issue for 12 months in November. This was accepted.

 

The final approval was given on Nov.22, unfortunately with incorrect 'apply by' date.
I visited the BOI-LTR office on Nov.24, got the date corrected and was able to make the appointment with One Stop Service center (OSS) for the same day. (Same building, same floor, across from BOI-LTR office)

 

The LTR person was nice enough to walk me through OSS and get things done.
The ONLY payment accepted at OSS is with Local bank phone app transfer (QR code).
That is when I learned that LTR-WFT cannot get a Work Permit. It took 3 more weeks to get an email from BOI-LTR office, stating that no WP is needed for LTR-T (work from Thailand) visa. There is however a list of restrictions, basically stating that no work can be performed for any Thai company, directly or indirectly.

 

It seems the rules for local health insurance have changed recently and a guaranteed renewal is accepted now (can request this from your insurance agent/company)

Update:   Known LTR Visa Approvals as of 18 Jan 2023 "based on posts in this thread I saw."  Added in bold text "F Groenen" (a brand new AseanNow member) who received his LTR Work From Thailand visa final approval notice 22 Nov 2022....would have got the final approval several weeks earlier but additional insurance docs were requested....see his post above for details.  Congrats to F Groenen!!!

 

Poster & Date Final Approval Notice Rec'd

1.   BKKNono  -  15 Sep 2022

2.  ashkale  - 28 Sep 2022

3.  ThailandRyan  - 28 Sep 2022

4.  pepper402  - 29 Sep 2022

5.  gajah  - 30 Sep 2022

6.  Alotoftravel  - 4 Oct 2022

7.  James7  - 4 Oct 2022

8. & 9.  Misty (and family member)  - 4 Oct 2022

10.  mudcat  - 4 Oct 2022

11. & 12.  stuarty (and wife) - 4 Oct 2022

13.  Boomer6969  - 5 Oct 2022

14.  aublumberg - 12 Oct 2022

15.  JJJJJJJJ  -  8 Nov 2022

16.  F Groenen - 22 Nov 2022

17.  smic - 28 Nov 2022

18.  Paul3456 - 30 Nov 2022

19.  anotherexpat4444 - 7 Dec 2022

20.  User3847385 - 8 Dec 2022

21. & 22.  Zuman - 16 Dec 2022 (and Mrs Zuman on 27 Dec 2022) 

23. lextsy - 21 Dec 2022

24. Pib - 23 Dec 2022

25. Saraburi121 - 23 Dec 2022

26. khunjeff - 26 Dec 2022

27. TaiMaiTai - 4 Jan 2023

 

[Misty]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

 

I too was at BOI and Immigration today....went to ask BOI some questions about Tricare health insurance and similar type insurance which are open-ended which I will post about later....and I also swung by the Immigration Office Fee Payment counter regarding Ramilf's question.   

 

Although Immigration has a sign on the fee counter window saying along the lines of Cash Not Accepted, Only QR Payment Accepted like khunjeff said above when I asked the fee clerk if cash is accepted she said Yes, for LTR visa only.  I then pointed to the sign saying Cash Not Accepted and she said it is accepted for LTR only. Don't know why they don't update the sign....guess it's their way of pushing QR payment and only having to deal with cash payment for the large LTR fee.

 

I then asked is debit and/or credit cards accepted and she said No, only cash or QR payment for LTR visa.   

 

Now I thought I remember someone posting in this long thread or maybe it was another thread saying they were able to pay their LTR visa fee at BoI immigration with a debit/credit card (but maybe I'm not remembering it right).  However, all I can say for sure is what I was told today/18 Jan by immigration face-to-face with the fee counter representative.   Cash or QR payment for LTR visa is accepted although the sign on the window will say Cash Not Accepted....and once again debit/credit cards not accepted.

 

I was able to pay for my digital work permit with a credit card at the LTR One Stop Service desk.                   

[Karma80]

On 1/14/2023 at 9:30 PM, Pib said:

Well, the BoI LTR Visa with 745 approved over approx 4 months (around 186/month) is certainly doing better than its sister BoI SMART Visa program which shows 1060 approved over 49 months (around 22/month)

 

Yes, but how many of these are just existing retirement visas converted? Seems to make up most of this thread contribution. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not really much benefit to the country.

[oldcpu]

12 minutes ago, Karma80 said:

Yes, but how many of these are just existing retirement visas converted? Seems to make up most of this thread contribution. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not really much benefit to the country.

I don't  know. 

 

I suspect it reduces the annual paperwork. That is a benefit for immigration having to do less.

 

And I think some pensioners,  like myself, had to invest more in Thailand  to retire on the LTR, after using Type-OA and Type-O in the past.

 

Who knows the actual numbers? .. and I believe the annual paperwork reduction is a big benefit for both sides regardless of the numbers. That is the main reason I am considering an LTR .. and when I see how late Thai immigration staff work processing the paperwork of annual extensions of foreigners permission to stay, I suspect they too consider it a benefit.