Big Thailand visa changes from June 1

[JoeyMac]

5 minutes ago, VictorInBKK said:

 

Thailand is quite big. Not just Bangkok. I hope they provide 60+30 days on land border runs too as it would require just 1 for a 180 day/year stay.

 

 

Where will you go to get away from the mass of tourists ?

[hydraides]

LOL i bet when they make it 60 day visa exempt, they just then change it to only 1 ENTRY per year visa exempt no doubt.....So in theory you don't really gain anything .....

 

Anything I read about changes to thai visa policy.....is always too good to be true, they somehow find a way to make it as difficult as possible to apply for anything worthwhile

[hydraides]

1 minute ago, JoeyMac said:

 

 

Where will you go to get away from the mass of tourists ?

I bet they change visa exempt to only 1 x per year now.......so nothing actually really changes, in fact it could be even less 

 

60+30 days = 90 days

30 + 30 x 2 =120 days

 

Lets see..

[JoeyMac]

4 minutes ago, hydraides said:

I bet they change visa exempt to only 1 x per year now.......so nothing actually really changes, in fact it could be even less 

 

60+30 days = 90 days

30 + 30 x 2 =120 days

 

Lets see..

 

 

It's not just that is a concern. It's the mass of visa free, and visa on arrivals they have now allowing from newer countries. Further extensions and lengths for India too. 

 

If you've spent anytime in Bangkok and Phuket lately you will see locals complaining, and how the infrustructure cannot cope. 

 

But never mind. 

[balo]

This is the best news I've heard for 10 years.  Thumbs up to the government for actually using their brains for a change! 

 

[hydraides]

1 minute ago, balo said:

This is the best news I've heard for 10 years.  Thumbs up to the government for actually using their brains for a change! 

 

Wait for the fine detail!

 

If they change it to ONE visa exempt a year, that means you will get just 90 days instead of 120 days without a visa

 

As above it also means many tourists from many countries also flooding here

[hydraides]

Also I bet the digital nomad visa/muay thai will have either serious (tax requirements and reporting/ medical insurance requirements)

 

E.g have to pay like 20 % tax on your digital nomad earnings or something like that and have to earn at least 40,000 baht a month........

 

I think these proposals should be taken with a very big pinch of salt

 

 

[El Matador]

That is wonderful news. Haven't seen something as good for visas in a long time.

I didn't expect that digital nomad visa. I guess they saw Indonesia moving positively with their digital nomad visa and finally came to the conclusion remote workers were bringing money without stealing local jobs.

Have to see the details but it sound promising with that 180 days period which is the exact limit for staying non tax resident.

[narkeddiver]

The DTV visa seems a bit pointless unless I’m misunderstanding it.

 

It reads to me as though you can have one stay of up to 180 days in a 5 year period, and you can extend that stay once up to an additional 180 days.

 

As the visa lasts for 5 years it would appear that once you’ve used up your 360 days then you have to wait until the visa expires before you can get a new one, meaning if you used the visa in the first year you would have to wait 4 years before you could get a new one

[mstevens]

6 hours ago, MarkBR said:

Need to see the final details.  Because if everything is like this, everyone over 50 will change from retirement to digital nomad as less hassle is involved.   So final details are important. 

 

I wonder if they are trying to entice digital nomads to the country and get them in to the Thai tax system?

[pomchop]

7 hours ago, DLock said:

This is all excellent news, particularly the 60-days, instead of 30-days, and the increased list of visa free countries.

 

 

So would this not make the single entry 60 day tourist visa obsolete?  If u get 60 days visa free on arrival and then go to immigration can u extend another 30 days?  Then after total of 90 days leave the country and repeat again with 60 days plus 30 day extension?

 

I hope so as that would work well for those wanting about a six month relatively hassle free way to do it..

 

anyone know for sure??

[shdmn]

7 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

So with the visa exempt now 60 days they've just made the single entry tourist visa obsolete 😀

Also the multi entry.  Unless they are extending those to 90 days. 🤔  

 

Edited May 28 by shdmn

[pomchop]

7 minutes ago, shdmn said:

Unless they are extending the tourist visa to 90 days. 🤔

It is only a few days until June 1 and still tons of details to be confirmed....just maybe they should provide a  list of FAQ and the actual details at the same time of the big announcement?

 

Meantime I guess we all just sit tight and try and guess what may or may not happen....in less than a week?

 

Do any of these tourism visa experts have any idea of what it is like to try and plan a trip for next month or so without knowing the options/details available?  

Edited May 28 by pomchop

[SGD]

8 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

 

Is there any official source? requirements for the digital nomad visa?

 

Wouldn't the digital nomad visa essentially make Elite visas obsolete?

 

Sounds like it. Depends on what paperwork they want for your nomad visa but if they link it to global income then you're going to have to pay some taxes to get it renewed.

However, as I have said since the elite visas first came out, you only had to look at the cost of doing the annual visa jump to see the value or not.

At 1m for 20 years, it was 50k a year and no-one, not even back then, could go back home and get another business visa or other "dodgy" visa or even go legit and get a work permit for anywhere near 50k a year but of course, 99.9% of people who would have benefited never had anywhere near 1m baht available.

At the fairly recent Bt500k for 5 years, I said that it was a fair payment as you got 5 years and didn't have to do border jumps or dodgy ED visas or have to fly back home etc.

I still think that if the cost is under 100k a year, whatever visa you go for makes sense.

 

[SGD]

When will they learn and get an educated English person to proof read their garbage and straighten out their crap language ?

DTVs

OK, so they stamp you in for 180 days, probably make you hit up immigration at 90 days and for 10k.

But no-one is going to give them another 10k for 180 days, extendable only once in 5 years.

The only sensible interpretation is that the visa is 5 years and you can stay 180 days per visit, meaning border jumps every 6 months.

 

Yet I know that seems illogical but the other interpretations make even less sense as everyone would be on 180+180 and done in 12 months with no need for 5 years.

[DonniePeverley]

1 hour ago, narkeddiver said:

The DTV visa seems a bit pointless unless I’m misunderstanding it.

 

It reads to me as though you can have one stay of up to 180 days in a 5 year period, and you can extend that stay once up to an additional 180 days.

 

As the visa lasts for 5 years it would appear that once you’ve used up your 360 days then you have to wait until the visa expires before you can get a new one, meaning if you used the visa in the first year you would have to wait 4 years before you could get a new one

 

Unless you can get a new one every year?

 

Otherwise it's just a one year visa costing roughly £400 - but may well tip you into the tax paying threshold if you do actually stay 180 days. 

Edited May 28 by DonniePeverley

[shdmn]

36 minutes ago, pomchop said:

It is only a few days until June 1 and still tons of details to be confirmed....just maybe they should provide a  list of FAQ and the actual details at the same time of the big announcement?

 

Meantime I guess we all just sit tight and try and guess what may or may not happen....in less than a week?

 

Do any of these tourism visa experts have any idea of what it is like to try and plan a trip for next month or so without knowing the options/details available?  

It is rather short notice.  However, nothing is being reduced in time or becoming more restrictive, so it would not negatively affect anyone's immediate plans.

Edited May 28 by shdmn

[pomchop]

37 minutes ago, shdmn said:

It is rather short notice.  However, nothing is being reduced in time or becoming more restrictive, so it would not negatively affect anyone's immediate plans.

so do i apply online for a tourist visa or do i wait and see if i even need it?  If I don't need it then i have wasted time and money...would like to allow at least two weeks to make sure tourist visa is ok as have been through that before...and i would guess that the various thai embassies that do tourist visas will be getting more calls and questions possibly slowing service even more..

 

If you are travelling within next 30 days it would be helpful to know now what the rules will be.

[frankstraube]

8 hours ago, Pattaya57 said:

So with the visa exempt now 60 days they've just made the single entry tourist visa obsolete 😀

Actually it depends if you can extend that new 60 days visa on arrival...if you can extend by another 30 days it is basicaly a single entry tourist visa. If not, a tourist visa will still allow you to stay longer because of the extension.

Anyway i think this change will not last for long, like when they gave 45 days instead of 30 days last year, but reverted to 30 days a few months later...Thailand the land of uncertainty....   

[ThaiVisaCentre]

🤔 🤔 🤔 🫠

[humbug]

1 hour ago, SGD said:

When will they learn and get an educated English person to proof read their garbage and straighten out their crap language ?

DTVs

OK, so they stamp you in for 180 days, probably make you hit up immigration at 90 days and for 10k.

But no-one is going to give them another 10k for 180 days, extendable only once in 5 years.

The only sensible interpretation is that the visa is 5 years and you can stay 180 days per visit, meaning border jumps every 6 months.

 

Yet I know that seems illogical but the other interpretations make even less sense as everyone would be on 180+180 and done in 12 months with no need for 5 years.

'Skilled foreign talent, digital nomads, freelancers, and those engaging in activities such as learning Muay Thai, cooking, sports training, medical treatment, seminars, and arts and music events.'

 

Why would any government allow continious 5 year stays for medical treatment, seminars,, cooking!

 

They say extension from 60 to 180, and one more 180 day extension, so all they have to do is say, you can use twice, each time 180 days, then your 5 year visa, becomes used up or null and void, 

 

Do you really think it will mean 5 year stays of 180 days, just a new extension of 10 times 180 days?  no way, unless they put the 'skilled worker' into their new BOI eec 5 year visa, for large companies high earners, which they also announced recently

 

they are only reducing the o-a insurance requirement for 3 months,

 

I can't see any extra benefit for long term visas in the new offers, apart from 3 month special reduction for health insurance, that tells you a whole different story, that really the changes are for short term stays

Edited May 28 by humbug

[ezzra]

meanwhile, a Thai a lady lawyer friend of mine who have been legally married in Thailand to a UK guy for nearly 30 years

and heaving 2 grown up kids still prefer to use an agent to arrange for the hubby yearly renewal of his spouse permit, and not

because of the 400k that needed for the process but for hoops and hurdles they need to jump through to prove that 

they're indeed married and live together in Pattaya, Go figure...

[AreYouGerman]

It's pretty clear what is meant.

 

'5 Year valid visa' which can be used 2x for each 180 days within 5 years. And then you can't get another '5 year visa' for, well, 5 years minus your used days inside Thailand.

 

 

Edited May 28 by AreYouGerman

[granuaile]

So 60 days visa free now for everyone. Also will be interested in the 180 day requirements....

[AreYouGerman]

Who else loves countries that pretend to be a Democracy but then just act like real country which actually can do stuff? Not saying the stuff they are doing makes sense to us but they do stuff just like that and it won't take years to come in effect. Announced, and there it is. Just so.

[pomchop]

Fire, Aim, Ready

 

 

[AreYouGerman]

6 minutes ago, granuaile said:

Also will be interested in the 180 day requirements....

 

Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) eligibility and benefits:

• Skilled foreign talent, digital nomads, freelancers, and those engaging in activities such as learning Muay Thai, cooking, sports training, medical treatment, seminars, and arts and music events.
• Spouses and legal children (under 20) of DTV holders.
• Proof of financial support or a guarantee of at least 500,000 baht for the duration of stay.
• DTV allows a stay of up to 180 days, with a visa fee of 10,000 baht, valid for 5 years. The stay can be extended once for another 180 days with an additional fee of 10,000 baht.

Edited May 28 by AreYouGerman

[JayClay]

7 hours ago, connda said:

5-year visas available for digital nomads, boxers and chefs students

 

In the meanwhile:  Screw you foreign men who have been married to a Thai woman and living in Thailand between one to two decades.  Show up every year and PROVE TO US that you are married to your mongrel wife whom we detest as much as you - farang.

Simply amazing.

 

Both those who are married and those who are retired can stay here indefinitely on visa extensions.

 

I think you married folk do pretty freaking well when it comes to visas. Yet all you can do is moan that other people may also finally get some of the same privileges that you've been enjoying for years*?

 

Self, self, self, self, self...

 

 

* That's assuming that these new options even provide anything like as cushy arrangement as you have now, which I highly doubt.

[AreYouGerman]

If this comes for real... I have a very good feeling about a new 'visa agent' loophole to use '5 year visa' (2x 180 days) indefinitely. It's like you start hate Thailand because you can't stay there because you are a very handsome 30s something year dude and then they come up with stuff like this! 🥰

[elektrified]

11 hours ago, PingRoundTheWorld said:

 

Is there any official source? requirements for the digital nomad visa?

 

Wouldn't the digital nomad visa essentially make Elite visas obsolete?

 

Must maintain 500K Baht in the bank for the 180 day stay.