Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing a Visa option which is cheaper than a Thailand Elite Visa and actually is a path to real Permanent Residence in Thailand. What are we talking about here? Well for those who are unaware, the Thailand Elite Visa or sometimes now, apparently as we have done a video on this, they are sort of transitioning the name to Thailand Privilege, Thailand Privilege Card, Thailand Privilege Visa, however you want to look at it. Most people colloquially keep calling this Thai Elite so I am going to keep calling it Thailand Elite at least for purposes of this video. As time moves forward, I suspect that will probably evolve because they are calling it the Privilege Card now rather than the Elite Visa but whatever, same thing. You are talking about the Thailand Elite Program, Thailand Privilege Program. Basically you buy a membership in the program and you can get long-term Visa status here in Thailand for 5, 10, 15 or 20 years based on that. 

Now as we have discussed in other videos, this visa is not work authorized and the price has gone up substantially. We have done videos in the recent past, here the past few weeks, where the cost associated for example with the five-year program was once 600,000 Baht going up to 900,000 Baht for a 5-year Visa. At the same time, with regard to Residence, there is a lot of talk about so-called long-term residence visas which as we have discussed, do not confer actual Lawful Permanent Residency here in Thailand, and yes there is Lawful Permanent Residence in Thailand. Once it is granted, once it is issued, basically one is done with dealing with Non-Immigrant Visas, renewing them, being scrutinized in any form associated with one's Visa status here in Thailand. As we have discussed in other videos, those who become Permanent Residents in Thailand also do not have to deal with 90-day reporting, they don't have to deal with things like TM30, they are able to get a Thai House Book. Permanent Residence also puts one on track if other conditions are met, to eventually apply for and possibly obtain Thai citizenship. And yes, I can state unequivocally that it is possible for a foreigner to become a Thai; I have done so myself. I became Thai about 5 years ago.

So the point of this video is okay there's Thailand Elite out there which is quite expensive and doesn't confer residence and doesn't confer work authorization. Then there are these so-called LTR Visas which on top of everything else as we have discussed also essentially puts one into a position where one is sort of mandatorily audited by the tax authorities here in Thailand on their worldwide holdings if they are in the LTR Visa category. Again, there is some vagueness surrounding all of that because it is a relatively new Visa but it is part of the deal, it's basically part of the review process associated with that type of status and again as we have discussed, it doesn't actually confer Residence. So what is an option that is actually cheaper than the Thailand Elite and actually does put someone on the path to eventually obtaining Thai PR, Thai Permanent Residence?

Well it's actually not all that sexy if you will. It's just a standard Business Visa with a Work Permit. Now most folks who are small business owners, so called digital nomads, this can be a very good option notwithstanding the fact that people say well there are some cumbersome aspects to dealing with setting up a Thai Company. That is true, there are a number of formalities associated with Thai Company set up. The other thing to bear in mind with respect to this is that is something we do all the time and we streamline all processing associated with Thai corporations, maintaining a Thai Corporate entity here in Thailand as well as maintaining Business Visa and Work Permit status. The other thing to bear in mind, those who are married to a Thai National may be able to avail themselves of the same path to eventual Permanent Residence, even citizenship and again far cheaper than the Thailand Elite program which is basically maintenance of a Thai Marriage Visa and also maintenance of a Work Permit associated again with a small business here in Thailand, the setup of a small company. So again, it is kind of in my opinion it sort of threads the needle if you will with regard to cost as well as maximization of actual benefit accrued. And what I don't think most folks really understand is that these newer visas, on the one hand Thailand Elite can be very useful for a certain type of person; again it is going to be a narrow body of folks that are going to really benefit from the Thailand Elite Visa. Also, same can be said with regard to LTR. The threshold is quite high with regard to the financial requirements associated with those visas, and as we have discussed, I am not even quite sure that when you do a cost-benefit analysis, especially considering the tax obligations associated with that Visa, that it is an overly optimal decision. 

So again what I would say is sort of a for lack of a better term, sort of middle path between the two of these is again "old tricks are the best tricks", standard Non-Immigrant Visa, Business Visa, O Marriage Visa if you are married to a Thai, Work Permit issuance, maintenance of a small company and then just do that for the requisite period of time as we discussed in other videos, again it is going to be circumstantially dependent but basically you do your time in this status, relatively modest amount of time, less than the Thailand Elite Visa, excuse me the smallest duration Thailand Elite Visa i.e. five years; I guess I should say shortest duration Thailand Elite Visa, but yeah you can be on this path and be applying for actual Permanent Residence in less time than you can actually get with a Thailand Elite Visa.