New Thailand visa changes coming very soon

[fedssocr]

 

[macaroni21]

There simply isn't enough attraction in Thailand to make me want to stay 60 days. But if it also applies to the working boys from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, etc, then it reduces the number of visa runs they make by half, which may then draw a few more of them into the business-that-we-all-know-about. That would be the best news.

[Guest reader]

The mainstream Thai media appears to have been caught completely off guard by the announcement and is beginning to play catch up. This was just posted on Thai PBS World.

The Cabinet has decided to exempt pre-travel visa requirements for tourists from 36 more countries, in addition to the current 57, in an effort to attract more tourist arrivals to boost the Thai economy.

Government Spokesman Chai Wacharonke said that tourists from the 93 countries can stay in Thailand for up to 60 days instead of 30 days as before.

Moreover there would now be 31 countries which can now apply for Visa on Arrival, at the immigration counter at their point of entry.

He said the government has also granted the “Destination Thailand Visa” to skilled foreigners and freelancers who want to work from Thailand, allowing them to stay for up to 180 days, with an extension of 180 days.

Under-graduate students at Thai universities can stay in the country for one year following their graduation, so they can find jobs, travel or undertake other activities.

[Guest reader]

From The Nation

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday released a list of 93 nations whose citizens can enter Thailand without a visa or obtain a visa on arrival and can stay for up to 60 days.

In a move to boost tourism and bring tourist dollars into the country, the Cabinet agreed on Tuesday to waive visa measures for a total of 93 countries.

This list includes the 57 nations whose citizens were allowed to stay in Thailand for 30 days without a visa, 13 nations for whom the visa requirement was recently waived and an additional six nations whose citizens will be allowed to stay here without a visa for 60 days.

 

The 57 nations who were already enjoying a visa waiver and can now get a 60-day stamp on arrival are:

1. Canada
2. Czech Republic
3. Denmark
4. Estonia
5. Finland
6. France
7. Germany
8. Greece
9. Hungary
10. Iceland
11. Indonesia
12. Republic of Ireland
13. Israel
14. Italy

15. Japan
16. Kuwait
17. Latvia
18. Lichtenstein
19. Lithuania
20. Luxembourg
21. Malaysia
22. Maldives
23. Mauritius
24. Monaco
25. The Netherlands
26. New Zealand
27. Norway
28. Oman
29. The Philippines
30. Poland
31. Portugal
32. Qatar
33. San Marino
34. Singapore
35. Slovakia
36. Slovenia
37. Spain
38. South Africa
39. South Korea
40. Sweden
41. Switzerland
42. Turkey
43. Ukraine
44. United Arab Emirates
45. United Kingdom
46. United States
47. Peru
48. Hong Kong
49. Vietnam
50. Saudi Arabia
51. Andorra
52. Australia
53. Austria
54. Belgium
55. Bahrain
56. Brazil
57. BruneI

The 13 nations whose citizens were already getting a 30-day stamp upon arrival and will now be getting a 60-day stamp:

1. India
2. Kazakhstan
3. Malta
4. Mexico
5. Papua New Guinea
6. Romania
7. Uzbekistan
8. Taiwan
9. Bhutan
10. Bulgaria
11. Cyprus
12. Fiji
13. Georgia

The six new nations whose citizens now enjoy a visa waiver and a 60-day stay are:

1. China
2. Laos
3. Macau
4. Mongolia
5. Russia
6. Cambodia

The 17 new nations that are now eligible for visa on arrival and will get a 60-day stamp are:

1. Guatemala
2. Jamaica
3. Jordan
4. Kosovo
5. Morocco
6. Panama
7. Sri Lanka
8. Trinidad and Tobago
9. Tonga
10. Uruguay
11. Albania
12. Colombia
13. Croatia
14. Cuba
15. Dominica
16. Dominican Republic
17. Ecuador
 

 

[ichigo]

This is great timing for the 60 day visa waiver! I'm booked to come to Thailand for 60 days later in the year so now I don't have to worry about buying a 60 day tourist visa or extending a 30 day visa waiver. 

[fedssocr]

I thought ASEAN citizens already had longer stays. But I guess not.

[fedssocr]

The typical tourist doesn't need a 60 day visa. But giving visa exempt entry to many more countries might move the needle a little bit. The "digital nomads" seem to have been finding loopholes already so I don't know how many will jump through the application process hoops to get a 6 month visa. Apparently that is only extendable by a further 6 months in a 5 year period, not that you can add 6 months for up to 5 years total.

[gayinpattaya]

16 hours ago, fedssocr said:

 The "digital nomads" seem to have been finding loopholes already so I don't know how many will jump through the application process hoops to get a 6 month visa.

I've heard that it's going to involve a "bond" payment of 300-400k, much like that retirement VISA. Also the requirement for a degree. I know a fair few remote workers, only 1 of which attended university. As you said, there are plenty of options already for remote workers. Mainly ED Visas, or more legitimately going through a company like UnionSpace and obtaining a work permit and paying tax.

[omega]

3 hours ago, gayinpattaya said:

I've heard that it's going to involve a "bond" payment of 300-400k, much like that retirement VISA. Also the requirement for a degree. I know a fair few remote workers, only 1 of which attended university. As you said, there are plenty of options already for remote workers. Mainly ED Visas, or more legitimately going through a company like UnionSpace and obtaining a work permit and paying tax.

Would be disappointing if so. I wonder what the point would be? Might make it a little easier for employers to hire foreigners, but would entirely miss the market for digital nomads, and remote workers employed by non-Thailand based companies, who might like to spend a few months working in Thailand without worrying about VISA or tax issues.

No issues with the "bond" payment for Digital Nomads who don't have a steady income, but an option should be there for employed remote workers who have a regular salary coming in to prove they earn $xxxx per month.

[gayinpattaya]

6 hours ago, omega said:

Would be disappointing if so. I wonder what the point would be? Might make it a little easier for employers to hire foreigners, but would entirely miss the market for digital nomads, and remote workers employed by non-Thailand based companies, who might like to spend a few months working in Thailand without worrying about VISA or tax issues.

No issues with the "bond" payment for Digital Nomads who don't have a steady income, but an option should be there for employed remote workers who have a regular salary coming in to prove they earn $xxxx per month.

I hope this is the case. In 24 hours or so I assume we will see the details. As with all things related to Thai Visas, I never get my hopes up. It always has, and always will be a pain in the ass. 

[Guest reader]

From Pattaya Mail

By Barry Kenyon

The extension of visa-free travel to 93 countries, including all those which are major players in tourism to Thailand, means that the overwhelming majority of foreign holidaymakers can obtain 60 days just by turning up. Nationals of those countries still needing a prior visa – for example Haiti, Pakistan, the Central African Republic, El Salvador, North Korea – send few vacationers in any case.

The mammoth question for the 93 countries is now extensions and repeat performances. In other words, can these tourists extend their 60 days for another month at local immigration and can they do a border hop to start all over again? Nobody can confirm either possibility and a phone call to 1178, the immigration hotline, brought no clarification. That’s not surprising as the new visa rules for visitors were introduced by the foreign affairs ministry, whilst internal extensions are the responsibility of the immigration bureau, a totally separate and fiercely independent government bureaucracy.

The new Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), so far, is incomplete. We know is a multiple entry visa, valid for 5 years and aimed largely at remote workers and digital nomads, for a maximum stay of 180 days with an extension of another 180 days. The cost is 10,000 baht (around US$270) per half-year with a security bond of 500,000 baht available. Some social media contributors have stated this visa can be used only twice in five years, 180+180 days as it were, whilst others have declared you can live in Thailand for the entire five years as an alternative to the Elite visa or the annual extension of stay based on retirement. Neither extreme makes any sense.

There is very little news in the new policy for existing expats, apart from a temporary reduction in medical insurance required by some (not all) holders of retirement visas and their subsequent extensions of stay. However, there is an intriguing reference in the ministry of foreign affairs’ news release that the number of non-immigrant visas available will be drastically cut. The detail, once again, is guesswork but could include visas and extensions for retirees, foreigners married to Thais, work permit holders and international students being updated. Will the well-known difference between the 800,000 baht requirement for retiree visas and the 400,000 baht for married foreigners survive?

Not mentioned in the DTV news release, is the awesome elephant in the room. That’s the requirement, already stated by the Thai Revenue authorities, for all foreign tax residents to register by early next year for possible personal income tax on overseas income. A tax resident spends more than six months in Thailand in the calendar year. If the Thai government is serious about encouraging expat numbers in Thailand, it should issue an unambiguous statement that foreign income or pensions already taxed will in the home country will not be subject to further inquiry in Thailand. The sense of relief would be audible from the Myanmar border to the southern islands beyond Phuket. But don’t hold your breath.

 

[Guest reader]

The situation bares watching. This statement appeared in today’s Thaiger:

”The new regulation was announced to take effect June 1, but from reports from entry points on June 1 we are told that immigration officers still stamps only 30 days.”

[fedssocr]

I guess this whole thing ended up being a giant clusterf%^#. Now they're saying the new rules won't be in place for a while.