Thailand · Passive income
Long-Term Resident Visa — Wealthy Pensioner, Work-from-Thailand and Highly-Skilled Professional
Open. Criteria follow the BOI LTR portal as at July 2026.
The Work-from-Thailand category is the strongest remote-work visa in Asia. It runs for ten years, requires no work permit, and, critically, carries a Royal Decree 743 exemption on foreign income remitted to Thailand. For a senior remote executive, this comes close to a zero-tax outcome on foreign earnings while living in Thailand, provided the employer meets the size test.
Qualifying routes
Aged 50 or older, with at least USD 80,000 per year of unearned or passive income. Alternatively, USD 40,000–80,000 in passive income plus a USD 250,000 investment in Thai bonds, companies or property.
Average annual income of USD 80,000 over the past two years. The employer must be publicly listed, or a private company operating 3+ years with USD 50m+ revenue, or a subsidiary of one. This route is exempt from the work permit requirement.
Average annual income of USD 80,000 over the past two years, or USD 40,000–80,000 with a master's degree or higher in science and technology. Applicants must work for a Thai entity, university, research centre or government agency in a targeted industry. This route carries a 17% flat personal income tax rate.
The facts
- Minimum
- $80k
- Total landed cost
- THB 50,000 visa fee per person. The Wealthy Pensioner lower-income route also requires a USD 250,000 Thai investment.
- Route type
- Income requirement
- Timeline
- 2–5 months (BOI endorsement, followed by visa issuance.)
- Physical presence
- None required to maintain the visa.
- Family
- SpouseUp to three children under 20
- Permanent residency
- No direct route.
- Citizenship
- No realistic route for most.
- Language test
- Not applicable in practice.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- Category-specific income, age, employer and qualification tests, as set out in the routes.Health insurance with USD 50,000 coverage, or Thai social security, or a USD 100,000 bank deposit held for 12+ months.BOI qualification endorsement.
- The Highly-Skilled Professional category is the exception that catches people. It gets the headline 17% flat rate, but it is NOT one of the three categories covered by the Royal Decree 743 foreign income exemption. If you have material foreign income, the 17% rate may be worse than the exemption you gave up.
- Work-from-Thailand requires the EMPLOYER to meet the revenue/listing test. Freelancers, consultants and owners of small companies do not qualify, regardless of income.
- The USD 80,000 income test looks at the past two years. A career break or a variable-comp year can disqualify you.
- Health insurance or the USD 100,000 deposit condition applies to all categories.
- The 10-year visa is issued 5+5. The second tranche requires continued qualification.