News Forum - Thailand still pushing its unattractive LTR 10-year visa

[Thaiger]

The Government of Thailand is once again, making unsubstantiated claims regarding its 10-year, multiple entry Long Term Residence (LTR) visa programme. The government still reckons the LTR programme will attract one million foreigners over five years and act as a catalyst to boost the nation’s tourism and promote economic growth in Thailand. According to the …

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[Pompies]

Is it the visa or is it the destination? Xenophobia is inherent in Thai society and magnified in government agencies such as RTP, dear Khun Anutin of dirty farang fame, double pricing etc. Short term aliens/tourists are prepared to ignore this for 2 weeks of sun and fun but the impact on longer term aliens is much more marked. The outside world is highly aware of what goes on here and it is certainly making Thailand an unattractive destination for the people who are being targeted by this visa. No-one wants to make long term commitment to corruption & state xenophobia when many other countries have a far less cynical view of long term residents who bring in vast amounts to their economies. And these ingrained negatives are not going away anytime soon, so Thailand will remain at the bottom of the list along with North Korea and the likes.

[Grumpish]

With the insane financial requirements (for a 3rd world country, which Thailand still is, even if they won't admit it) the LTR visa is never going to attract many applications, and will probably be allowed to fade away eventually, after enough time has passed so that whoever dreamt it up doesn't lose face. 

[Vigo]

It will attract  some Russians and Chinese.

[Martyp]

I received my pensioner LTR in January. While it seems obvious that they won’t get the numbers they claim I think it will certainly get applicants similar to the Elite Visa. As for those other countries, they are just not Thailand. It is not all about the money. It is about the destination too. 

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, Martyp said:

I received my pensioner LTR in January. While it seems obvious that they won’t get the numbers they claim I think it will certainly get applicants similar to the Elite Visa. As for those other countries, they are just not Thailand. It is not all about the money. It is about the destination too. 

What other countries aren't Thailand?

 

I enjoy Thailand(and it frustrates me as well)

And will semi retire here

 

But to say there are no equals to Thailand, especially when there are many that are more accommodating, is a bit of a reach, IMO

[Pi_Tim]

With such high assets, people would not need to work, only retire or earning dividends from investments.

10 years Elite visa costs 1MTHB (around 28KUSD) and you are allowed to invest.

Why going for this LTR visa ? I do not see the point.

[Pi_Tim]

7 hours ago, Vigo said:

It will attract  some Russians and Chinese.

Chinese used to go for Elite Visa before Covid

[Augratin]

I'll tell you what; if they want us long-stayers to bring foreign money into Thailand, shutting down foreigner access to PayPal was an award-winning decision.

It took me several months of jumping through all sorts of hoops and setting up underground channels to reestablish my incoming funding streams.

 

On topic, if Thailand really wants to attract long term stayers like some of us, just ask us what we want and need to stay here, and PROVIDE IT.  It's just that simple.

Edited March 5, 2023 by Augratin

[Antonio5]

They DO NOT provide work permit with LTR visas. Work permit eligible only for category of High skilled employee for THAI company. Category Work from Thailand for digital nomads do not provide a work permit, sadly.

[palooka]

On 3/5/2023 at 9:33 AM, Pi_Tim said:

10 years Elite visa costs 1MTHB (around 28KUSD) and you are allowed to invest

INVEST in what? Bank rates for term deposits are 3% if lucky for a foreigner, western countries 5%+ or do you invest in a local gangster charging 10% per month and end up fertilizing that new banana tree.

Shares are a minefield for foreigners and the dividends are crap. Invest back home and only bring what you need here, particularly in an election year.

Besides my retirement visa is only 1900 baht a year. Heck of a lot of years to get to 1 Mil baht 

[Vigo]

On 3/5/2023 at 12:09 AM, Augratin said:

I'll tell you what; if they want us long-stayers to bring foreign money into Thailand, shutting down foreigner access to PayPal was an award-winning decision.

It took me several months of jumping through all sorts of hoops and setting up underground channels to reestablish my incoming funding streams.

On topic, if Thailand really wants to attract long term stayers like some of us, just ask us what we want and need to stay here, and PROVIDE IT.  It's just that simple.

Having  a verified income  stream that is subject to regulatory oversight is intended to reduce the risk of money laundering and the import of criminally sourced funds. You do not offer a compelling argument. 

[Augratin]

On 3/6/2023 at 8:28 PM, Vigo said:

Having  a verified income  stream that is subject to regulatory oversight is intended to reduce the risk of money laundering and the import of criminally sourced funds. You do not offer a compelling argument. 

But they didn't establish a way for foreigners to have "a verified income  stream that is subject to regulatory oversight", they just disallowed it all together!  How are all the digital nomads that Thailand claims to want to attract supposed to get their income from multiple overseas clients now?

They threw the baby out with the bath water.  They could have allowed foreigners to go through the same verification process that Thai people now have to go through.  Then you could say they are creating a way for us to have "a verified income  stream that is subject to regulatory oversight".

Would you like to guess what my solution was?  My Thai brother in law opened a PayPal account to receive my overseas income, and then he transfers it to my bank account.  Basically I now have to resort to underhanded means - you could even call it money laundering - to maintain my incoming revenue streams.  Good going, guys.  Excellent work.

[Vigo]

Your brother in law will be required to report income received from all sources when he files his income tax. I believe the exemption for tax payment is 150,000 baht.  Anything over is taxable. All that you have done than is to transfer the tax burden to your BIL. Because taxable income is considered as a sum total,  your BIL's acceptance may push him into a much higher tax level on his other income. Did you consider that?