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Thai LTR Retiree Visas

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing so-called LTR Visas or Long-term Residence visas which is a bit of a misnomer as we have discussed in many videos on this channel previously. These proposed and they remain proposed, we have yet to actually see the legislation promulgated on these at least as the time of this video. But these proposed Long-Term Residency are not Residence Visas because it is a Non-immigrant Visa as we have discussed previously. There is Permanent Residence in Thailand which is its own category under the Immigration Act and that is Non-Immigrant status which is a different thing. 

That being said, we are talking here about one of the specific sub-criteria for these proposed, sort of sub-headings whatever you want to call it, sub-visas under this scheme, this Long-Term Residence scheme so-called and that is Retirees. So a recent article from the Thaiger, that is thethaiger.com, the article is titled: Who is eligible for a 50,000 Baht 10-year LTR Visa in Thailand? The fine print. Good information in there but we are going to get to one specific subgroup. 

The groups have different requirements to get the visa. 

“Groups 1 and 2: Wealthy Foreigners and Retirees. Quoting directly: 

-       Must purchase a health insurance policy which covers medical expenses of no less than US$50,000 for at least 10 months starting from the date of the application or provide a social security certificate covering medical expenses in Thailand or provide proof of at least US$100,000 held in a Thai or Foreign Bank account for at least 12 months prior to the application date.

-       Must have evidence of an average income of at least US$80,000 for at least 12 months prior to the application date.”

So the financial requirements here are quite frankly quite a bit higher than just your standard Thai Retirement Visa. As we have noted in other videos before, standard Thai Retirement Visas, you are looking at 800,000 Baht minimum balance in a Thai bank account or use of pension income for example in the amount of 65,000 Baht remitted into Thailand on a monthly basis. Substantially less than the financial requirements we are talking about here. 

As noted in other videos on this channel, the O Retirement Visa at present and I am thinking probably moving forward or at least into the far off foreseeable future that does not currently require Insurance, the O retirement visa, and it does not appear it will in the far off or at least the sort of midterm what we can sort of foresee out. So again depending on your circumstances for Retirees, there are a lot of people I think that get peace of mind from having a longer Visa but it has been my experience that a lot of clients that we deal with are at the end of the day they are perfectly happy just dealing with the ongoing 1 year Retirement Visa extensions and this is especially the case for folks that don't have the financial requirements to meet that long-term Resident Visa financial standard.