News Forum - Phuket proposes visa and work permit scheme for digital nomads in Thailand

[Thaiger]

Phuket officials are pushing for a visa scheme for so-called “digital nomads” who want to live or stay in Thailand while working remotely. Under the proposed Phuket X Community for Digital NOMADs Visa, eligible foreigners would be offered a work permit and a stay on the island province for six months to a year. The visa scheme would also allow foreigners to open a savings account and buy health insurance. The visa proposal was submitted to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and to the Foreign Affairs Minister by the President of Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation, Rawat Areerob. The […]

The story Phuket proposes visa and work permit scheme for digital nomads in Thailand as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Pinetree]

And why not.  They could name it the:  'lazy assed, can't be bothered to work at a proper job, still a teenager, more a beach bum kid than a man, anti social ass,  visa; but maybe that's a bit long winded.  Perhaps shorten it to:  'fill in your own thoughts here '. 

[Pinetree]

4 minutes ago, Transam said:

You sound envious.....

HaHa, never. I feel that i have led a useful life. 

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

35 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

Phuket officials are pushing for a visa scheme for

No other reason than they have no faith in the Thai Government to  …. But then it will need a monetary insensitive to happen, …. Brown envelopes anyone?

[Saltire]

50 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

The visa scheme would also allow foreigners to open a savings account and buy health insurance.

So is this optional? I doubt it.

 

[LoongFred]

9 minutes ago, Saltire said:

So is this optional? I doubt it.

I also doubt it. Probably require a deposit in a Thai bank ( 800k +) and possibly insurance. This would undoubtedly keep the low enders away.  I thought there was already a proposed visa for higher end DN types. 

[Marc26]

43 minutes ago, Pinetree said:

And why not.  They could name it the:  'lazy assed, can't be bothered to work at a proper job, still a teenager, more a beach bum kid than a man, anti social ass,  visa; but maybe that's a bit long winded.  Perhaps shorten it to:  'fill in your own thoughts here '. 

Just an old white guy afraid of a new world he doesn't understand, I see

[Saltire]

4 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

I also doubt it. Probably require a deposit in a Thai bank ( 800k +) and possibly insurance. This would undoubtedly keep the low enders away.  I thought there was already a proposed visa for higher end DN types. 

Insurance cover from a Phuket-base company perhaps?

 

[Soidog]

They are also forgetting a large group of people such as myself who have nothing to do with IT services, programming or graphic design. I provide consultancy services to the Telecoms industry. Nearly all of that work can be conducted over the phone, email and video conferencing such as MS Teams and Zoom. Consequently I’m able to work almost anywhere in the world. The only issue is the time difference which can mean early  or late finishes.  I’m sure there are many other consultants providing a whole host of services from Finance, HR and Engineering who could work where they wish. 

[Janneman]

The basic idea of being a digital nomad is that you can work anywhere in the world. As long as there is internet. Go to country X, rent an Airbnb, plug in the laptop and that's it.

In my case, my 'work' is in Holland. Where I also pay taxes, have my insurances and so on. But I try to live where the weather is a bit nicer.

Now, Thailand could start demanding from digital nomads to obtain a working permit in order to get a long term visa? Next step, digital nomads have to pay taxes in Thailand too? This is meant to attract, or deter digital nomads?

[Saltire]

4 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

Just an old white guy afraid of a new world he doesn't understand, I see

Old white guy here.

If I had the chance in my younger days i'd now be a retired digital nomad insted of a retired IT Manager, Many jobs I did in the past could have been done remotely but companies back then didn't see that as viable for all sorts of reasons.

Roll forward to Covid and the company I left to retire in Asia sent everyone outside the factory area to work from home. It's been successful to the extent that many are now on a contract that confirms their permanent work from home job status, including my old department.

I would add though that this perception that digital nomads are also in the 'very rich' category is, as it is for all other tourists/expats, just deluded.

If this visa goes ahead the greed factor will take over as usual and it will price potential candidates out of the running.

It's a good idea but ............

 

 

[Fortuner]

What about all these vloggers harassing around people on the streets,malls etc.???

[JackMeOff]

If the Thai government roll this out then they will be asking the digital nomad many more questions such as what type of business, source of income and how much.

Now legally if there is a long stay foreigner in Thailand, they are mandated to pay an average of 30 percent taxes on any monies received in Thailand from foreign country.  

It does not matter if it is retirement income or already been taxed in home country.

This is a law, but is rarely enforced because difficult to monitor and catch the foreign offenders. 

Beware... because any digital nomad application will have many questions allowing the Thai government to monitor your business/income monies received here and easier for them to tax or seize for fines and unpaid Thai taxes.

[BangkokBruce]

 

1 hour ago, Pinetree said:

And why not.  They could name it the:  'lazy assed, can't be bothered to work at a proper job, still a teenager, more a beach bum kid than a man, anti social ass,  visa; but maybe that's a bit long winded.  Perhaps shorten it to:  'fill in your own thoughts here '. 

I'm 48 years old, from the US, and make about 400,000 baht a month. I work about 8 hours a month. I would rather be "lazy" and earn this money then work for 50,000 baht a month 6 days a week 10 hours a day here in Thailand.

I have my own online Amazon business. I buy things from here in China and sell to the US market. What do you do?

[BangkokBruce]

21 minutes ago, Fortuner said:

What about all these vloggers harassing around people on the streets,malls etc.???

What about them. They don't bother me. 

[Pinetree]

3 hours ago, Transam said:

And no doubt the PC wizards do too, wherever they reside......

living inside of a computer , or a smart phone, is not living, its being part of a sad digital reality. 

[Pinetree]

3 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Just an old white guy afraid of a new world he doesn't understand, I see

Its a wonder i ever managed to fly a digital burdened aircraft. Not all older white guys are digitally challenged, and how do you know that I'm either white or old? Just one more off the cuff,  ignorant comment, lots of them in forums. 

[Pinetree]

2 hours ago, BangkokBruce said:

I'm 48 years old, from the US, and make about 400,000 baht a month. I work about 8 hours a month. I would rather be "lazy" and earn this money then work for 50,000 baht a month 6 days a week 10 hours a day here in Thailand.

I have my own online Amazon business. I buy things from here in China and sell to the US market. What do you do?

I doubt that much of that is in fact true, but good on you if it is. 

[Cabra]

I find it highly unlikely that individual provinces are going to start making their own immigration rules and policies (and designing new visa types) unilaterally. Not to mention under this particular proposed scheme you can only live in Phuket province. Sort of lame (in my opinion). Make it a national scheme with choice of home province, them maybe.

[Pinetree]

17 minutes ago, Transam said:

I think you mean "working" inside a computer, which really is what the thread is about. 

Are you saying you are not living posting here.....? 

You know very well what I mean

[HiuMak]

4 hours ago, JackMeOff said:

If the Thai government roll this out then they will be asking the digital nomad many more questions such as what type of business, source of income and how much.

Now legally if there is a long stay foreigner in Thailand, they are mandated to pay an average of 30 percent taxes on any monies received in Thailand from foreign country.  

It does not matter if it is retirement income or already been taxed in home country.

This is a law, but is rarely enforced because difficult to monitor and catch the foreign offenders. 

Beware... because any digital nomad application will have many questions allowing the Thai government to monitor your business/income monies received here and easier for them to tax or seize for fines and unpaid Thai taxes.

Depending on the double tax treaty with your customers is residing, does it mean there will be withholding tax involved and hence a need to mark up your service fees?

[Artemis080]

It's a good start, but the devil will be in the detail. Done right, it could be transformative if it targets short term digital nomads. Transformative for the local businesses supporting that economy with workspaces and services. Money will be spent locally by community-minded or value-aware people rather than dumped in hotel corporation bank accounts.

But, there will be massive FOMO from other provinces and islands. A lot of hurdles to overcome. This isn't a strictly immigration matter. The ministry of manpower now becomes involved, and that's before the issues of social security eligibility, tax and whatnot.

Indonesia screwed their chance with the 5-year visa option requiring approx USD 145k bank deposit and turning it into some quasi elite-work hybrid visa disaster.

The first SEA nation to pull it off will win a lot of medium-term travellers. I do hope Thailand leads the way. If for no other reason than to ween themselves off Chinese tourism reliance.

[Marc26]

7 hours ago, Saltire said:

Old white guy here.

If I had the chance in my younger days i'd now be a retired digital nomad insted of a retired IT Manager, Many jobs I did in the past could have been done remotely but companies back then didn't see that as viable for all sorts of reasons.

Roll forward to Covid and the company I left to retire in Asia sent everyone outside the factory area to work from home. It's been successful to the extent that many are now on a contract that confirms their permanent work from home job status, including my old department.

I would add though that this perception that digital nomads are also in the 'very rich' category is, as it is for all other tourists/expats, just deluded.

If this visa goes ahead the greed factor will take over as usual and it will price potential candidates out of the running.

It's a good idea but ............

Oldish guy here and will be looking to work in Boston/Thailand 3-4 months/year for the rest of my career

 

The work world has changed drastically

[Marc26]

7 hours ago, Soidog said:

They are also forgetting a large group of people such as myself who have nothing to do with IT services, programming or graphic design. I provide consultancy services to the Telecoms industry. Nearly all of that work can be conducted over the phone, email and video conferencing such as MS Teams and Zoom. Consequently I’m able to work almost anywhere in the world. The only issue is the time difference which can mean early  or late finishes.  I’m sure there are many other consultants providing a whole host of services from Finance, HR and Engineering who could work where they wish. 

Same here regarding hours, no matter where I work, I need to be at my desk/computer for NYC trading hours

 

I get jealous of the people who can work at whatever time they want, their job is not time sensitive..........

The girl who does all my financing(sends out invoice, etc) works from home and can work any time she wants

I'd love that

[Marc26]

4 hours ago, Pinetree said:

Its a wonder i ever managed to fly a digital burdened aircraft. Not all older white guys are digitally challenged, and how do you know that I'm either white or old? Just one more off the cuff,  ignorant comment, lots of them in forums. 

I was sort of joking, should have added 5555

But your comment wasn't ignorant?

You obviously have no idea that the work world has changed

So many people are working good jobs remotely................