The Royal Thai Government announced in a press release the SMART Visa, which will come into effect on 1 February 2018, will encourage foreign talents and investors to invest in the 10 targeted industries of Thailand.
On 25 January 2.018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand together with the Board of Investment of Thailand, the Immigration Bureau, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labour, jointly organized press conference on the SMART Visa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Smart visa scheme is launched increase the competitiveness of Thailand in the global economy.
The SMART Visa is a new type of visa specially designed to encourage highly-skilled professionals and talents to work or invest in the 10 targeted S-Curve industries, namely
- (1) next-generation automotive,
- (2) smart electronics,
- (3) affluent, medical and wellness tourism,
- (4) agriculture and biotechnology,
- (5) food for the future,
- (6) robotics,
- (7) aviation and logistics,
- (8) biofuels and biochemicals,
- (9) digital, and
- (10) medical hub.
The four categories of people who are eligible to apply for SMART Visa are
- Talent with 200,000 THB salary (US$ 6300)
- Investor 20 million THB (US$ 633,000)
- Executive with at least 200,000 THB salary
- Startup incubator
- Others
The SMART Visa provides more benefits and privileges than any other types of visa. These benefits include:
- Visa validity up to 4 years (instead of the usual 1 year)
- No requirement of work permit
- Extension of reporting of stay to Immigration Bureau — from every 90-day to every year
- The right of legal dependents (spouse and children) of the SMART Visa holder to live and work in Thailand equivalent to SMART visa holder (only SMART T type allows dependents of SMART Visa holder to work in Thailand).
