Thailand LTR Visa
Thailand's ten-year residence visa, with four ways to qualify. Emerhub helps you pick the right category, prepare the documents, and handle the BOI submission.
What is the Thailand LTR visa?
The Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa is a ten-year Thai residence visa, launched in 2022 and administered by the Board of Investment (BOI). It was created to attract high-potential foreigners to Thailand, and it carries privileges no ordinary Thai visa offers: a decade of residence, the right to work, annual rather than 90-day reporting, airport fast-track, and, for most categories, an exemption on foreign-sourced income.
It is one visa, not five, with four categories that set out different ways to qualify, plus a route for dependents. You choose the category that matches your situation; the visa and most of its benefits are the same across all of them. Getting the category right at the start is the single most important decision, because it determines what you need to prove and which tax treatment applies.
Types of LTR visa in Thailand
Each category is assessed differently. Pick the one that matches how your wealth or work is structured.
Wealthy Global Citizen
For high-net-worth individuals, assessed on assets rather than income.
- USD 1M in assets, including USD 500K invested in Thailand
- No income requirement since 2025
- Foreign-income tax exemption
Wealthy Pensioner
For retirees living on a pension or passive income.
- USD 80K passive income a year, or
- USD 40K income plus a USD 250K Thai investment
- Foreign-income tax exemption
Work-from-Thailand Professional
For remote employees of established overseas companies.
- USD 80K a year over the last two years
- Employed by a well-established overseas company
- Foreign-income tax exemption
Highly-Skilled Professional
For experts in industries Thailand is actively building.
- USD 80K a year, or exempt for government and academia
- Work in a BOI-targeted industry
- Flat 17% personal income tax
Comparison of LTR visa types
The four categories are assessed on different criteria. The table below summarises who each one is for, the headline requirement, and the headline tax benefit.
| Category | Who it's for | Key requirement | Tax benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wealthy Global Citizen | High net worth, any age | USD 1M assets, incl. USD 500K in Thailand; no income test | Foreign-income exemption |
| Wealthy Pensioner | Retirees 50+ | USD 80K passive income, or USD 40K + USD 250K Thai investment | Foreign-income exemption |
| Work-from-Thailand Professional | Remote workers | USD 80K/year from an established overseas employer | Foreign-income exemption |
| Highly-Skilled Professional | Specialists in targeted industries | USD 80K/year, or exempt for government and academia | Flat 17% income tax |
All four categories also require health coverage: a health insurance policy of at least USD 50,000 valid in Thailand, a USD 100,000 bank deposit, or home-country social security. Each dependent must meet the coverage condition too.
Benefits of the LTR visa
The privileges below apply across all four categories.
Ten-year residence
Five years up front, renewable for a further five.
Multiple re-entry
Enter and leave Thailand freely, with no re-entry permit.
Annual reporting
Report to immigration once a year instead of every 90 days.
Fast-track service
Expedited immigration lanes at Thailand's international airports.
Permission to work
Apply for a work permit, with the four-Thais-per-foreigner rule waived.
Family included
Spouse, children under 20, and dependents can join.
How to apply for the LTR visa
The four categories make the first decision the most important one. We get that right, then handle the rest.
Choose the right category
We look at your wealth, income, work, and plans, and tell you which of the four categories fits, or whether the LTR visa is the right route at all. This is where a wrong assumption costs the most, so we settle it before anything else.
Eligibility check and documents
We verify the thresholds for your category and compile the evidence the BOI wants: proof of assets, income, or investment, a compliant health-coverage document, and the apostille or legalisation each piece needs.
BOI submission and endorsement
We submit through the BOI LTR portal and manage the endorsement and any follow-up requests. The official review is around 20 working days from a complete file; in practice the application runs over a couple of months.
Issuance and renewals
We coordinate issuance, as an e-visa at a Thai embassy or at the service center in Bangkok, and support you on the annual reporting and the five-year renewal.
Not sure which category fits?
Tell us a little about your situation, your assets, income, work, or retirement plans, and we'll tell you which LTR category you qualify for and what the application looks like.
Thailand LTR visa FAQs
The questions people ask most about the LTR visa as a whole.
What is the Thailand LTR visa?
It's a ten-year Long-Term Resident visa administered by the Board of Investment, launched in 2022 to attract high-potential foreigners. It grants five years, renewable for another five, with the right to work, annual reporting instead of 90-day, airport fast-track, and tax privileges that depend on your category.
What are the four categories?
Wealthy Global Citizen (high net worth, assessed on assets), Wealthy Pensioner (retirees aged 50 and over with passive income), Work-from-Thailand Professional (remote workers for established overseas companies), and Highly-Skilled Professional (specialists in targeted industries). A spouse and children under 20 can also apply as dependents, based on the main holder's eligibility.
Which category is right for me?
As a rule of thumb: if you qualify on wealth, Wealthy Global Citizen; if you are a retiree on a pension, Wealthy Pensioner; if you work remotely for an overseas employer, Work-from-Thailand Professional; if you are a specialist employed in a targeted Thai industry, Highly-Skilled Professional. Some people fit more than one, and the best choice often comes down to tax treatment and what is easiest to document. We compare them for you before you apply.
What are the tax benefits?
Three of the four categories, Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioner, and Work-from-Thailand Professional, carry an exemption from Thai tax on foreign-sourced income, subject to conditions. Highly-Skilled Professionals instead get a flat 17% personal income tax rate on their Thai employment income, against a standard rate that rises to 35%. Tax depends on your circumstances, so confirm the detail with an adviser.
How long is the visa valid, and do I have to live in Thailand?
Ten years in total, an initial five renewable for a further five, with reporting once a year rather than every 90 days. There is no minimum-stay requirement, but the conditions behind your category, the investment, income, employment, and insurance, must be maintained throughout the visa's life.
Can my family join me?
Yes. A legal spouse and children under 20 can hold LTR visas based on your eligibility, up to four dependents in total, with the same ten-year validity and re-entry privileges. Same-sex marriages are recognized; unmarried partners are not. Each dependent has to meet the health-coverage condition (USD 50,000 insurance, social security in Thailand, or a USD 25,000 deposit per dependent) and pay the per-person government fee. See the dependents route at /thailand/visas/ltr/dependent/.
How long does it take and what does it cost?
The BOI's official review is around 20 working days from a complete application, though most applications run over two to three months once documents are gathered. The government fee for the ten-year visa is 50,000 THB, on top of our service fee. Tell us your category and situation and we'll give you a realistic timeline and a fixed quote.
Talk to our Bangkok team
A free, no-obligation call: thirty minutes with our Bangkok team to scope your eligibility, pick the right LTR category, and lay out the documents and timeline.
591 Sukhumvit 33, Watthana
Bangkok 10110