10-year visa in pipeline

BANGKOK In a first for Thailand the government says it is ready to issue 10-year visas for foreign residents 50 years or over.

Details are sketchy on conditions and no timeframe was mentioned for the launch date.

Khaosod Daily broke the news, Tuesday evening, quoting the government spokesperson who confirmed the new visa had  already gained Thai Cabinet approval at its Tuesday meeting.

Once the 10-year visa is up and running it will give a boost to the long-stay and retiree tourism market.

Currently, retirees and long-stay visitors can obtain a one-year visa with the proviso they check in with the nearest immigration bureau ever 90 days.

However, Thailand is feeling the pinch as neighbouring Malaysia offers a liberal visa service for retirees.  Cambodia too is mulling over a retiree visas that would allow stays of one, five or 10 years. Malaysia allows foreigners to own properties, while Cambodia will probably adopt rules similar to Thailand that would allow retirees to buy condominium units, but not land property.

The Thai government spokesman, Athisit Chainuwat, said the 10-year visa would replace the current one-year renewable visas. That is likely to be unsettling news for retirees who are currently living in Thailand under the one-year visa facility.

The 10-year visa would be awarded in two periods of five years each, but would require the applicant to file updated documents and proof of their financial standing to continue to second phase.

An applicant must either earn a monthly salary of at least THB100,000, or have THB3 million in their bank account, which cannot be withdrawn for at least the first year after receiving the visa.

It would also need to be in evidence when the second five-year phase was due to begin.

They must also have health insurance that covers hospital stays and provides at least USD10,000 in annual cover.

The downside is that even with the 10-year visa holders will still have to check in every 90 days with the Immigration Bureau of Immigration.

Another worry for retirees, currently in the country on the one-year visa, concerns the higher financial requirements in the 10-year visa requirements.

The current one-year visa for retirees requires them to show proof that they have THB800,000 in the bank and for a one year marriage visa THB400,000.

If these two one-year visas were phased out in preference for a 10-year visa many retirees currently in the country would not be able to comply with the higher bank guarantee.

Phasing out the one-yea visa is likely to be a contentious issue and unsettling for retirees. It might prompt an exodus of valuable long-stay visitors,  who spend more in the long-run than the average tourist.

Applicants for the visa are expected to be long-stay foreigners who live in provinces such as Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Pattaya in Chonburi province, the spokesman added.

There was also feedback that the Thailand Elite Card five-year visa offer for those who pay a  THB1 million membership fee was a better option than tying up THB3 million in a bank guarantee for a 10-year visa.