Moving · Visas & residencyCornerstone guide

Thailand Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa: Who Qualifies?

A practical guide to Thailand's 10-year programme for wealthy residents, retirees, remote professionals and highly skilled workers.

LTR is easiest to understand as a qualification visa. Thailand is not asking only how long you want to stay; it is asking which economic or professional profile you fit. Meet one of the four cleanly and this is arguably the strongest long-stay structure the country offers. Miss it, and no amount of enthusiasm will close the gap.

Two things are worth clearing up before anything else. LTR is not permanent residence, and a ten-year visa is not one unconditional ten-year stay. The name promises more permanence than the underlying immigration status delivers.

Last verified: Last verified: August 2026
Next review:: February 2027
Reading time:: 22 min

Rules changed in February 2025

Every figure on this page follows BOI Announcement Por. 3/2568, which took effect on 4 February 2025 and replaced the earlier announcements. A large number of LTR articles still circulate pre-2025 thresholds, particularly for employer revenue and work experience. If a guide quotes a figure that differs from this one, check its date.

This is general relocation information, not immigration, tax or legal advice. It cannot confirm your eligibility or promise an approval.

Last checked: August 2026

LTR in 30 seconds

Long-Term Resident visa at a glance

Programme: Thailand BOI Long-Term Resident visa
Structure: Up to 10 years, as 5 years plus a possible further 5
Categories: Four, each with its own qualification criteria
Reporting: Annual address reporting instead of every 90 days
Travel: Issued as a multiple-entry visa
Work: Depends on the category — one of the four cannot work here
Tax: Category-specific benefits under Royal Decree No. 743
Family: Spouse, children under 20 and parents can be included
Health requirement: Insurance, Thai social security or a qualifying deposit
Qualification: Must continue to be satisfied, not just met once

LTR is not permanent residence

Thai permanent residence and Thai citizenship are separate processes with their own criteria, quotas and waiting periods. Holding an LTR visa does not start either clock. What it gives you is a long, unusually low-friction permission to stay, for as long as you keep meeting the conditions you qualified under.

How the ten years actually work

The programme runs to ten years. The permission to stay is built in two halves.

The 5 + 5 structure

1
Qualification approved
BOI endorses you against the criteria of one category.
2
LTR visa issued
Issued at TIESC in Bangkok, or through a Thai mission abroad.
3
Up to five years of permission to stay
With annual reporting rather than 90-day reporting.
4
Qualification reviewed
Your circumstances are checked against the criteria again.
5
Up to a further five years
Granted if the requirements are still satisfied.

The distinction matters because it changes how you should think about the money and the job behind your application. This is not a fee you pay once. It is a profile you are expected to keep. If the investment, the employer or the income that qualified you disappears in year three, that is a conversation with BOI rather than a private matter.

The four LTR categories

Read these as four separate visas that happen to share a name, a reporting concession and a health requirement.

Wealthy Global Citizen

Assets plus a Thai investment you already hold

People with substantial worldwide wealth who are willing to hold a significant investment inside Thailand.

Worldwide assets: At least USD 1 million, appraised as at the application date
Thai investment: At least USD 500,000, held in your own name
Timing: The investment must already exist before you apply
Personal income: No income test under the 2025 rules

High net worth on its own is not enough. The half-million-dollar Thai investment is a separate requirement, and it has to be in place first.

Wealthy Pensioner

Fifty-plus, retired, with a strong fixed income

Retired people whose pension or fixed personal income comfortably clears the threshold — or who can pair a smaller income with a Thai investment.

Age: 50 or over, and retired at the time of application
Income route: Pension or fixed personal income of at least USD 80,000 a year
Income + investment route: USD 40,000–79,999 a year plus a Thai investment of at least USD 250,000
Timing: Where an investment is required, it must exist before you apply

This is built around pensions and fixed personal income. If your money comes from continuing to work, read the detail before assuming it counts.

Work-from-Thailand Professional

Well-paid remote work for a substantial overseas employer

Employees of large, established companies outside Thailand who want to live here while keeping that job.

Personal income: At least USD 80,000 a year, averaged over the two years before applying
Lower-income route: USD 40,000 with a master's degree or higher, owned intellectual property, or Series A funding
Employer: Listed anywhere in the world, or private with three years of operation and USD 50 million of combined revenue over three years
Subsidiaries: A wholly owned subsidiary of a qualifying company also counts

Your employer has to qualify as well as you. This is the requirement that ends most Work-from-Thailand applications before they start.

Highly Skilled Professional

Qualifying expertise, working for a Thai organisation

Specialists working in Thailand in one of the targeted industries, or in public universities, research agencies and similar public bodies.

Income: At least USD 80,000 a year, averaged over two years
Lower-income route: USD 40,000 with a master's degree or higher in science and technology, or specific field expertise
Waived income: No income requirement for public universities, public research agencies and other public bodies
Sector: Employment in one of the targeted industries or specialised expertise areas listed by BOI

Unlike the other three, this category is about work performed in Thailand — and it carries its own tax treatment rather than the foreign-income exemption.

Which LTR category are you?

Thirty seconds of honest triage is worth more than an hour of reading the wrong section.

USD 1m+ in assets, and you already hold or would hold USD 500,000 in Thailand

Investigate Wealthy Global Citizen. The asset test is the easy half; the Thai investment is where it gets real.

Over 50, retired, with strong pension or fixed income

Investigate Wealthy Pensioner. USD 80,000 a year clears it outright; USD 40,000 works with a Thai investment.

You work remotely for a large, established overseas company

Investigate Work-from-Thailand Professional. Check the employer's size and history before you check your own salary.

You will work in Thailand in a qualifying high-skill role

Investigate Highly Skilled Professional, including the income waiver for public universities and research bodies.

You freelance, or work for a relatively small overseas company

Work-from-Thailand LTR probably will not fit. The DTV was designed for exactly this situation.

Compare the DTV

Over 50 with an ordinary retirement income

The standard retirement route asks for a fraction of the money and is far easier to qualify for.

Retirement visas

Substantial funds, but the LTR mechanics do not line up

Thailand Privilege sells the outcome LTR gives you, without the qualification test, at a much higher price.

Thailand Privilege

Still unsure which family of routes applies

Start from your circumstances rather than the visa names, then come back to this page if LTR survives the filter.

Visa Compass

Important: LTR rules changed in 2025

Announcement Por. 3/2568 replaced the original criteria on 4 February 2025. Several requirements became easier.

Employer revenue threshold reduced

Work-from-Thailand now requires a private employer with at least USD 50 million of combined revenue over three years. The obsolete figure still quoted online is USD 150 million.

Work-experience requirements gone

The old five-year experience tests for Work-from-Thailand and Highly Skilled Professional do not appear in the current announcement.

No personal income test for Wealthy Global Citizen

That category now turns on worldwide assets and the Thai investment, not on income.

Academic and expertise routes broadened

Lower income thresholds now apply with a master's degree, owned intellectual property or Series A funding, depending on category.

Dependants expanded

Parents were added alongside a legitimate spouse and children under 20, so older articles understate who can be included.

What did not change

The 5 + 5 structure, the USD 50,000 insurance requirement with its social-security and deposit alternatives, and the tax framework under Royal Decree No. 743.

A quick date test

If an LTR guide still quotes older employer revenue or experience requirements, check the date before relying on it. Anything written before February 2025 and not revised since is describing a programme that no longer exists in that form.

Wealthy Global Citizen in more detail

Two tests, both of which have to be satisfied, and one of them has a timing trap.

The asset test asks for at least USD 1 million in appraised worldwide assets as at the date of your application. Domestic and foreign assets both count, but they count as evidenced and appraised, not as estimated.

The second test is the one that decides most applications. You need at least USD 500,000 invested in Thailand, held in your own name, and the current rules expect that investment to exist before you apply rather than to be promised afterwards.

What currently qualifies as the Thai investment

Government bonds: Thai government bonds with at least five years of remaining maturity
Company investment: Direct equity in a Thai limited company, a venture capital fund, or an SEC-registered private equity trust
Property: Property in Thailand, subject to the ownership rules that apply to foreigners
Ownership: In the applicant's own name
Timing: Invested or held before the application date

What counts toward your worldwide assets?

Net worth for immigration purposes is not the same figure as net worth in your own head.

BOI works from appraised value and documentary evidence. The published criteria set the threshold; the required-documents guide for the category sets out what will actually be accepted as proof, and it is the more useful document once you are serious. Property, bank holdings, investments and business or share ownership are the categories most applicants build a case around.

Two questions come up constantly and are not settled in the announcement itself: how jointly owned assets are treated, and how tightly appraisals must be dated. Both are worth confirming with BOI or through the current required-documents guide before you assemble a file around an assumption.

Do not build a threshold out of guesses

There is no published shortcut that says house plus car plus crypto equals qualification. Where this guide cannot point to an official rule — jointly held assets being the clearest example — it says so rather than filling the gap with something plausible.

Last checked: August 2026

Check the current required-documents guide for your categoryOfficial source

Wealthy Pensioner in more detail

Fifty or over, retired, and one of two income structures.

Route A — income only

Pension or fixed personal income of at least USD 80,000 a year
No Thai investment required
Age 50 or over and retired at the time of application
Health coverage requirement applies as for every category

Route B — income plus investment

Pension or fixed personal income of USD 40,000 to 79,999 a year
Plus a Thai investment of at least USD 250,000
Same qualifying investment types as Wealthy Global Citizen
The investment must exist before the application date

BOI's wording is pensions and fixed personal income. State and occupational pensions are the clearest fit. Other regular unearned income — rent, dividends, interest — should be checked against the current required-documents guidance rather than assumed, because what matters is not only where the money comes from but how reliably you can evidence it as fixed.

LTR for remote workers

The Work-from-Thailand Professional category, and why a high salary is only half the question.

This is the category most people arrive looking for, and the one where expectations and criteria diverge most sharply. It is not the DTV with better benefits. It is a programme built around established overseas employers, and it asks two entirely separate questions.

Do you qualify personally?

At least USD 80,000 a year, averaged over the two years before applying
Or USD 40,000 with a master's degree or higher
Or USD 40,000 if you own qualifying intellectual property
Or USD 40,000 if you have received Series A funding

Does your employer qualify?

Listed on a stock exchange in any country, with no revenue test
Or private, operating for at least three years
With combined revenue of at least USD 50 million over three years
A wholly owned subsidiary of a qualifying company also counts

In practice, the employer test decides the outcome. A well-paid engineer at a listed technology company clears it without thinking. The same engineer, earning the same money as a contractor through their own limited company, does not — and neither does an employee of a genuinely successful thirty-person agency.

Highly Skilled Professional in more detail

The one category built around work performed in Thailand.

Everything in this category flows from the organisation you work for. BOI publishes a list of targeted industries — digital, medical, automation and robotics, aviation, biotechnology, logistics and others — alongside a set of specialised expertise areas such as research and development and higher-education teaching. Employment with a qualifying Thai organisation in one of those areas is the entry condition.

The income test is USD 80,000 a year averaged over two years, or USD 40,000 with a master's degree or higher in science and technology or documented field expertise. Employees of public universities, public research agencies and other public bodies are exempt from the income requirement altogether, which is a meaningful opening for academics.

Different from Work-from-Thailand in the way that matters

Highly Skilled Professional is about work connected to a qualifying Thai organisation, so it comes with work authorisation and its own tax rate. Work-from-Thailand is about work for a company outside Thailand, and comes with neither.

Check the current BOI targeted industriesOfficial source

Health insurance, social security or a deposit

The same requirement applies to all four categories, and insurance is only one of three ways to meet it.

Three accepted ways to satisfy the health requirement

Health insurance: At least USD 50,000 of cover for medical treatment in Thailand, with at least ten months remaining
Thai social security: Evidence of Thai social security benefits covering medical expenses
Bank deposit: At least USD 100,000, in Thailand or abroad, held for at least twelve months
Per dependant: The deposit alternative is USD 25,000 per dependant, also held twelve months

LTR requires health coverage or an accepted financial alternative — not one specific insurance product. That distinction saves people money. If you already hold a substantial deposit for other reasons, the insurance market becomes a choice rather than an obligation.

Whichever route you take, the cover still needs to make sense for the life you are actually living here. Meeting a programme threshold and being properly insured in Thailand are not the same objective.

Qualification is something you keep, not something you pass

This is the difference between LTR and every membership-style route.

Depending on your category, the things holding your status up may include an investment, an employer, an income level, continuing employment, insurance or a bank deposit. Those are conditions, not entry requirements you can discard afterwards.

A practical example

A Wealthy Global Citizen qualifies on the strength of a USD 500,000 Thai property purchase, receives the visa, and sells the property eighteen months later to move money elsewhere. The visa is in the passport, but the basis on which it was granted is gone — and the five-year review is still ahead. Check before changing anything that formed part of your qualification.

Last checked: August 2026

The five-year re-check

Renewal is a review, not a formality.

1
Years 1–5
Qualifying LTR status, with annual reporting.
2
Before the second period
Your qualification is reviewed against the criteria of your category.
3
Years 6–10
Continued LTR status if the requirements are still satisfied.

Plan on the basis that you will need to demonstrate your position again rather than simply confirm an address. For pensioners and global citizens this is usually straightforward. For remote professionals it depends on a job and an employer that may both have changed in five years, which is worth thinking about before you treat LTR as ten years of certainty.

Family and dependants

The 2025 rules widened this considerably, and most older articles have not caught up.

Legitimate spouse

Included as a dependant with their own application and documentation.

Children under 20

Eligible as dependants of the primary LTR holder.

Parents

Added under the 2025 announcement, alongside other legal dependants.

Each dependant applies in their own right. That means separate documentation and a separate health-coverage position: the same three options as the main applicant, except that the deposit alternative is USD 25,000 rather than USD 100,000. Nobody is simply added to your file.

Same-sex couples are in an unsettled position on paper. Thailand's marriage equality law took effect in 2025, but the LTR announcement refers only to a legitimate spouse and does not address the point explicitly. Rather than guess, confirm the current treatment with BOI before planning around it.

Family eligibility changed

Because parents were added under the newer framework, articles written before 2025 understate who can qualify as a dependant. If you ruled LTR out on family grounds a couple of years ago, it is worth another look.

How the application works

Unlike an ordinary visa, LTR starts with BOI endorsing your qualification and ends with the visa itself.

01
Create an LTR account
Applications are submitted through the official BOI LTR system.
02
Submit your qualification application
Category criteria, financial evidence and health coverage.
03
Review by BOI and partner agencies
Immigration, consular and employment authorities are involved.
04
Qualification endorsement
The endorsement letter comes before the visa is issued.

01
Pre-approval for issuance
Further documents or clarification may be requested at this stage.
02
Visa issuance
In person at TIESC in Bangkok, or through a Thai mission abroad.
03
Digital work permit
For the categories permitted to work in Thailand.
04
Annual reporting begins
Once a year rather than every 90 days.

Indicative official processing guidance — not a guarantee

BOI's published timeline indicates around 20 business days from a complete, registered application to the endorsement result, with an initial completeness check before that. Incomplete files are the main reason real timelines run longer.

Application fee versus visa issuance fee

Two different things, and only one of them costs money.

What LTR costs

Qualification application: Free of charge, according to BOI's own guidance
Visa issuance in Thailand: THB 50,000 per person, paid at the TIESC appointment
Issued abroad: Handled through consular channels, so check the current instructions
Dependants: Each has their own issuance fee and documentation

Fees can differ depending on where the visa is issued, so confirm the current official instructions for the mission or channel you will use. Set against Thailand Privilege, where the entry-level membership runs to several hundred thousand baht, the LTR fee is modest. The cost of LTR is the qualification, not the paperwork.

Annual reporting instead of 90-day reporting

For anyone who has done a few years of quarterly reporting, this is the benefit that lands hardest.

Most long-stay routes

Address report every 90 days
Missed reports carry fines
Re-entry permits to plan before travel
An annual extension appointment as well

LTR

Address reporting once a year
Reported to Immigration at TIESC
Leaving and re-entering Thailand affects the timing
Multiple-entry travel built into the visa

Myth-buster · TM30

Myth: LTR replaces normal address notification.

Reality: notification of a foreigner's accommodation is an obligation on the property owner or manager under general immigration law, and it is separate from the LTR reporting concession. Assume it still applies, and make sure your landlord or building actually files it — that is where problems usually surface.

Can you work on LTR?

The answer is entirely category-specific, and one category is a firm no.

Highly Skilled Professional

Built around qualifying work for a Thai organisation, with work authorisation issued digitally through the BOI and TIESC system.

Wealthy Global Citizen and Wealthy Pensioner

Can apply for an LTR work permit where they take up qualifying work. The visa itself does not make every form of employment lawful.

Work-from-Thailand Professional

Cannot obtain an LTR work permit. BOI's guidance explicitly excludes this category, because the work is for an overseas employer.

Dependants

Dependants are included in the categories that may apply for a work permit under the programme.

Tax treatment by category

The benefits are real, they come from Royal Decree No. 743, and they are not the same for everyone.

Wealthy Global Citizen

Qualifying foreign-source income brought into Thailand is exempt from Thai personal income tax under the decree, subject to Revenue Department conditions.

Wealthy Pensioner

The same foreign-source income exemption applies, which is what makes LTR materially different from an ordinary retirement extension for higher-income retirees.

Work-from-Thailand Professional

Also covered by the foreign-source income exemption — a significant point given that the salary being remitted is usually the household's main income.

Highly Skilled Professional

Not covered by the foreign-income exemption. Instead, qualifying Thai employment income in a targeted industry is taxed at a flat 17%.

LTR does not mean tax-free Thailand

The benefits differ by category and carry conditions set by the Revenue Department; the decree also provides that non-compliance in a tax year suspends the benefit for that year. Thai-source income is unaffected either way, and your position at home depends on your own country's rules and any treaty.

Keep three things separate: visa status is not tax residency, and tax residency is not tax treatment. Anyone with meaningful income should take advice before relying on any of this.

Last checked: August 2026

LTR Work-from-Thailand vs the DTV

The comparison most remote workers need, and it is closer than it looks if you genuinely qualify.

LTR Work-from-Thailand

Up to five years of permission at a time, with a further five possible
Annual reporting rather than 90-day reporting
Multiple-entry travel built in
Foreign-income tax exemption under the Royal Decree
But: USD 80,000 income, or USD 40,000 with additional criteria
And: your employer must clear the listing, history and revenue tests

DTV

Far more accessible for ordinary remote workers
Freelancers and independent contractors can qualify
Much lower financial and employer barriers
Substantially cheaper
But: stay is structured around 180-day periods
And: no equivalent tax framework

If you comfortably qualify for Work-from-Thailand LTR, compare it seriously before defaulting to the DTV. The harder qualification buys a much cleaner long-term immigration structure, and for a high earner the tax treatment alone can outweigh everything else. If you do not qualify, the DTV is not a consolation prize — it is the route that was designed for you.

Wealthy Pensioner vs the standard retirement route

Different qualification, different admin, different tax position.

Standard retirement route

Age 50 or over
Much lower financial threshold
Annual extensions of stay
90-day reporting
Re-entry permits to plan before travel
The conventional framework most retirees here use

LTR Wealthy Pensioner

Substantially higher income, or income plus a Thai investment
Five years at a time, up to ten
Annual reporting
Multiple-entry travel built in
Foreign-income tax exemption where conditions are met
Far less recurring Immigration administration

LTR vs Thailand Privilege

Two long-stay options that solve the same problem from opposite directions.

LTR

Difficult to qualify for
Low visa issuance cost once you do
Based on your economic or professional profile
Tax and work advantages in the right categories
Qualification has to be maintained

Thailand Privilege

High upfront membership cost
Straightforward qualification for most applicants
A membership and convenience model
Assistance services rather than status benefits
No equivalent tax or work framework

LTR vs Non-B

Short version, because for most people taking a job here this is not a close call.

Working in Thailand: which framework

Qualifying high-skill role: LTR Highly Skilled Professional is worth investigating if the employer and sector fit
Ordinary Thai employment: Non-B plus a work permit is the standard route and usually the only realistic one
Who sponsors you: Non-B depends on your employer's paperwork; LTR depends on your own profile
Tax: LTR Highly Skilled may access the 17% flat rate; Non-B employment is taxed normally

Who should probably not pursue LTR?

Eliminating a route is useful progress. These profiles are usually better served elsewhere.

Freelancers with ordinary income

The DTV is far more realistic and was built for this exact situation.

Remote employees of small companies

Your salary may clear the bar, but the employer requirements almost certainly will not.

Retirees with a normal pension

The standard retirement route asks for a fraction of the money and is well understood locally.

Wealthy applicants unwilling to invest in Thailand

Wealthy Global Citizen requires the investment, not just the net worth.

People who mainly want the ten-year label

If qualification does not fit naturally, Thailand Privilege buys length without the profile test.

Anyone planning to rearrange their finances to qualify

Treat that idea cautiously. Do not invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in Thailand solely to make an otherwise unsuitable visa work without comparing the alternatives first.

Living in Hua Hin with an LTR visa

Where the programme's profile and this town's strengths line up rather well.

LTR holders tend to be people using Thailand as a base rather than a stop, and that is precisely the kind of life Hua Hin is set up for. Affluent retirees, senior remote professionals, executives whose work is international rather than Bangkok based, and families settling for years rather than months all find the town easier than the capital without giving up much.

Living costs sit meaningfully below Bangkok while the practical infrastructure — hospitals, international schools, supermarkets, golf, a straightforward road and rail connection north — holds up. For a household on an LTR income, that gap is the difference between comfortable and constrained.

Housing decisions also change shape. If you are planning five or ten years rather than one, long-term rentals and the property question deserve real attention early, and the choice of neighbourhood matters more than it does for a short stay.

Building a life here on LTR

Cost and housing

Family

Working from here

The Bangkok reality check

One practical consequence of LTR being a BOI programme rather than an ordinary immigration route.

The specialist LTR infrastructure sits at the Thailand Investment and Expat Services Centre, which BOI operates in Bangkok — currently on the sixth floor of the One Bangkok development. Visa issuance, the digital work permit and LTR-specific support are handled through that centre and the programme's online channels rather than at a provincial immigration office.

For most holders this is a minor point, because it comes up rarely. But it is worth planning for: an issuance appointment means a trip to Bangkok, and Hua Hin's own immigration office is not where LTR questions get resolved.

Common mistakes

Most of these are assumptions rather than eligibility problems — which makes them cheap to avoid.

Reading LTR as permanent residence

The name is misleading. LTR is a long-stay visa with continuing conditions. Permanent residence and citizenship are separate processes with their own criteria, and LTR does not create a route into either.

Expecting one unconditional ten-year stay

The programme runs up to ten years, but as five years followed by a further five, with your qualification reviewed in between.

Working from pre-2025 figures

The February 2025 announcement changed several thresholds and removed others. A guide quoting a USD 150 million employer revenue requirement or five years of work experience is out of date.

Looking only at your own salary

For Work-from-Thailand, the employer test is as decisive as the income test. Check the company before you check yourself.

Assuming freelancers fit Work-from-Thailand

The category is written around employment by a qualifying overseas company. Freelancers and consultants invoicing through their own small company will usually be looking at the DTV instead.

Assuming wealth alone qualifies you

Wealthy Global Citizen pairs the USD 1 million asset test with a USD 500,000 Thai investment. Plenty of wealthy applicants stop at that second requirement.

Planning to invest after approval

Where an investment is required, the current rules expect you to hold it before the application date. A stated intention is not the same thing.

Counting everything you own

Assets have to be evidenced and appraised in the way BOI's document guidance sets out. Your own mental balance sheet is rarely the same figure.

Treating all four categories as tax-free

Three categories get a foreign-income exemption. Highly Skilled Professionals instead get a 17% flat rate on qualifying Thai employment income. They are different benefits.

Thinking Work-from-Thailand comes with a Thai work permit

It does not. BOI's own guidance excludes that category from the LTR work-permit route because the work is for an overseas employer.

Unwinding your qualification straight after approval

Selling the investment that qualified you, or leaving the employer that qualified you, affects your standing. Check before you change anything that formed part of the application.

Chasing LTR when a simpler visa already fits

A harder visa is not automatically a better one. If the retirement route or the DTV covers your life comfortably, that is a legitimate answer.

Questions people ask

Short answers. The detail sits in the sections above.

What is the Thailand LTR visa?

A long-stay visa run by Thailand's Board of Investment for four specific economic and professional profiles: wealthy global citizens, wealthy pensioners, remote professionals working for large overseas employers, and highly skilled professionals working in targeted industries.

What does LTR stand for?

Long-Term Resident.

Is LTR the same as permanent residency?

No. It is a visa with continuing conditions, not Thai permanent residence, and it is not a formal pathway to permanent residence or citizenship.

Is the LTR visa really valid for 10 years?

The programme runs up to ten years, structured as an initial period of up to five years and a further period of up to five years once your qualification has been reviewed again.

Why is LTR structured as 5 + 5 years?

Because eligibility is tied to your circumstances rather than a one-off payment. The five-year point is where BOI checks that the criteria you qualified under still hold.

Who qualifies for LTR Thailand?

Only applicants who fit one of the four published categories and meet its financial, employment or expertise criteria, plus the health-coverage requirement.

What are the four LTR categories?

Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioner, Work-from-Thailand Professional and Highly Skilled Professional.

What changed in the LTR rules in 2025?

BOI Announcement Por. 3/2568, effective 4 February 2025, replaced the earlier rules. The Work-from-Thailand employer revenue threshold fell to USD 50 million over three years, the five-year work-experience requirements disappeared, and parents were added as eligible dependants.

How much income do I need for LTR?

USD 80,000 a year is the headline figure for Wealthy Pensioner, Work-from-Thailand and Highly Skilled Professional. Each has a USD 40,000 alternative with additional conditions, and Wealthy Global Citizen has no income test at all.

How wealthy do I need to be?

For Wealthy Global Citizen, at least USD 1 million in appraised worldwide assets as at the application date, alongside the Thai investment requirement.

What counts toward USD 1 million in assets?

Domestic and foreign assets at appraised value. The evidence BOI accepts is set out in its required-documents guidance for the category, which is worth reading before you total anything up.

Can property count toward my assets?

Property is among the asset types considered, but it has to be evidenced and appraised as BOI's document guidance requires.

Can jointly owned assets count?

The announcement itself does not spell this out. Check the current required-documents guide for your category, or ask BOI directly, before relying on a jointly held asset.

How much do I need to invest in Thailand?

USD 500,000 for Wealthy Global Citizen. USD 250,000 for Wealthy Pensioner applicants using the lower income route. No investment is required on the higher pensioner income route.

Does the investment need to exist before I apply?

Yes. The current rules require you to have invested or held ownership before the application date.

What is a Wealthy Global Citizen?

The LTR category for applicants with at least USD 1 million in worldwide assets who already hold at least USD 500,000 in qualifying Thai investments in their own name.

What is a Wealthy Pensioner?

The LTR category for retired applicants aged 50 or over with pension or fixed personal income of USD 80,000 a year, or USD 40,000 combined with a Thai investment of at least USD 250,000.

What counts as passive income?

BOI's wording is pensions and fixed personal income. Pension payments are the clearest case; other regular unearned income should be checked against the current required-documents guidance rather than assumed.

Can salary count for Wealthy Pensioner?

The category requires you to be retired, which sits awkwardly with continuing employment income. The announcement does not settle the point explicitly, so confirm with BOI before applying on that basis.

What is Work-from-Thailand Professional?

The LTR category for people living in Thailand while working for a qualifying company outside Thailand.

Does my employer need to qualify?

Yes, and this is the requirement most applicants underestimate. The company must be listed on a stock exchange, or private with at least three years of operation and USD 50 million of combined revenue over three years, or a wholly owned subsidiary of such a company.

What is the employer revenue requirement?

At least USD 50 million in combined revenue over the past three years for a private company. That figure was reduced under the 2025 rules; older guides still quote USD 150 million.

Can freelancers get Work-from-Thailand LTR?

Rarely. The category is built around employment by a qualifying overseas company, so most freelancers and independent consultants should look at the DTV instead.

Can business owners qualify?

Only if the company genuinely meets the employer criteria. Owning a small overseas company does not by itself satisfy the listing, operating-history or revenue tests.

What is Highly Skilled Professional?

The LTR category for specialists working in Thailand in one of BOI's targeted industries, or for public universities, research agencies and similar public bodies.

Which industries qualify?

BOI publishes the list, which covers areas such as digital, medical, automation and robotics, aviation, biotechnology and logistics, plus a set of specialised expertise areas. Check the current list on the official LTR site.

Can I work in Thailand on LTR?

It depends on the category. Wealthy Global Citizens, Wealthy Pensioners, Highly Skilled Professionals and dependants can apply for an LTR work permit. Work-from-Thailand Professionals cannot.

Does Work-from-Thailand need a Thai work permit?

No, and it cannot get one under the LTR route. The category is specifically for work performed for an employer outside Thailand.

What is a Digital Work Permit?

The digital work authorisation issued through the BOI and TIESC system to LTR holders in the categories that are permitted to work in Thailand.

Do LTR holders need 90-day reporting?

No. LTR holders report annually rather than every 90 days.

What is LTR annual reporting?

An address notification to the Immigration Bureau at TIESC once a year for holders staying in Thailand longer than a year continuously. Leaving and re-entering Thailand affects the timing.

Does TM30 still apply?

Address notification by the property owner or accommodation is a general immigration requirement and is separate from the LTR reporting concession. Assume it still applies and confirm with your landlord or building.

Do I need a re-entry permit?

The LTR visa is issued as a multiple-entry visa, so it does not carry the same separate re-entry-permit routine as an annual extension of stay.

Do I need health insurance?

You need health coverage of at least USD 50,000 for treatment in Thailand, Thai social security coverage, or a bank deposit of at least USD 100,000 held for twelve months. Insurance is one option, not the only one.

Can I use a bank deposit instead of health insurance?

Yes. The deposit alternative is USD 100,000 for the main applicant, held for at least twelve months as at the application date, and USD 25,000 per dependant.

Can my spouse get LTR?

Yes, a legitimate spouse can be included as a dependant, with their own documentation and health-coverage evidence.

Can my children get LTR?

Children under 20 can be included as dependants.

Can my parents get LTR?

Yes. Parents were added to the eligible dependant categories under the 2025 rules, which is one reason older articles understate who can be included.

Does LTR recognise same-sex spouses?

The announcement refers to a legitimate spouse without elaborating. Thailand's marriage equality law took effect in 2025, but the LTR documentation does not address the point explicitly, so same-sex couples should confirm the position with BOI directly.

Does LTR provide tax benefits?

Yes, but they differ by category, and they come from a Royal Decree with its own conditions rather than from the visa itself.

Is foreign income tax-free under LTR?

For Wealthy Global Citizens, Wealthy Pensioners and Work-from-Thailand Professionals, qualifying foreign-source income brought into Thailand is exempt from personal income tax under Royal Decree No. 743, subject to Revenue Department conditions. That exemption does not extend to Highly Skilled Professionals.

Who gets the special 17% tax rate?

Highly Skilled Professionals, on qualifying employment income from a company in a targeted industry.

How much does an LTR visa cost?

The qualification application is free. The visa issuance fee is THB 50,000 per person when issued in Thailand.

Is the qualification application free?

Yes, BOI states that the application and its processing are free of charge.

How long does LTR approval take?

BOI's published guidance indicates around 20 business days from a complete registered application to the endorsement result. That is indicative, not a guarantee.

Is LTR better than DTV?

If you qualify comfortably, usually yes — the stay structure, reporting and tax treatment are all cleaner. If you do not, the DTV is far more accessible.

Is LTR better than a retirement visa?

It is a different structure, not simply a better one. LTR asks for much more income or investment and gives you less annual administration in return.

Is LTR better than Thailand Privilege?

LTR costs far less and offers tax and work benefits, but you have to qualify. Thailand Privilege costs a great deal more and asks almost nothing of your profile.

Is LTR better than Non-B?

For an ordinary job with a Thai employer, Non-B and a work permit remain the standard route. LTR Highly Skilled is only relevant for qualifying roles in targeted sectors and organisations.

Is Hua Hin a good base for LTR holders?

It suits the profile well — space, healthcare, golf, an easy Bangkok connection — with the caveat that the specialist LTR administration sits in Bangkok rather than locally.

Official sources and verification

Where to confirm anything on this page. If a source below contradicts this guide, the source is right.

Hua Hin Compass verified

Last verified

August 2026

Next scheduled review

February 2027

Sources checked

· BOI Announcement Por. 3/2568
· Official BOI LTR website
· BOI LTR application timeline
· BOI LTR FAQ and reporting pages
· Royal Decree No. 743

Every threshold here comes from BOI Announcement Por. 3/2568, effective 4 February 2025, checked Aug 2026. A few points could not be confirmed in a published official document — the treatment of jointly owned assets, whether continuing salary can count for Wealthy Pensioner, explicit recognition of same-sex spouses as dependants, and any cap on the number of dependants. This guide flags those as open questions rather than answering them.

LTR qualification criteria, tax incentives and administrative procedures change. Hua Hin Compass uses current BOI and Thai government sources as the primary reference and periodically reviews this guide for updates. It is general relocation information, not immigration, tax or legal advice, and it cannot confirm your eligibility or promise that an application will be approved.

Back to the Thailand Visa Guide How we verify information

Working out whether LTR fits your move?

Put the qualification questions, the evidence you need and the Bangkok appointment into a plan with the rest of your move.

Add This to My Move Plan

Continue planning your move

Visas & immigration

Other long-stay routes

Working here

Planning the move