Thailand plans to launch 10-year visa to attract foreign experts

Illustrative image. (Photo: Reddit)

Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand will launch a new 10-year "golden visa" scheme to attract foreign experts to the country.

The scheme targets wealthy foreigners, mainly those working in the technology sector and digital nomads or “Work-from-Thailand Professionals”- people who use technology and the Internet while working remotely and frequent travel.

It is expected to bring about 26 billion EUR (26.2 billion USD) to the local economy over the next decade.

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Deputy Secretary General of the Thailand Board of Investment, said he estimated that at least 50% of the applicants for the Long-Term Residence (LTR) visa programme will be from Europe.

EU countries are the second-largest investor in Thailand, after Japan, with 19.8 billion EUR worth of outward stocks in Thailand as of the end of 2020.

The new scheme, which will accept applications on September 1, offers work visas to foreigners across four categories, namely “Highly Skilled Professionals”, “Working Professionals from Thailand”, “Wealthy Global Citizens” and “Rich Pensioners”.

The basic requirement for obtaining the "golden visa" is at least 1 million USD in assets and an annual income of 80,000 USD, although the rules vary slightly between different groups.

Candidates for the "Highly Skilled Professionals" category will have to work in a field deemed necessary by the Thai Government.

People in the "Work-From-Thailand Professionals" category must be employed by a firm with at least 150 million USD in revenue over three years.

Those applying for the "Wealthy Global Citizens" category will need to invest at least 500,000 USD in the local economy, including bonds and property./.