Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing these new LTR so-called Long-Term Residence Visas for “wealthy pensioners”. We are kind of doing a little bit of a comparison and contrast with the standard Thai Retirement Visa.

The reason I thought of making this video, I was reading recent article in Hua Hin Today, that is huahintoday.com, the article is titled: 10 year Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa to make living in Thailand "easier and less bureaucratic". Quoting directly: "For "Wealthy Pensioners", these are defined as retirees age 50 years and older who have "personal income of at least USD 80,000/year at the time of application." Alternatively, "in case of personal income below USD 80,000/year but no less than USD 40,000/year, applicants must invest at least USD 250,000 in Thai Government bonds, foreign direct investment, or Thai property." So those are the financial requirements associated with the so-called "Wealthy Pensioner" LTR Visa. Now bear in mind, again as we have noted in other videos, it isn't a Residence Visa; it does not grant residence, it grants a long-term Visa. Apparently it is granting a 10-year Visa although if it is anything like the Long-Term Visas we have seen up to now, I am presuming that is probably going to mean two 5-year visa stickers although I can't say that for certain. This thing has not rolled out yet. It is supposed to roll out in the fourth quarter of 2022 and we will certainly keep people updated as that happens.

Just a quick comparison to your standard Thai Retirement Visa. So a standard Thai Retirement Visa, either under the O-A Retirement Visa category or the O Retirement Visa category, you are looking at 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank account or 65,000 Baht per month in income. So obviously it is substantially lower from a financial requirement’s point of view. However as we noted before, it is renewable in one year increments as opposed to a single one off 10 year Visa. Again it remains to be seen exactly how this is going to play out. 

For those out here who are wondering, it is probably a good idea to contact a legal professional because I think there is going to be a lot of nuance associated with this. Also, and I can't stress this enough, I don't think this thing is going to be nearly as straightforward as it appears on paper. That's how things generally work in Immigration Law; they create new Visa categories; it looks very straightforward and then sort of the "devil is in the details" and oftentimes in the practicalities. So for those who are really interested in this, it may not be a bad idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.