Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Business Visas and specifically we are discussing this in the context of what is the standard duration. So a lot of people have asked me lately they have said ‘how long are Thai Business Visas?’ Well let's start off and delineate; let's talk Standard Thai B Visas. 

Your Standard Thai B Visa is going to be for a 1-year duration. Now depending on if you have certain privileges with the Board of Investment (Thai BOI) you may be able to get your B Visa issued in 2-year increments. Again that is going to be very case specific; if you or your corporation or the corporation you work for can avail themselves of BOI benefits. If you are a standard Thai Company, just sort of a standard SME that many foreigners opt to come over here and set up here in Thailand, under those circumstances you are probably going to be under the 1-year renewal policy; that is the standard duration. 

As we have discussed in other videos, so-called Smart Visas, and this new so-called LTR, Long-Term Residence Visa, which as I have discussed and I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but is not actually Lawful Permanent Residence, it is basically a longer Visa, they have a longer duration but the criteria associated with them is different and oftentimes it's a higher threshold associated with money brought in to Thailand or the financial requirements associated with either of those visas. On top of that, the Smart Visa itself has its own very rigid sort of timeline and way in which you have to operate within the Smart Visa Program. I found a number of folks, especially SMEs kind of prefer to just stick with the standard Thai Business Visa notwithstanding the fact it is renewable more often. Again these different work authorized business type visas - I hesitate to call them Business Visas because Business Visas are explicitly spelled out in the Immigration Act of 1979 and Smart Visas and LTR Visas are not mentioned there. The standard Business Visas are just dealt with and promulgated and issued by Thai Immigration as they have been doing so since 1979. 

So the thing to take away from this video is a standard Thai Business Visa generally speaking is going to be renewable on a yearly basis. There may be exceptions for BOI type structures where it is renewable every two years, but for the standard Business Visa, presume it is going to be a one year renewable.