Last September, the Thai government announced a project for a 10-years visa residency scheme. Now, the measures to attract wealthy foreigners and investors move forward.
Thailand is one of the favorite destinations for digital nomads and long-term travelers. The government has already approved a year extension for the existing 5-years visa. Now, new measures will include economic and investment incentives for potential foreigners; cloud service enterprises; startups; and foreign film production companies. In addition, the program includes family members.
In short, the 10-years visa residency scheme targets three primary categories:
- International travelers
- Rich retirees
- Wealthy pensioners
- Digital nomads or foreign employees working remotely from Thailand.
With the 10-years visa residency scheme, Thailand aims to lure over 1 million wealthy residents and remote-working professionals. As a result, the launch of the visa scheme is a key strategy to boost the local economy post-COVID. Global citizens must invest a minimum of $500,000 in bonds or real estate to be eligible. In addition, they need to prove a minimum income of $80,000 per year. And retirees have to invest $250,000, earning a minimum of $40,000 a year.
From 2022, Bangkok will start several measures for an initial five-year trial period. During that time, the government expects an investment increase of Bt800bn ($24bn) in the country and Bt270bn of tax revenues. Following other countries’ examples, Thailand lures international travels and digital nomads to restart the local economy with long-stay visas.
