The cabinet has greenlighted an economic stimulus and investment promotion package aimed at attracting wealthy foreigners and highly skilled professionals from overseas to help revive the economy post-Covid-19.
Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, the government’s spokesman, said that the measures should attract more than one million foreign investors and experts within five years, which should increase the amount of money spent in the economy by more than one trillion baht. Benefits in the package include a 10-year Thai visa for not only approved special visitors but also their spouses and children.
“This includes 800 billion baht from the expected increase in investment and 270 billion baht from the expected increase in tax collections,” he said.
The measures include:
A 10-year “long-term resident visa,” also for spouse and children
A work permit
Exemption from foreign income tax
Land and real estate ownership and rentership rights
90 days report not required
No quota of hiring four Thais for every one foreign employee
The four groups that can apply for the visa include:
Wealthy global citizen: People with a high income of at least US$80,000 in income over the past two years and a minimum asset of $1 million
Wealthy pensioner: Pensioners, age 50 and above, with a stable pension of at least $80,000 over the past two years
Work-from-Thailand professional: Foreign workers with employers outside of Thailand, more than five years of working experience and make at least $80,000 over the past two years
High-skilled professional: Professionals working in targeted industries such as future services, infrastructure buildings, logistical systems and digital systems who make at least $80,000 over the past two years
The measures will be run by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development.They will be working with the Board of Investment of Thailand, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Finance and the Royal Thai Police to sort out and provide more details on the measures later, Thanakorn said.
The measures will be reevaluated every five years, he said.
(via Thai Enquirer, Bangkok Post)