Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing 90-day reporting. For those who are unaware, the folks that are in what is called Non-Immigrant status here in Thailand, that have visas of a Non-Immigrant type; Business Visa, O Visa for Marriage, O Visa for Retirement, O-A Retirement Visa, ED Visa; basically any type of NIV, Non-Immigrant Visa. This does not apply for example to Permanent Residents. They are an Immigrant Visa category. They are covered by a different subsection of the Immigration Act of 1979 so they do not need to deal with 90-day reporting for example.

Now, in recent days surrounding the making of this video we have seen announcements from the Thai Cabinet that are approving in principle, to be clear in principle, certain policies to go ahead and try and attract wealthy expats. These policies are shaking up or creating new visas that are very different it appears to what we have dealt with for a number of years here in Thailand. I have done a number of videos on those where we look at some of the benefits; we have done a number of videos in the past, the possibility of a 10-year Visa. That said, the criteria associated with these especially the financial criteria are quite high but an interesting question posed by this video is whether or not we might be seeing the end of 90-day reporting all together. I think it is possible, I have actually had people email me this email me on this question but I would say it is probably unlikely we are seeing it across the board. It may be that these newly created visas don't have to deal with 90-day reporting. 

A recent article from Thai PBS World, that is thaipbsworld.com, the article is titled: Several Incentives Approved to Attract Long Staying Foreign Investors, Wealthy Foreigners. Quoting directly: "To attract these high potential individuals, a new long-term Resident Visa or Smart Visa will be issued." Now Resident Visa is a misnomer there. As we have discussed in other videos, Thai Permanent residence is a status unto itself especially under the Immigration Act of 79, that is Immigrant status. Any Visa created that does not necessarily mean Permanent Resident; that is a different status. They are using this term "Resident" colloquially but there is a legal meaning to that term. "Or Smart Visa will be issued under which they will be granted some privileges such as not being required to notify Thai Authorities every 90 days." That would be interesting. That would be a regulatory change under the Smart Visa creation. Again I have stated this in other videos, this looks very much like a Smart Visa. It does not to me look like a standard Non-immigrant Visa. It seems to be being promulgated under the auspices of the Board of Investment, the BOI so it looks to me much more like a Smart Visa. 

Will this end of 90-day reporting only apply to those visas in that category or will it possibly be broadly applied? It remains to be seen. We will certainly keep people updated on this channel as the situation evolves.