Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are doing a bit of a comparison and contrast of the Thailand Elite Visa with the LTR. For those who are unaware, LTR stands for Long Term Resident Visa. It is kind of a misnomer, it does not confer Lawful Permanent Residence in Thailand, it confers basically long Non-Immigrant status in Thailand. 

There is a lot of talk about this because they are rolling it out. It is coming in September of 2022 and a lot of people have kind of been asking me about it wanting to get my take on it. I have been kind of researching it and I got to thinking of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Thailand's 10 Year Visas will be launched September 1. Quoting directly: "The income and investment requirements differ according to the application category but umpteen thousands of high value (rich) foreigners are being sought to boost the Thai economy. If you think 1 million Baht is a fortune, this Visa isn't for you. The Authorities are thinking more in terms of 1 million US Dollars. The cheapest category is for retirees over 50 and your annual income me must be at least 80,000 Baht monthly, or less, with additional cash or bond investments in Thailand. But whether seniors will want to bother with the bureaucracy and readily ditch simpler alternatives such as the annual "O" extension of stay or the Elite - remains to be seen."

So getting into the Elite there and that is good observations. I urge those who are watching this video, check out that article in the Pattaya Mail, but yeah it is kind of a good question. I mean one of the big issues I have had people asking me about the Long-Term Residence Visa is "Hey, Thailand Elite doesn't put this insurance requirement on me whereas the LTR Visa does" and that is a fair point. Now at the same time, the LTR does not require someone to actually buy in to the Thailand Elite membership program so when somebody, to say that you are "buying" the Thailand Elite Visa is not strictly speaking correct. You are buying membership in the Thailand Elite system, into the Club if you will, and then part of it, one of the perks is the actual Visa depending on the category of your membership it will determine the type of Elite Visa that you end up getting. But essentially, yeah it is paid for. The money that goes in to get the Elite Visa is gone, it is paid, it is just spent money if you will. Now it may be possible to transfer the Thailand Elite Visa for the unused portion depending on circumstances, it may be possible to transfer one's membership. It is a very good idea if you are thinking about doing that or if that is a big reason why you would want the Elite, it's probably a good idea to contact a legal professional to gain some insight and guidance into the Elite, because different categories have different rules and some categories do not allow transfer, so that is something to bear in mind.

Back to the reason for the video, there are pros and cons to both this newly being created LTR Visa as well as the old Thailand Elite Visa and it is just going to depend on the circumstances of the given individual as to whether or not Thailand Elite or the LTR status is a better fit for them.