Transcript of the above video

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the so-called LTR Visa or Long Term Residence Visa. As we have discussed in multiple videos previously, ‘Residence’ isn't quite the right word in English to use for these visas because it does not provide Permanent Residence. It provides sort of a long stay option but it is not an option to reside legally, to be a Lawful Permanent Resident in the Kingdom, it's not the same thing. That stated, and I know I probably sound like a broken record on that, some updates on this. I thought about making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Both Cambodian and the Thai 10-year golden visas have fallen flat. The thrust of this whole article goes in kind of a different direction, we are going to quote some excerpts here but I urge you, if you are watching this video go check out that article for yourself, again pattayamail.com. Quoting directly: "Expectations that rich or talented foreigners would rush to take advantage of 10-year permissions of stay have failed to gain traction. Neither the Thai nor the Cambodian Authorities have published meaningful data on completed applications and little has been heard of either scheme since the launchings last year." Quoting further: "In Thailand, the long-term residence scheme is run by the Board of Investment with options for rich retirees, global travellers and executives. Most enquirers have found the bureaucracy most complex with the principle advantage being tax concessions via Digital Work Permit on income earned in Thailand." 

Now as we have discussed in prior videos, not all of the iterations of this LTR Visa do allow for that Digital Work Permit. Meanwhile, as we have discussed previously, that Digital Work Permit and all of the "tax concessions", I am not completely certain that that is an optimal "concession", because as we have discussed in prior videos, there are other methods of maintaining long-term status in Thailand with by the way a path to actual Lawful Permanent Residence in Thailand which when you sort of do the math, the taxes kind of all come out in the wash and this so-called concession isn't quite as 'concessioney', it is not quite as optimal as it would at first appear.

Meanwhile, as we have discussed again in other videos, there is this and again it is not super clear because this is a relatively new program but as we have discussed in other videos and I have cited sources that there is sort of an ongoing kind of audit requirement associated with these Digital Work Permits that does not exist in much of any other context. So on the one hand yeah okay there is a work element associated with this type of visa, on the other hand do you really want to volunteer for constant tax scrutiny. That is my concern at the end of the day where I kind of think maybe this isn't the most optimal thing in the world. Again, we have discussed this in prior videos, we have done the citations of that. You can go, I would go to the search function of our YouTube channel and type in Long-Term Residence or LTR, it will pop up and you will be able to go through and read about or listen and understand all that stuff and see all that stuff with the citations. But yeah I discussed that previously, this has been discussed that like look there is this kind of permanent scrutiny if you will in a tax context associated with so-called Long-Term Residence Visas here in the Kingdom of Thailand.