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February 25, 2025

Thailand Eases Requirements for Long-Term Resident Visas

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On February 4, 2025, Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) issued Announcement No. Por. 3/2568, introducing updated qualifications, criteria, and conditions for long-term resident (LTR) visas. The updated requirements took effect immediately upon issuance of the announcement.

The LTR program is intended to stimulate the economy and attract high-potential foreign nationals to Thailand, and these latest updates aim to expand access to a wider range of experts, investors, and executives to reinforce Thailand’s foreign talent pool and enhance its competitiveness.

The recent updates primarily affect three categories under the LTR visa program: work-from-Thailand professionals, wealthy global citizens, and high-skilled professionals, as detailed below.

Work-from-Thailand Professionals

The updated LTR visa program includes some changes to the eligibility criteria for visa applicants in the work-from-Thailand professionals category:

  • The revenue requirement for visa applicants’ employers is now USD 50 million over a three-year period, down from USD 150 million previously.
  • Eligible foreign employers now include wholly owned subsidiaries of:
    • companies listed on any stock exchange in any country; or
    • private companies that have been in operation for at least three years and have generated a combined revenue of at least USD 50 million over the past three years.
  • There are no longer work experience requirements.

The other requirements remain the same.

Wealthy Global Citizens

For the wealthy global citizens category, the latest updates remove the requirement to have an annual personal income of USD 80,000, while the other criteria remain.

Highly Skilled Professionals

For the highly skilled professionals category, the latest updates expand eligibility to include lecturers in vocational or higher education, and remove work experience requirements.

Other categories

The updated LTR visa program does not introduce any changes for the wealthy pensioners category. However, the announcement does expand the scope of eligible dependents of LTR visa holders to cover parents and a broader range of family members.

Related Professionals

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Corporate/M&A

Employment

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