Pathway

Thailand Long-Stay Visa for Wealth or Skills

Thailand Residency

Updated October 6, 2026

Pathway overview

At a glance

Thailand’s LTR program offers qualifying wealthy applicants, pensioners, foreign-company employees, and skilled professionals an initial five-year stay. Each category has specific financial or work requirements, and a further five years depends on continuing eligibility.

Who can qualify: Investors with substantial assets, pensioners aged 50+, employees of eligible foreign companies, or specialists in targeted work; each group has separate financial tests
Medical coverage: USD $50,000 insurance with at least ten months remaining, Thai social security, or a USD $100,000 bank deposit held for twelve months

Summary

Thailand’s Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa is for four defined groups: wealthy individuals, pensioners, employees of qualifying foreign companies, and highly skilled professionals. Each has substantial financial or employment requirements.

The program offers an initial five-year period, with a possible five-year extension if you still qualify. Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) must first confirm your eligibility. You then complete visa issuance within 60 days of its endorsement, and permission cannot extend beyond your passport’s validity.

Eligibility

Choose the category that matches your circumstances

Wealthy Global Citizen

You need at least USD $1 million in personal assets and at least USD $500,000 already invested in qualifying Thai government bonds, a Thai company, or Thai property. Current BOI criteria no longer list a separate personal-income requirement for this category. Government bonds must have at least five years left to maturity when you apply.

Wealthy Pensioner

You must be 50 or older with passive or unearned income of at least USD $80,000 a year. If that income is USD $40,000–79,999, you also need at least USD $250,000 in qualifying Thai government bonds, a Thai company, or Thai property. Salary or active employment income does not replace the passive-income requirement.

Work-from-Thailand Professional

You work for a qualifying foreign company, not a Thai employer. The usual income requirement is an average of USD $80,000 a year over the previous two years. In the USD $40,000–79,999 band, you need a master’s degree, intellectual-property ownership, or at least USD $1 million in Series A funding under BOI’s criteria.

The employer must be publicly listed or meet an accepted alternative. The standard private-company test requires at least three years of operation and USD $50 million combined revenue over the previous three years. BOI has additional rules for certain wholly owned subsidiaries.

Highly Skilled Professional

You need qualifying work in a targeted industry or area of expertise. The employer or client can be a Thai or foreign business assigning you to Thailand, or an eligible Thai educational, research, training, or government institution.

Income normally averages at least USD $80,000 a year over the previous two years. In the USD $40,000–79,999 band, a science or technology master’s degree or higher, or accepted expertise in the work performed in Thailand, may qualify. Specified public institutions and agencies are exempt from the income threshold. BOI removed the previous minimum work-experience requirement in 2025.

Medical coverage for every main applicant

Meet one of these alternatives:

Health insurance with at least USD $50,000 coverage and at least 10 months remaining.
Thai social-security coverage.
At least USD $100,000 in a bank account for at least 12 months.

Family members

BOI Announcement Por. 3/2568 expanded family eligibility to a lawful spouse, parents, legitimate children under 20, and legal dependents, and removed the previous numerical cap. Ask BOI to confirm the relevant child or dependent category for your family; do not rely on older “maximum four dependents” summaries.

Each family member needs the required relationship and application records and medical coverage: USD $50,000 insurance with at least 10 months remaining, Thai social security, or a USD $25,000 bank deposit per dependent held for at least 12 months.

All categories involve document, background, and immigration checks. Evidence must be current, traceable, and consistent with the chosen category. BOI may ask for more information or decline or withdraw endorsement if eligibility is not established.

Applying for Thailand’s Long-Term Resident visa

Prove one LTR category and medical coverage Gather the exact financial, investment, employer, and insurance or deposit evidence.
Obtain BOI endorsement and the visa Complete visa issuance within the stated 60-day period.
Maintain the approved category Follow work-permit, family, reporting, and later extension requirements.

The program’s four categories have different requirements, and ten years is conditional on a later extension.

What This Route Allows

LTR provides multiple entry and annual reporting instead of ordinary 90-day reporting, along with the program’s immigration services. Eligible family members can apply separately.

Work depends on the category and job

A holder working for a Thai entity needs the program’s digital work permit. Wealthy or pensioner status does not provide unrestricted work rights; the role must be lawful and the required permit obtained.

A Work-from-Thailand Professional does not receive a Thai work permit because the category is for remote employment by a foreign company.

Where a digital work permit is needed, apply immediately after LTR issuance and before starting Thai employment. BOI describes limited temporary work permission while that filed request is pending. It does not permit work before LTR issuance or before the required permit application.

The program’s advertised 17% personal-income-tax rate is for qualifying Highly Skilled Professionals under the applicable tax and BOI conditions. It is not a benefit for every LTR holder or a universal tax exemption.

What This Route Is Not

LTR is not permanent residence, citizenship, or a guaranteed uninterrupted ten-year stay. The second five-year period requires continuing eligibility.

It is not a general digital-nomad visa. Remote workers must meet both personal and employer requirements; compare the DTV if those do not fit.

A large bank balance alone is not enough. The wealth category requires assets and qualifying Thai investment, while the pension category requires age and passive income, with extra investment supporting only the lower income band.

Next Steps

Choose the correct BOI category and gather its current checklist. Document ownership, valuation, income periods, investments, and employer eligibility as relevant.
Arrange qualifying insurance, social security, or the required long-held deposit, including separate family coverage where needed.
Apply through BOI’s LTR system and answer evidence requests. After endorsement, complete visa issuance within 60 days through the instructed Immigration office or Thai mission.
Check passport validity, any digital-work-permit requirement, current family rules, annual reporting, and conditions for the later extension.

Sources

BOI Announcement Por. 3/2568 — current eligibility rules, including qualifying employers, expertise, income exemptions, and dependents.
Thailand Board of Investment — official LTR program — current category criteria, application process, benefits, and health alternatives.
BOI — 2025 LTR brochure — current income, asset, investment, employer, insurance-duration, work, and 5+5-year rules.
BOI Announcement Por. 4/2568 — application, visa-issuance, and extension procedures.
Royal Thai Embassy, Washington, D.C. — LTR visa issuance — official mission guidance for the post-endorsement visa step; use BOI's current rules for substantive qualification.