What happened to those who applied for God Visa program or Elite visa?

Seems to me they have paid fex 500,000 and now its only problems.Well,,as expected u can't trust anyone.

Hmmm. I just coughed up THB 5700 to renew my 1 year Visa. THB 5K p.a. is a 14% discount.

 

Assuming I would qualify, what's the catch?

41 minutes ago, norsurin said:

What happened to those who applied for God Visa program or Elite visa?

Seems to me they have paid fex 500,000 and now its only problems.Well,,as expected u can't trust anyone.

It seems to still exist: Thailand Elite Visa - https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/thai-elite-visa

 

It also seems to only be worth the "privilege points per year to redeem lifestyle privileges" and maybe priority lanes at airports and not having to go down to the immigration office so often.

 

Back to the topic: Thailand LTR Visa Benefits: More Comfortable and Profitable - https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/thailand-ltr-visa-benefits

 

Quote

 

Professional Assistance with Applying for an LTR Visa in Thailand

Qualifying for the Thai LTR Visa in Thailand can be a long and difficult process. If it wasn’t, then everyone would get access to its superior benefits.

 

The qualification process is painful in order to stop people getting one? Weird thinking. Why not just collect the required documents and fees up front and give a decision within a reasonable amount of time? Isn't this going to be enough of a filter on eligibility? Why add "long" and "difficult" into the mix?

1 hour ago, NorthernRyland said:

survive

Interesting keyword.

 

 

9 hours ago, Cabradelmar said:

Fake news... Go to the BOI website... There have been 7000 total applications, but only 1000 for the highly skilled labor category.

BOOM...nice catch.

7 hours ago, Caldera said:

Correct. And not only that; those 7,000 total applications include dependants (spouses and children of LTR visa applicants of all categories) who didn't qualify on their own merit.

 

Yes, 2,219 from 7,121, or over 30% have been for dependants.

11 hours ago, treetops said:

 

Yes, 2,219 from 7,121, or over 30% have been for dependants.

So? Other than positive for Thailand's economy through [a bit] more middle class spending.

 

LTR rocks..

 

Always enjoy reading about LTR here. The noise from those who can't get it contrasts so cruelly with the delight of those who have it.

 

Interestingly Ben Hart knocked it in some of his videos. But since he is a Thai citizen it must be because he can't make any money out of it.

21 hours ago, Qman said:

Compared to having a retirment extension to a Non-O visa the biggest stumbling block is the LTR requires medical insurance which becomes increasingly more expensive as you get older....(BUT IF).. you want to self insure then the cost is more  than just extending your retirement extension each year.     

Qman. Exactly. Well said. My last policy quotation from Pacific Cross was over 100,000 at age 66. This annual insurance premium could easily double or more...so self insuring on an O visa is better for many people than the LTR. 

22 hours ago, Qman said:

Compared to having a retirment extension to a Non-O visa the biggest stumbling block is the LTR requires medical insurance which becomes increasingly more expensive as you get older.  If you have or need the insurance then it is not an issue.  If you have medical coverage, but it does not specifically meet the Thai requirements, or you want to self insure then the cost is more  than just extending your retirement extension each year.  An option is to have idle funds in a bank account but the loss of income on those funds tends to outweigh the benefit of the LTR.    

Not, most people, and I am one of them, have been in a corporate health plan they carried over into retirement. BOI has accepted quite a few: US government, US army, UN.. So zero cost.

 

And most importantly, there is the Income tax issue, right now LTR/ RD 743 saves me 800000 THB a year.

21 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Not true with all insurance, especially foreign carriers.

 

What? Under what circumstances does medical/health insurance not become more expensive, and with which foreign carriers? 

9 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

 

What? Under what circumstances does medical/health insurance not become more expensive, and with which foreign carriers? 

Read my previous post and there is the answer. If you have to take out insurance after settling in LOS you are screwed, health cover must be part of any decision making regarding  your career, right after your leave University.

 

I joined my plan in 1991.

 

Now I don't know what self insurance could mean, I know someone who needed a simple varicocele operation, and it set him back 80k, in a shared ward of a government hospital. A triple bypass, which is quite common our days, will be 7 digits especially after an ICU stay.

12 hours ago, treetops said:

 

Yes, 2,219 from 7,121, or over 30% have been for dependants.

 

So if only about 5,000 non dependent LTRs have been issued.....And subtract the 1000 for the highly skilled labor......That leave about 4,000 retirees who have the LTR visa....

 

And with about 156,596 registered expatriates as of early 2023 in Thailand..This means about  2.55% of expat retirees have the LTR visa..

22 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Not true with all insurance, especially foreign carriers.

well, I have a foreign carrier and it gets more expensive yearly - those insurance carriers are only there to make money so I fail to understand how an insurer can insure one and not increase the premiums as the cost of hospitalization and doctores plus pharmas continues to rise worldwide.  I realize that some say their insurance cost won't rise but I answered one on this forum and their premiums were higher than mine yet they wouldn't cover me if I decided to have treatment for an ailment in the USA.  I have checked other insurers too and again I would be concerned about coverage with no problems which is what I do have today and while I admit it is high cost, I don't worry about any coverage for myself and family.  In the future as kid drops off, I too may alter my coverage and pay a lot less but will still meet the LTR requirements.

1 hour ago, Peter Crow said:

Read my previous post and there is the answer. If you have to take out insurance after settling in LOS you are screwed, health cover must be part of any decision making regarding  your career, right after your leave University.

 

I joined my plan in 1991.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing......

 

Different possibly if you are from the US where you have to pay but for many Europeans that is not the case.

How many people knew that far back that they would end up in SE Asia let alone specifically Thailand.

 

As a Brit even with company private health care you would have needed to take on the responsibility and cost of continuing with that provider as a private individual - and likely would not cover you for living outside the UK without changing the plan with all the resultant increases in cost.

 

49 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

 

So if only about 5,000 non dependent LTRs have been issued.....And subtract the 1000 for the highly skilled labor......That leave about 4,000 retirees who have the LTR visa....

 

And with about 156,596 registered expatriates as of early 2023 in Thailand..This means about  2.55% of expat retirees have the LTR visa..

What are you trying to say??

22 minutes ago, Peter Crow said:

What are you trying to say??

 

Nothing.....I was just curious how many retired expats had the LTR visa...

2 hours ago, Tom100 said:

Qman. Exactly. Well said. My last policy quotation from Pacific Cross was over 100,000 at age 66. This annual insurance premium could easily double or more...so self insuring on an O visa is better for many people than the LTR. 

I think it's ok to self-insure if you can get full coverage when repatriating to home country in case of something really bad happens that could cost high 6 or even 7 figures USD. If not, that is pure gambling.

55 minutes ago, Yumthai said:

I think it's ok to self-insure if you can get full coverage when repatriating to home country in case of something really bad happens that could cost high 6 or even 7 figures USD. If not, that is pure gambling.

My first reaction was to agree, but there are situations like strokes, heart attacks, accidents..  where you can't transport and need local care, unless you want to die.

9 hours ago, Peter Crow said:

So? Other than positive for Thailand's economy through [a bit] more middle class spending.

 

So what?

 

I was adding the specific figures to a previous post commenting on the number of dependants' visas, nothing more, nothing less, although I doubt many kids are spending much except for daddy's money that without kids he'd be spending on himself.

7 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

So what?

 

I was adding the specific figures to a previous post commenting on the number of dependants' visas, nothing more, nothing less, although I doubt many kids are spending much except for daddy's money that without kids he'd be spending on himself.

Sure, at 800000 Baht a year for an international school.

1 minute ago, Peter Crow said:

Sure, at 800000 Baht a year for an international school.

 

800,000 TB is peanuts even if multiplying it by the full amount of dependants, not all of which will be kids at international school.  As is any other money spent on supporting them.

 

If no kids, 800,000 THB and the rest on new motorcycles, flash car, island escape place, high living, mia noi etc that all still goes into the Thai economy.  Nothing positive or negative regarding spending due to the number of dependants, except in the BOIs spiel in the original article.

On 9/14/2025 at 12:06 PM, Peter Crow said:

Not, most people, and I am one of them, have been in a corporate health plan they carried over into retirement. BOI has accepted quite a few: US government, US army, UN.. So zero cost.

 

And most importantly, there is the Income tax issue, right now LTR/ RD 743 saves me 800000 THB a year.

the carry over from govt job doesn't mean zero cost as the govt shares the cost of premiums which the costs increase yearly, this year 13% for the retiree and next year another 13% increase.  But, my carrier since 1996 has increased regularly though not by those amounts of these two years mentioned and I notice that the govt is looking closely at just how much they are paying for us retirees so i also believe that in the future, something will change and do no know how it might affect us or if we will be "grandfathered" instead of losing altogether.  Based on stories I have read, I would not trust many of the insurers I have seen advertised.  I also note that some may be cheaper while I am here, if I decided to get treatment for something serious in the US, the local insurer and some others may not provide the same coverage if any at all.  I am willing to pay for my premium though high, so I can relax with no concern about coverage for me and my family.  As things continue to change throughout the world, my feelings might change too.   Actually, the world of today seems very strange to me and I am really glad that I decided to retire here in this Thai paradise.

56 minutes ago, Presnock said:

the carry over from govt job doesn't mean zero cost as the govt shares the cost of premiums which the costs increase yearly, this year 13% for the retiree and next year another 13% increase. 

I should have worded "zero additional cost" as I made the decision to maintain my cover, decades ago. It had nothing to do with LTR.

 

The LTR requirements match perfectly my situation so I just got one..

2 hours ago, Peter Crow said:

I should have worded "zero additional cost" as I made the decision to maintain my cover, decades ago. It had nothing to do with LTR.

 

The LTR requirements match perfectly my situation so I just got one..

Yes, the same with me - finances, health insurance coverage, a perfect match for me and much better than the retirement O that I had for 20+ years but which served me well too.  Now much less interaction with immigration though I never had any problems there either.

On 9/13/2025 at 6:48 AM, Grumpy one said:

Curse this headline, I am now sitting here muttering unkind words to the author of this article 

Yeah me too  I thought 'Pros' refered to ladies of the night. 

On 9/13/2025 at 7:52 PM, Cabradelmar said:

And I suspect some of those 7000 applications will even be denied. 

No....that 7000 number is the number of "approved" applications.   Below are the LTR visa stats shown a different way.   Where the stats below say "Total Applications" in one place that really means the total number that were endorsed (a.k.a., approved).

 

BOI uses the word "endorsed" for an approved LTR visa application.   I've never seen any BOI published stats on the number of applications which failed to meet visa requirements. 

 

https://www.facebook.com/LTRVisaThailand/

 

 

On 9/13/2025 at 6:28 AM, Sydebolle said:

The Thai goons at immigration still have A LOT to learn - possibly it is too late already! 

 

You can't teach an old dog new tricks....

On 9/12/2025 at 10:16 AM, snoop1130 said:

The LTR Visa targets four key groups: highly skilled professionals, work-from-Thailand professionals,

 

Arere we talkingfrelancers here?

2 hours ago, watchcat said:

 

Arere we talkingfrelancers here?

 

Probably not unless having a steady employment contract with a qualifying company.    See below from the BOI LTR website regarding qualification requirements for a Work-from-Thailand Professional LTR Visa.

 

https://ltr.boi.go.th/index.html#type

 

 

 

https://ltr.boi.go.th/documents/Required-docs-Work-From-Thailand-Professional-30-06-2025.pdf

7 hours ago, watchcat said:

 

Arere we talkingfrelancers here?

No. And that's why they will never increase the attractiveness of that category. You must have a contract with an employer who has a combined revenue of least US$50m over three years. But that's only half the story, because that company must be willing to hand over it's audited accounts to Immigration to support your application, and create a potential permanent establishment risk in Thailand headache for the company. Many international remote workers will have their own legal entity contracted to their overseas principal "client" or offset risk and meet tax advantage. The intermediary company would never meet the $50m requirement.

They should have just made it income based remote workers and set the bar high enough to meet whatever "quality dreams" they have. But instead wealthy retirees lead the way - and that won't change.