In September, Thailand will welcome applications for the ten-year LTR visa for wealthy foreigners, primarily those working in technology sectors and digital nomads.
This plan should bring the equivalent of approximately 26 billion euros to the local economy over the next decade.
Narit Therdsteerasukdi, deputy secretary general of the Thailand Board of Investment (BoI), told the DW newspaper that he estimated that at least 50% of applicants for the long-term residency (LTR) visa program would be Europeans.
“We are confident that the LTR will generate significant interest from our target groups in Europe,” he said.
“Thailand is already a favorite destination for Europeans…
The responses we got during the pre-launch campaign reflect a strong interest.
I think the LTR will become even more popular following launch,” he added.
EU countries are the second largest investor in Thailand, following Japan, with 19.8 billion euros of outbound stocks in Thailand at the end of 2020.
Outward stocks measure foreign direct investment (FDI) in companies located in foreign economies.
Who can benefit from the LTR visa?
The new regime, which will start taking applications on September 1, offers work visas to foreigners in four categories.
The basic condition is a heritage of at least 1 million euros (1 euro = 1 dollars this August 22) and an annual income of 80,000 euros, but the rules change slightly from one group to another.
Candidates for the “Highly Skilled Professional” category will have to work in a sector deemed essential by the Thai government.
Individuals in the “professionals working from Thailand” category, which caters primarily to employees in the technology sector, must be employed by a company with a turnover of at least $150 million over three years.
Candidates for the “wealthy global citizens” category will be required to invest at least 500,000 euros in the local economy, including in the form of bonds and real estate.
All LTR visa holders will be granted a work permit and the right to re-entry.
An LTR visa will be valid for 10 years and can be renewed.
Benefits will apply to the primary visa holder and up to four dependents, including spouse and children.
Companies benefiting from the scheme will be exempt from laws requiring them to hire four Thai nationals per foreign employee, according to reports.
In 2018, Thailand launched its “Smart Visa“, which also offered incentives to wealthy foreign investors.
Nearly 50 percent of approved applicants were from European countries, Narit said.
He said the “Highly Skilled Professionals” category of the new LTR visa “is pretty much an extension of the duration and privileges of the Smart Visa program.”
The new visas are not a game-changer for businesses
The response from the European business community has been “generally positive, but most will wait and see,” Guillaume Rebiere, executive director of the European Association for Business and Trade in Thailand, told DW.
“Several businessmen already in Thailand have expressed interest in applying as it would help ease administrative burdens,” he added.
“So far, we have not seen any significant uptick or interest in moving business to Thailand in anticipation of this program,” he added.
Hans van den Born, executive director of the Netherlands-Thailand Chamber of Commerce, saw the same reaction.
“The initial reactions were lukewarm,” he told DW.
“I guess it takes more time and a lot more communication to the target audience to get some traction.”
Analysts believe the Thai government is a little optimistic in its forecast.
It expects one million applicants to apply for the LTR program by 2027.
If each of them contributes $28,000 to the local economy, the entire program will bring in $27.6 billion, according to BoI estimates.
Only 1,200 visas have been issued under the “Smart Visa” program since its launch in February 2018, although the new LTR scheme offers far more incentives and promises to be less bureaucratic.
“I don’t think it will be a game-changer for future Dutch investments, as there are many other important factors before companies decide to invest in our part of the world,” van den said. Born, adding that the program would likely help potential investors feel more welcome.
Thailand seeks recovery from pandemic
Like most countries in Southeast Asia, Thailand has suffered greatly from the lack of visitors during the pandemic.
Tourism accounted for around a fifth of GDP before the pandemic.
This week, Bangkok revised its growth figures for 2022 upwards to between 2.7% and 3.2%, following an unexpected jump of 2.5% in the second quarter of the year.
See : Thanks to tourism, Thailand’s economy is expected to grow by 3.6% this year
Lynn Tastan, country head of global mobility services at KPMG, an international accountancy firm, told DW that LTR visas have some shortcomings.
European retirees may prefer to apply for Thailand’s existing retirement visa, which has lower capital investment commitments than those provided under the “well-off retirees” category of the LTR scheme.
“One of the main challenges is providing supporting documentation to meet LTR requirements,” Ms. Tastan said.
“Easing the administrative burden for all parties under the LTR will be a key success factor,” she added.
But the main appeal of the program is in the ‘affluent global citizens’ and ‘professionals working from Thailand’ categories, she added.
Thailand does not currently have any visa or work permit programs specifically for foreigners who fall into these categories.
Importantly, the LTR scheme provides that foreigners in these two categories do not need to be sponsored by a Thai to work or reside in Thailand, Ms Tastan said.
“After the Covid affair, multinationals are exploring and implementing hybrid or remote working arrangements, for which Thailand is an attractive destination, and competing in the region to recruit remote workers under the LTR program” , she added.
Other Southeast Asian countries are also considering similar visa regimes.
Neighboring Cambodia recently launched its “My 2nd Home” program, which offers incentives to foreigners with $100,000 investment capital.
Indonesia is reportedly considering introducing a five-year “digital nomad” visa to attract high-spending visitors.
See as well :
Bide slated for proposal to allow foreigners to buy land in Thailand
The Long-Term Resident Visa (LTR), an option for living in Thailand reserved for the very wealthy
Source : DW
