Thailand - Long term visas for expats

[ndt]

Looks very promising... is there any view on employer tax liability for someone basing themselves there long term while employed outside Thailand?

There was some chatter about special tax arrangement for digital nomads, currently everyone from top to bottom knows that thousands of nomads work there online but nobody pays tax as guideline is not clear and enforcement agencies are lazy dealing in this grey area so like thousand other things in Thailand, whole eco system is working smoothly under radar..

Anyway, more clarity and enforceable policies on taxation are coming for sure, have to wait for final details..

[riversidejr]

As a resident of Thailand you would be paying normal tax on your overseas income I believe.

This is not correct in this generality (if they don't change the rule with the new visa requirements). If you are a resident of Thailand and you have foreign income, you are only liable to Thai income tax if you remit the money into Thailand within 12 months from when it is earned. This is a fully legal tax planning tool and generally used.

[ndt]

Update and Official Launch..


https://www.boi.go.th/upload/LTR_62a01c0d2c314.pdf

[MABinPengChau]

Hmm, work from Thailand professional, a bit picky on the employer: public company or company with high earnings (so forget startups, freelancing, small businesses). So I guess I pick "wealthy pensioner" (who is getting a pension these days from an employer? Especially at age 50?) or "highly skilled professional" but for the latter would need a job in Thailand? Still, seems like an improvement over the previous system, will let my business partner know, he is the one who fantasizes about working from the beach (alas, not a genetic possibility for me unless I want to die of skin cancer a year later...).

[Skyhook]

Hmm, work from Thailand professional, a bit picky on the employer: public company or company with high earnings (so forget startups, freelancing, small businesses). So I guess I pick "wealthy pensioner" (who is getting a pension these days from an employer? Especially at age 50?) or "highly skilled professional" but for the latter would need a job in Thailand? Still, seems like an improvement over the previous system, will let my business partner know, he is the one who fantasizes about working from the beach (alas, not a genetic possibility for me unless I want to die of skin cancer a year later...).

Plus it's going to appeal to those who like being 'baked' on the beach, since they've legalised cannabis in Thailand :-)

[ndt]

Hmm, work from Thailand professional, a bit picky on the employer: public company or company with high earnings (so forget startups, freelancing, small businesses). So I guess I pick "wealthy pensioner" (who is getting a pension these days from an employer? Especially at age 50?) or "highly skilled professional" but for the latter would need a job in Thailand? Still, seems like an improvement over the previous system, will let my business partner know, he is the one who fantasizes about working from the beach (alas, not a genetic possibility for me unless I want to die of skin cancer a year later...).

Check out CM2H on other thread, looks very promising if it fits your partner's bill..

https://geoexpat.com/forum/63/thread364001.html

[MABinPengChau]

Thanks, partner turns 50 in 1.5 years, and then everything gets easier and lower requirements. I am already over 50, seems appealing, I figure I want as many options for residence as I can acquire because, as we have seen from the pandemic/protests/weird election outcomes, things can go to hell pretty quickly.

[shri]

This Long Term Visa seems to be the "cheapest" if you can figure out how to qualify as a 50+ pensioner - dividends, passive income etc. From what the linked PDF indicates - you have to apply, show them the income proof and magically get a 10 year residency visa of some sort. Cheap as in it does not require you to invest or lock up funds in Thailand.

Costs will be time to get all the documentation lined up + 50K THB?

[ndt]

Costs will be time to get all the documentation lined up + 50K THB?

Yes one-off visa processing cost 50k THB plus there was some small yearly cost of renewal for digital work permit declared some time ago (if in work permit category), will have to wait for final fine prints in a month or so..

[shri]

Yes one-off visa processing cost 50k THB plus there was some small yearly cost of renewal for digital work permit declared some time ago (if in work permit category), will have to wait for final fine prints in a month or so..

One additional thing to consider - you might not be able to withdraw your MPF if you have a HK passport, as it is technically a "temporary visa".