Is the 10-year visa attracting Europeans and others to Thailand?

Officials in Thailand have been heavily pushing the new 10-year golden visa options for digital nomads and rich expats, with Europeans as a primary demographic, but is it really a big draw? The government has predicted that one million wealthy tourists will jump at the chance to live long-term in Thailand over the next five years, but the programme that preceded this new visa, the Smart Visa, has only attracted 1,200 travellers since it was launched in February of 2018.

Officials projected that the 10-year visa will generate about 1 trillion baht, or about US$27.6 billion, which would depend on one million people using the visa, and each one spending an average of 1 million baht in Thailand. But, as the Smart Visa program attracted about 50% European travellers, the new visa expects half the tourists using it to be European.

The executive director of the Netherlands-Thai Chamber of Commerce said there was some buzz over the new visa in the community, but mostly tepid interest in it.

“The first reactions have been lukewarm. I guess it needs more time and much more communication with the target audience to get some traction. I am not of the opinion that it will be a game changer for future Dutch investments.”

The executive director of the European Association for Business and Commerce in Thailand agreed, saying that some people already living in Thailand might benefit, but he’s not seeing a stampede to get the visa and pour into Thailand.

“Several businesspeople already in Thailand have expressed interest in applying as it would alleviate administrative overhead for them. To date, we have not seen a material uptick or interest in moving operations to Thailand in anticipation of the scheme.”

Thailand has its sights set on attracting wealthy digital nomads, but so does the rest of Southeast Asia, with Indonesia eying a five-year digital nomad visa and Cambodia already incentivising tourists willing to invest US$100,000 in their “My 2nd Home” campaign.

The Thailand Board of Investment believes the kingdom is so popular with European travellers, with the EU’s nearly 715 billion baht topped only by Japan in Foreign Direct Investment figures, that the Long-Term Residence scheme will ultimately be successful as it prepares to launch.

On September 1, the 10-year visa option will be extended to four categories of travellers with an annual income of US $80,000 and at least US$1 million in assets. It comes with multiple entries permitted and a work permit issued and covers up to four dependents like children or spouses. Companies utilising these visas won’t be required to follow the standard four Thai employees per one foreigner rule.

The specific categories have additional requirements, with “Highly Skilled Professionals” being limited only to jobs in sectors that the Thai government has rated as essential.

“Wealthy Global Citizens” need to invest at least US$500,000 into the Thai economy via property or bonds and “Work-From-Thailand Professionals” need to be working for companies with a minimum of US$150 million in revenue over three years. But both of these demographics are not currently served by any previously existing visa in Thailand. The new visa would allow them to live long-term in the country without a Thai sponsor.

Many see these visas as a viable option to attract Europeans and others from around the world but worry that the rules and process will be too complex and convoluted. They say the paperwork must be streamlined and supporting documents to meet requirements be easy and minimal for the program to succeed.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post