3 replies to this topic

[linguini]

Hi, I am <50 (therefore not eligible for retirement visa), currently on tourist visa, had a Thai bank account, and am exploring the option of getting an investment visa (investment of 10mil) in Thailand. I find the requirements for such visa is as follows:

1) Must have been granted a “Non-Immigrant visa”
2) Must have evidence of transferring funds into Thailand of no less than 10 million Baht. (Copy of evidence showing a tranfer of funds from a foregin country to a bank in Thailand)
3) Must have evidence of investing in the purchase or rental of a condominium unit for a period of no less than 3 year issued by a relevant agency or government unit, at a purchase or rental price of no less than 10 million Baht (Copy of condominium purchase agreement and copy of the ownership registration of the said condominium issued by government or relevant agency or a copy of a long-term lease agreement are needed documents): or
4) Must have evidence of investing in the form of a fixed deposit of no less than 10 million Baht with the Bank which is registered in Thailand and has Thai national holding more than 50 percent of it’s shares (Funds deposit certificate issued by the bank and a copy of evidence of funds deposit are required documents) : or
5) Must have evidence in the purchase of government or state enterprise bonds of no less than 10 million Baht ( copies of bond certificates are needed documents) : or
6) Must have evidences of making an investment as set out in Criteria 3),4 or 5) with a total value of not less than 10 million Baht.

Did anyone went through the process of acquiring this visa? how is it done? I mean:
1) Do I apply for a non-immigrant visa first (which non immigrant visa? non-B?), then enter Thailand using the non-immigrant visa, wire money in & invest, then apply for extension of stay? or can I come in using tourist visa, invest, then apply for visa conversion from tourist to non-immigrant, then apply for extension of stay?
2) On investing in condo unit - I assume I can invest in any condo unit? I heard rumors regarding investing only in condos designated by government?
3) On investing in fixed deposit - any limitation of which particular bank (again, heard rumors on government banks only) and the terms? this is a bit tricky since fixed deposits have different terms from a few months to a year.
4) how long does it take to process (assuming all documents are ready) extended stay based on this visa?
5) I remember seeing somewhere that you usually get 2 years extended stay based on this visa (investment over 10mil)?

Thanks.

[Mario2008]

1. seems to be the problem, how do you get the visa without investing the money. Might be wise to get a tourist visa and then quickly invest and convert to a non-immigrant visa in Thailand.

3. There is no limitation, other then that the bank must be in Thailand.

4. I suspect that if you have all the relevant documents it will be the same day extended. But might take a bit longer as this kind of extension is not that common.

5. 1 year only, 2 years are for people working for BOI related companies.

[AyG]

2. Not any condo unit. It must be a new build, with you being the first owner.

3. Must be a government bank. Krung Thai is the commonest. Get a 3 year fixed deposit account to meet the 3 year minimum investment requirement. (Initially the branch of Krung Thai I tried to open an account at said that 3 year fixed deposit accounts don't exist - they definitely do. But then they also said that foreigners weren't entitled to receive any interest ... Checking the bank website before going to the bank and copying the relevant pages (in Thai) can save a lot of hassle.

4. In my experience, "come back after 7 days", after that "30 day extension", after that got the full year.

Tips:

1. You first need to open a savings account with Krung Thai bank to receive the money from overseas, then transfer the money from the savings account to the fixed deposit.

2. The bank won't be familiar with the two letters you need to provide to Immigration (one for evidence of the transfer from overseas to the savings account, the other for proof of the 3 year fixed deposit). (They're much more familiar providing the single letter required for retirees.) If possible take copies of the two letters from someone who's gone through the process already. You'll still need to do a lot of explaining in my experience. You'll need your passport with you when you request the letters.

3. When the 3 year fixed deposit matures sometimes Krung Thai will transfer the fixed deposit back to your savings account, sometimes it'll leave it in the fixed deposit account. In the former case you'll need immediately upon maturity to roll over to a further fixed deposit account. Keeping the money in the existing fixed deposit account is much simpler (and requires less paperwork for Immigration since otherwise they expect to have evidence of the entire chain of fixed deposit accounts ab initio every year). I haven't tried, but it should be possible when you set up the account to specify that you want the money kept in the fixed deposit account upon maturity.

[linguini]

thanks Mario2008 and AyG. that's really helpful.