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Guys - there's a new Thai visa available. It's apparently for 4 years and has annual (not 90 day) reporting.

Apparently it's aimed at investors/digital nomads etc.

Details are sketchy right now but post anything you know about it here. I'll be *very* interested in this visa.

xiongmao wrote:Guys - there's a new Thai visa available. It's apparently for 4 years and has annual (not 90 day) reporting.

Apparently it's aimed at investors/digital nomads etc.

Details are sketchy right now but post anything you know about it here. I'll be *very* interested in this visa.

Very interesting! I plan on retiring in Thailand in 4 years. Great to hear they are considering giving a 4 year visa for investors/nomads. I guess the biggest question that I'd have is to define being a digital nomad. I plan on looking into flipping books on Amazon once I retire or I could do some consulting work for my current employer. If push comes to shove, I could get a You Tube channel going with relative ease if it netted me a 4 year visa!

I think you almost have to read between the lines on this proposal. I've talked to a few digital nomads up in Chiang Mai. The rumblings are that the local Thais are getting a bit upset because they know the digital nomads are making money yet paying no taxes to the Thai government. My guess is that in order to receive the 4 year visa, you'll have to declare a minimum "salary" to order qualify and you'll have to pay taxes in Thailand. That or the price tag for the 4 year visa will be an arm and a leg. Either way, I'm sure the Thai govt will find a way to get their pound of flesh....

Keep us posted and thanks for the update.

The requirements, especially financial requirements and which nationalities can apply for this 4-year-visa are unclear.

There is also a 10 year retirement visa recently, but only for a few countries. I was surprised, even my own native country (Austria/EU) which offers fairly high retirement allowances, is not on the list.

There was or still is a 5 year elite visa, but totally failed as the price + investment for this visa is by far over the top.

The Thai government today approved the “Smart Visa,” which will allow business professionals to stay in Thailand for up to four years without frequent check-ins at immigration.

The visa, which was intended to attract talented entrepreneurs from across the globe, would allow holders to stay in Thailand with their spouse and children, without having to apply for a work permit.

The advantage of this visa is that holders do not have to commute all the way to Chaengwattana and report every 90 days — they only need to make an annual appearance, according to the information released on Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit.

The applicants must be investors, startup business owners, high-leveled executives, or highly-skilled professionals.

I am not very optimistic. Even now for a simple 1 year retirement visa you need at least baht 800.000,- in a Thai bank.
Some reports say it's anyway only for 4 years and not 10. Thailand is changing its rules frequently, you cannot believe always what you read.

Side note here, Vietnam has a 1-year business visa for $300 bucks, no questions asked. This might work better for some folks.

I never applied for it- but it is said, Cambodia has also 1-year business visa, no hassles. True or not I don't know.
For sure however in Cambodia 1-month-visa and follow-up extension is easy, while Thailand wants you to leave if you have only a 30-days permit.

To be clear (or unclear) - this is a NEW type of visa. Details are still sketchy.

If you want to retire to Thailand it's quite easy - there's a retirement visa. You have to be over 50 and deposit some money in a Thai bank. I think it renews on an annual basis.

There's also the 10 year retirement visa.

It's much easier to just live in a neighbouring country like Vietnam. And the Phillies has easier visa requirements.

Any updates on this? Is there a link to this information about Thailand giving four year visas to digital nomads? What's the criteria and qualifications?

Here's a good roundup - Thai SMART Visa.

Well after all the hype it's really useless. You basically need to find a high paying tech job in Thailand or have half a million dollars to invest.

This ain't for a dude who makes a few dollars with a blog about blogging in Thailand.

On top of this I was in Thailand 2 months ago. It's got more expensive and less fun. However food and nightlife are still great. Full trip report here.

I agree with Xiongmao about the Thai 4 Year visa. This fits only a few people who earn a lot of money with good business connection and high educational background, a salary of baht 200.000,- (more than USD 6000,- monthly) as a minimum requirement for Thailand for a working visa is really very high.

Thanks for your trip report, I am holding a Thai retirement visa. I can confirm that Thailand is getting more expensive and less fun. But I have Japanese family, it's OK for us, we have our own rooms in Pattaya. Thailand is only our second home for vacation, our principal residence is in Japan.

According to the below website, I would not call this a digital nomad visa at all. It is more like a entrepreneur and expertise attraction visa. It has several different visa types and it requires either employment, a contract, a set-up local business, or a substantial amount of money invested locally. One reason for being digitally nomadic is to avoid such tether traps and being mobile permits us to disregard many visa requirements. But four years anywhere is anathema to the typical digital nomad.

https://www.interactivethailand.com/tha ... plication/

Estonia seems to be at the cutting edge of attracting true digital nomads with their digital nomad visa (aka e-Residency).

https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond ... omad-visa/

Sounds like it's for workaholics and people who are all about career and money, not freedom or love or happiness or self-expression.

https://www.interactivethailand.com/tha ... plication/

THAILAND 4-YEAR SMART VISA APPLICATION

A new 4-year visa for professionals, ‘Smart Visa’, has been announced by the Thai Cabinet and will be issued from February 2018. The Smart Visa is aimed at entrepreneurs investing in new businesses, highly-skilled professionals, or executives. The Thai government hopes the new visa will enable knowledge transfer that will boost business growth and bring long-term economic benefits.

Uh I don't understand this world. So money and economics are all that matters? lol. If so then why aren't babies born craving money and jobs and work and careers as part of their natural instinct and genes? lol. Why are babies born wanting to play and be playful? lol. Illogical.

I don't know. I guess I'm one of those who don't fit into this world and doesn't conform. lol

Ok then is there any way to get a visa in Thailand that's longer than one month? Like a 3 month or 6 month visa? Why do they not allow you to renew your visa like they do in the Philippines?

@Falcon how were you able to stay long term in Thailand before you got married there?

It's harder to get a visa for Thailand than it is for the Philippines, Cambodia, or Vietnam.

For a 1-year visa, you will need to get an education (student) visa. A multiple-entry tourist visa could also work, but only once or twice.
And in practice, the 4-year visa mentioned above has never really been used.

After that, you'll need to use a marriage visa or work visa.

But I think Winston is the type of person who will enjoy the Philippines more than Thailand. Thais are not as outgoing and friendly as Filipinos. The smiles they give are polite, forced ones, not the silly cheerful ones you see in the Philippines.

I was recently talking to a friend who used to live in Thailand and apparently they are really cracking down on the loser/begpacker/drunk sexpat losers. They still want foreigners to stay long term, but now they want well-off foreigners who can afford to spend meaningful amounts of money and who are unlikely to cause trouble.

Here's the recently introduced elite visa: https://nomadcapitalist.com/2018/01/22/thai-elite-visa/

Cheapest one is $15K USD which gets you 5-years of non-renewable residence, no age requirements, and even benefits like airport transfers.