Great news for digital nomads and remote workers who ever planned to live in Thailand for a long term and work remotely in the tropical beauty.
According to Thailand Board of Investment, Thailand is planning to launch a 10-year visa called “LTR visa” on September 1st, 2022 for highly skilled human resources and wealthy investors.
The visa is originally intended to attract skilled workers in high-tech industries, such as electronics, defense, automobiles, and biotechnology, but the visa will be also valid for employees who currently work remotely for a company based outside Thailand.
Similarly, back in 2018 Thailand previously introduced the long-stay visa called “Smart Visa Program” which offered digital nomads and remote workers a 4-year stay in the country. The new long-term resident visa that Thailand will introduce in September 2022 is basically an extended version of the previous 4-year visa in terms of duration.
What Is Behind The Scheme – Why Does Thailand Offer The 10 Year Digital Nomad Visa?
The 10-year digital nomad visa (Smart Visa) aims at attracting highly skilled and wealthy digital nomads to Thailand, primarily from advanced economic counties. Ultimately, it is their attempt in hopes of regaining pre-pandemic growth rates in the tourism industry of Thailand.
Thailand’s economy suffered greatly from the decline in foreign tourists caused by COVID-19 travel restrictions over the last couple of years. According to Mckinsey, The international passengers flying to Thailand dropped by 95% in 2021, compared to the previous year. During Covid-19, the country encountered a great downturn in the tourism sector which accounts for 10% of the country’s entire GDP.
As a result, the Thai government is now making a tremendous effort to recover from the Covid-19 recession. Particularly, the recovery of the tourism sector appears to be a top priority of the country.
What Are the Advantages of Thai Digital Nomad Visa?
There are several benefits that digital nomads can capitalize on while working remotely in Thailand. Below is what the Thai government offers for Smart Visa holders according to the LTR (Long Term Resident) visa guidelines:
- Residence permit for 10 years in Thailand with a renewable option.
- Permission to work in Thailand digitally.
- Fast Track service offered at international airports in Thailand.
- Income tax rate as low as 17%.
- Exemption from the requirement for a 4-to-1 local/foreigner employment ratio.
- Simplified immigration and work permit facilitation process.
- 90-day report extended to 1 year and re-entry permit exempted.
What Are the Requirements of a Thai Digital Nomad Visa?
Unfortunately, the 10 year digital nomad visa is not for everyone. As it suggests that it is a visa for wealthy and highly skilled digital workers, it has strict requirements to qualify for the visa.
Thai Smart Visa guidelines as follows:
- The visa applicant must have had a yearly income greater than $80,000 in the last 2 years.
- If the personal income is below $80,000 but no less than $40,000 a year, the visa applicant must have a master’s degree in education, /or own an intellectual property /or receive Series A Funding.
- The company (foreign-based) for which the visa applicant works remotely must generate at least $150 million in revenue in the last 3 years.
- The visa applicant must have at least 5 years of work experience in the relevant field over the past 10 years.
Other Applicant Types Eligible For Thai LTR Visa
In addition to Work-From-Thailand digital nomads, the LTR program accepts visa applications from a few more candidate types.
These are the qualified candidates for the visa as follows:
- Wealthy global citizens who hold at least $1 million in the personal asset.
- Retirees aged 50 years or older who receive a stable annual pension above $80,000 in the last 2 years.
- Highly skilled professionals working in the designated industries (by the LTR program) or higher education/research institutes in Thailand.
- Spouse and children under 20 years old of an LTR visa holder.
How Much Does it Cost to Get a Digital Nomads Visa In Thailand?
The Thai government imposes a fee for the process of LTR visa issuance that allows applicants to live and work remotely from Thailand. For the payment, an applicant is supposed to pay for LTR visa issuance and digital work permit respectively as follows:
- LTR Visa Issuance Fee: 50,000 Baht (Approx $1,413 USD)
- Digital Work Permit Fee: 3,000 Baht (Approx $84 USD)
How to Apply For a Thailand Digital Nomad Visa?
The visa application process is open for qualified individuals who meet the requirements. To be notified of the result of the visa application review, it may take up to 20 working days.
To apply for the 10-year digital nomad visa in Thailand (LTR visa), you should follow this process as follows:
- Submit an application form and supporting documents for an LTR visa at https://thaievisa.go.th/. The application link may be available after September, 1st 2022.
- The application review result will be emailed in 20 working days
- If you have passed the review, you will need to apply for LTR Visa issuance at the Royal Thai Embassy (the physical location in Thailand) within 60 days from the issuance date of the visa approval. The processing fee (50,000 Baht) occurs during this application process.
- Go to ‘One Stop Service Center for Visa and Work Permit’ (a Thai government agency) and collect Digital Work Permit. Issuance fee occurs. (3,000 Baht per year)
SWH Editorial Team
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