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Thai Govt Eases LTR Visa Program Terms

Thailand has scrapped the income requirement for one of the LTR's categories, removed the dependent cap, and introduced sweeping changes

Moustafa Daly
Cairo

The Thai Cabinet has approved important changes to the Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa program, which the government launched in September 2022 to attract skilled professionals, wealthy investors, and retirees.

Officials say these updates aim to reduce application barriers, simplify processes, and enhance Thailand’s appeal as a global hub for talent and investment.

The LTR visa program, which offers ten years of residency, tax incentives, and streamlined procedures, now features more inclusive eligibility criteria and family-friendly benefits.

Bastien Trelcat, Managing Partner of Harvey Law Group Thailand, emphasizes that “the program has already been quite successful, six thousand visas issued in just two years,” though he believes certain conditions have obstructed it from reaching its full potential.

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No income requirement for “wealthy global citizens“

The government has removed the $80,000 annual income requirement for “Wealthy Global Citizens” category applicants. Trelcat has welcomed this update, as he explains that “subjecting wealthy investors to income conditions and requiring tax returns was difficult to fulfill.”

He revealed that authorities had already started accepting alternative documents to tax returns, but removing the income condition will further simplify the application process.

Applicants in the Wealthy Global Citizens category must still meet other criteria, including holding at least $1 million in assets and investing $500,000 in Thai government bonds, real estate, or other approved assets.

Changes across all LTR categories

While applicants of other categories must still demonstrate an $80,000 minimum income for the preceding two years, the updated rules include benefits for foreigners working remotely from Thailand.

The government has reduced the corporate turnover threshold for employers of Thai-based workers to $50 million from $150 million, as measured over the preceding three fiscal years.

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Employees of subsidiaries of multinational corporations now qualify for the visa if they can demonstrate financial stability through their parent company’s financial statements.

The Cabinet has removed the four-dependent cap for LTR visa holders, allowing spouses, parents, and children to join the primary visa holder without restriction.

LTR visa holders in the “Wealthy Investor,” “Wealthy Retiree,” and “Work-from-Thailand Professionals” categories maintain their exemption from personal income tax on offshore income repatriated to Thailand the year after earning it overseas—a benefit other taxpayers cannot access.

Those in the “Highly Skilled Professionals” category pay a flat 17% personal income tax rate. Trelcat highlights the importance of these taxation variations, saying he always recommends that “HNWIs explore and prioritize tax benefits when pursuing an immigration program.”

The Thai government has issued 2,500 of its 6,000 LTR visas to European nationals since 2022, as applicants from the United States, Japan, and China received the remaining visas.

Trelcat believes Thailand’s simpler LTR visa requirements signal a broader commitment to economic growth, asserting that “these changes will enhance Thailand’s position as a global hub for investment and high-potential talent.”

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