Thailand Opens Elite Visa Program to All Nationalities but One

On September 4, 2024, Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd. announced that the Thailand Elite Visa program will now accept applications from all nationalities except North Korea.

According to Bastien Trelcat, managing partner at Harvey Law Group, this decision reflects “Thai Elite’s long-term plan to broaden its reach to a more diverse market” while responding to the program’s increasing popularity.

The policy shift ends restrictions on 28 countries across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Previously ineligible nationalities included:

• Asia: Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan.
• Middle East: Algeria, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and Yemen.
• Africa: Central African Republic, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan.

Trelcat notes that recent data from the Thai Immigration Office indicated a steady influx of visitors from these restricted countries to Thailand with no adverse effect.

This realization, he explains, coupled with “the efficient due diligence process” involving the consular services of the country of citizenship of the applicant, led to the conclusion that “restrictions were no longer justified.”

Thailand’s Elite Residence Program offers renewable visas valid for five to 20 years, allowing extended stays without a path to permanent residency or citizenship. One-time fees range from about $27,000 to $150,000.

Membership tiers:

• Gold Membership: THB 900,000 for a 5-year visa
• Platinum Membership: THB 1.5 million for a 10-year visa
• Diamond Membership: THB 2.5 million for a 15-year visa
• Reserve Membership: THB 5 million for a 20-year visa (invitation only)

Trelcat notes that the program enables visa holders to “quickly settle in in Southeast Asia’s capital integrated in a 350 million people economic zone.”

Trelcat says the expansion “opens up large markets like Pakistan and Nepal, which have always been savvy on Thailand thanks to its proximity, but also Egypt and Nigeria.”

The processing times for the Thai Elite Visa typically take one to two months and the program imposes no physical presence requirements.