Situation guide
Thailand LTR Visa: Four Categories, Work Rights and Tax
Relocating professionals, overseas remote employees, retirees and payroll teams preparing an LTR evidence file.
Quick answer
LTR is not permanent residence or a single tax regime for every holder. Select one of four categories against your assets, income, employer and actual duties. Initial stay permission is five years, extendable for another five while eligibility continues. Work-from-Thailand holders cannot obtain the LTR digital work permit. The 17% treatment concerns eligible Highly Skilled employment income and requires separate employer and Revenue Department compliance, not just a BOI endorsement.
The PDF button opens a print-ready sheet — choose “Save as PDF” in the browser dialog. It contains the key facts, the document checklist and the timeline.
Detailed guidance
1. Match the four categories to the evidence you have
Wealthy Global Citizens evidence at least USD 1 million in assets and at least USD 500,000 in qualifying Thai investments in their own name before applying. Do not import the former income test into the replacement 2025 criteria. Wealthy Pensioners must be at least 50 and retired. BOI distinguishes qualifying passive receipts from salary: one route uses at least USD 80,000 annual income; the USD 40,000-to-below-80,000 route also requires at least USD 250,000 qualifying Thai investment. Ownership and income character need evidence, not a verbal estimate.
Work-from-Thailand Professionals are employees of qualifying overseas employers, not general freelancers. The ordinary two-year average income reference is USD 80,000 a year, or at least USD 40,000 with the additional qualifications in the announcement. Eligible employers include listed companies, private companies operating for at least three years with USD 50 million combined revenue over that period, and qualifying wholly owned subsidiaries. Highly Skilled applicants instead evidence the contract, assignment and endorsed industry or expertise. Their income qualifications and public-agency exceptions must be checked separately; a job title alone does not establish eligibility.
2. Insurance, funding provenance and continuing eligibility
The principal categories require qualifying medical cover of at least USD 50,000, qualifying social-security medical benefits, or the prescribed USD 100,000 deposit alternative. Por.3/2568 specifies remaining policy coverage and deposit retention periods. A single-day balance certificate is not a substitute for the required account history. Separate asset valuation, completed investment, recurring income and deposit evidence so that one balance is not incorrectly used to prove different tests.
Eligibility is ongoing after visa issuance. Maintain the relevant employer status, investment, insurance and other category conditions, and assess changes before switching employer, disposing of investments or changing duties. Before the second five-year period, reconcile current evidence to the original approval basis. Some official web summaries retain older dependant wording: use the replacement announcement and current document checklist for family applications. A dependant's immigration status does not automatically transfer the principal applicant's tax treatment.
3. Airport fast track is not work authorisation
BOI lists airport fast-track access separately from digital work-permit facilitation. Neither is a promised approval deadline. Applicants eligible to work locally must complete the relevant work-authorisation process for the actual employer and duties. A qualification endorsement, immigration permission and work permit are distinct records; payroll onboarding should identify which record authorises the proposed work.
BOI's FAQ excludes Work-from-Thailand Professionals from the LTR digital work permit: the route supports remote employment for an overseas employer. It is not a shortcut into income-generating work with a Thai employer. If duties change to local employment, assess another eligible route before starting. Tax sourcing still depends on the underlying work and statutory rules, not merely the country of the bank account paying the salary.
4. Separate the 17% employment regime from overseas-income relief
Decree 743 sections 3–4 provide the 17% withholding treatment for eligible Highly Skilled employment income from a company or juristic partnership conducting the targeted activities under the specified laws. It is not a rate for all income or every employer. If ordinary withholding under section 50(1) would be below 17%, section 4 exclusion requires the recipient to allow withholding at 17%. Notification 427 requires the employer to notify the Director-General through its Area Revenue Office, with supporting employee records, by the final day of the first tax year claiming relief. Relief starts with income received from the date that office receives the notification. The employee must file PND.95 by the applicable deadline. Exclusion of qualifying withheld income from the ordinary computation carries no-refund/no-credit conditions. Do not configure payroll at 17% simply because the employee holds an LTR visa.
Section 5 addresses specified overseas income remitted by Wealthy Global Citizens, Wealthy Pensioners and Work-from-Thailand Professionals; Highly Skilled holders are not automatically included. Read its income-year and source wording together with applicable current RD rules before applying relief. Track capital, new income, earning dates and remittance dates separately. Do not label every inward transfer tax-free. The linked foreign-remittance guide distinguishes the ordinary tax rules from category-specific LTR relief.
5. Build the application and payroll handover in sequence
Start with a category-by-category evidence gap assessment, then submit for BOI endorsement. Visa issuance follows the endorsed procedure; work authorisation, where available, is a further step. Give payroll the approval basis, contract and tax records, not only a passport page. The current Bangkok centre is TIESC at One Bangkok, PARADE Zone, opened on 17 March 2025. Confirm the appointment floor and instructions for the actual service before travelling.
Record the source-check date and controlling announcement in the working file: endorsement does not certify the tax treatment of all receipts. Contact staff for document assessment and a quotation, identifying the LTR category, employer, income sources and service stage. Do not transmit complete passport or banking records through a public channel. This guide is source-based editorial guidance, not an individual eligibility decision or professional sign-off.
Key facts
| Stay structure | 5+5 years, with eligibility checked for extension; not unconditional ten-year admission |
|---|---|
| Current criteria | Por.3/2568 replaces prior LTR criteria following the 13 January 2025 Cabinet resolution |
| Highly Skilled employment tax | 17% only for income and conditions within Decree 743 and Notification 427 |
| Staffing ratio | BOI lists relief from the four-Thai-to-one-foreigner requirement for LTR, not all employment law |
| Address notification | Annual rather than 90-day reporting; separate from stay extension and qualification review |
| Current service centre | TIESC, floors 6–7, One Bangkok, PARADE Zone; not Chamchuri Square |
Practical summary
If you only read one block, start with these five lines and return to the detail afterwards.
- 1.Before submission — Select a category and reconcile evidence to Por.3/2568.
- 2.Endorsement stage — Submit to BOI and answer evidence requests against actual circumstances.
- 3.After endorsement — Complete visa issuance and available work permission; endorsement alone is not the onboarding trigger.
- 4.Passport and immigration history
- 5.Assets, income and funding schedule
Document checklist
Passport and immigration history
Distinguish existing permission from the proposed route.
Assets, income and funding schedule
Prove the selected category without conflating capital and income.
Employment contract and employer evidence
Establish employer eligibility and actual duties.
Insurance or qualifying alternative
Check cover, remaining duration and deposit history.
RD employee notification and PND.95 file
Required for the eligible employment-tax regime.
Reporting and eligibility-review calendar
Address reporting is not visa extension.
Timeline
Before submission
Select a category and reconcile evidence to Por.3/2568.
Endorsement stage
Submit to BOI and answer evidence requests against actual circumstances.
After endorsement
Complete visa issuance and available work permission; endorsement alone is not the onboarding trigger.
Before tax relief
Check income category, employer conditions and RD notification.
During stay and before extension
Report when due, maintain qualifications and prepare the second-period eligibility review.
Common mistakes
- Applying an obsolete Wealthy Global Citizen income test without reading the replacement announcement.
- Treating Work-from-Thailand as authorisation for a Thai employer.
- Applying 17% to all income categories.
- Turning airport fast track into a promised permit approval deadline.
Repeat questions
No. Initial permission is five years, followed by another five if qualifications continue. Distinguish visa validity from the actual permission to stay.
No. This employment regime is limited to qualifying Highly Skilled income and employers under Decree 743 and Notification 427. Other receipts are assessed separately.
Do not start on the strength of this category. BOI excludes it from the LTR digital work permit; assess the appropriate status and work authorisation before taking local employment.
No. Contracts, tax, payroll and the relevant work-authorisation evidence remain necessary, together with social-security obligations where applicable.
The current centre is TIESC, floors 6–7, One Bangkok, PARADE Zone. Check the current appointment notice and service instructions before travelling.
Verifiable sources
These original sources address the issues described under each reference; they do not certify every statement or a service outcome. Check amendments and the conditions applicable to the entity's actual circumstances.
1. Notification
BOI Por.3/2568: LTR qualifications following the January 2025 Cabinet resolutionBoard of Investment
Replacement criteria for four categories, investment, income, insurance and continuing eligibility; the English document is a translation.
2. Guidance
BOI LTR FAQ: stay privileges and digital work-permit scopeBoard of Investment
Separate conditional five-plus-five-year stay from work permission; Work-from-Thailand holders cannot obtain this category's digital work permit.
3. Act
Royal Decree No.743: LTR income-tax treatmentThe Revenue Department
Sections 3–4 address eligible employment income at 17%; section 5 addresses specified overseas income for three categories. BOI-hosted translation.
4. Notification
Income Tax Notification No.427: LTR tax complianceThe Revenue Department
Employment contract, employer employee notification and PND.95 filing; visa possession alone does not establish tax entitlement.
5. Code
The Revenue CodeThe Revenue Department
The governing text for income tax, VAT, specific business tax and stamp duty, together with the ministerial regulations and departmental instructions issued under it.