Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thailand Elite and a recent email from a viewer, and I am going to quote this directly: "Hi Benjamin, I have a question about the Thai Elite membership. Is it a legal contract you enter into with the Thai Government when you join? What if there is a change of Government, will a 20-year Visa be valid? Or if the Government makes changes to the rules, will the membership rules change?"

Now I am making other videos contemporaneously with this one to answer all of these questions. The specific question for this video: "Is Thailand Elite a Government Agency?" Well, not strictly speaking. Thailand Elite is a Private Company. It has Government involvement but it is a Private Company. This falls into one of those things that I would call a public private partnership. This isn't really something I think Americans are going to be real aware of but you do see this in a British context sometimes when you talk about Crown Corporations or Public Private Partnerships but the Thai Government kind of works closely together with Thailand Elite but when you are dealing with Thailand Elite with respect to membership etc., no it is not the Government directly you are dealing with; that is a private member organization. It is a Private Company and then it interacts with Thai Immigration on your behalf, in a way. You are also concurrently always responsible for your own Immigration status. I am not casting expressions at anyone but we have seen people have problems with Elite Visas. Thailand Elite is there to provide you with the documentation pertaining to your status. They are not necessarily there to make sure you maintain your own status. No, if you fall out of status that is on you. We have made other videos on that; that can be an issue.

Long story short, no it is not a government agency per se. Again it is a private enterprise which works closely with the Government to provide these benefits to its members.