OVERVIEW

This article covers what the Thai Elite visa is, who it is for, the benefits, and the alternatives.

What is the Thai Elite visa?

The Thai Elite visa is essentially a long-term tourist visa for Thailand.

The country is renowned for having some interesting visa options for all sorts of people looking to spend time in the Land of Smiles. There is the retirement visa, which is available for those who are aged 50 and over. There are also tourist visas as well as visa-free and visa-on-arrival, all depending on which passport you hold.

However, this article focuses on the Thai Elite visa.

In 2013 the Thai government, through the Tourism Authority of Thailand, set up the Thailand Privilege Card Company Limited (TPC). Depending on which variant you go for (more on this below), you can receive:

• Long-term tourist visa (five to 20 years)
• Expedited immigration (arrival and departure)
• Airport transfers
• Golf days
• Spa days
• Annual health check-ups
• Discounts at various high-end retailers

Who is the Thai Elite visa intended for?

This is a very good question.

Based on the cost, the options available, and the branding, it appears to be aimed at people who want to spend chunks (or all) of their year in Thailand without the hassle.

This might include people who aren’t eligible for visa-waiver or visa-on-arrival options. Or perhaps they don’t want the associated hassles of the retirement visa. It is also a good fit for frequent travellers to Thailand that want a “white glove” type service each time they arrive.

Based on the fact that there are five, 10, and 20 year visa variants, the scheme seeks to lock in the VIP retiree or person with long-term business ties to Thailand.

Who else could benefit from the Thai Elite visa?

It should be said up-front that the Thai Elite visa is a long-term tourist visa, and as such, does not provide any right for the holder to work in Thailand.

Remote working in a country is a contentious area particularly when staying using tourist visas. Strictly speaking, this isn’t allowed (anywhere, really) for a variety of reasons. Think taxation, health care, potential impact on local house costs, etc.

What are the eligibility requirements for the Thai Elite visa?

The Thai Elite visa is available to citizens of pretty much any country in the world. You’ll need to be good for the money, of course.

The process includes a background screening process looking at immigration history with Thailand and other countries. And that’s pretty much it…

It is a very straightforward visa to obtain, from a bureaucracy standpoint.

THAI ELITE VISA – CORE INCLUSIONS

Below are the key components that each Elite visa includes.

Long-term visa

You’ll get a full-page visa in your passport for the duration of the visa. If your passport expires before the visa finishes, arrangements are made to transfer the visa into your new passport.

This visa is supplemented by a one-year entry stamp each time that you enter Thailand. This one-year stamp needs to be renewed yearly, either through travel or visiting a Thai immigration office.

Every time you re-enter the country, you will be given a new one-year stamp from that date. A nice feature – the Thai Elite staff member at the airport re-checks your documentation. This check helps ensure that accidents by an immigration officer (wrong date on stamp, etc) don’t become a complication.

Airport arrival – express entry through immigration

This is both a fantastic feature, as well feeling a little awkward and self-conscious (for me at least).

You contact the Thai Elite team in advance of your arrival (allow at least six hours) via email. You’ll just need to provide flight details and where you’ll be staying.

Once you get off the aircraft and make your way down the air bridge, a friendly Thai Elite team member is waiting for you. You (and every other passenger) can’t miss them; a good-looking, well groomed, friendly person, standing alongside an airport golf cart. They will take your passport and immigration card (sadly, no getting away from filling these out) and escort you via the golf card to the VIP area of immigration.

For those that have traversed Suvarnabhumi airport after a long flight, it’s a nice indulgence.

You’ll be escorted to the VERY short queue (if any) for Fast-Track immigration, whilst they go ahead to find the belt number for your bags. Once you’ve got through immigration, the Thai Elite team member will check your passport details to make sure that everything is in good order.

At this stage, you can elect to go to the Arrivals Lounge if arriving in Suvarnabhumi airport before heading out.

Airport departure – express exit through immigration

You will need to contact the Thai Elite team in advance of your upcoming departure (allow at least six hours) via email with your flight details. Regardless of how you arrive at the airport (see airport transfer service later), a member of the Thai Elite team will meet you at the airport to help with immigration. This includes helping you get checked-in, and then escorting you through the Fast Track section of immigration. Once through immigration, they will give you a choice of which lounge you would like to be taken to before your flight.

The Thai Elite program is linked with the Miracle lounges in the main international airports of Thailand (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Don Muang, Phuket, and Chiang Mai). If you are travelling Business / First class, or have airline status, you can still elect to go to the lounge that you were eligible to visit anyway.

Managed 90 day reporting

Thailand enforces a rather unique requirement on all visa holders in the country that they report to immigration authorities every 90-days if they are staying in the country. This however doesn’t apply if you leave the country before the 90-day period comes up.

If you find yourself not wanting to leave as you approach the 90-day period, reach out to the Thai Elite team. They offer a service whereby you drop off your passport at their office, and two days later collect the passport. All of the immigration tasks will be completed by Thai Elite.

For those not familiar with Thailand, this may not seem particularly convenient. However, this is a better option than dedicating half a day to trekking out to an immigration office. This typically involves waiting for hours to get your documents checked.

THAI ELITE VISA – OPTIONAL ELEMENTS

There are six options (and a bolt-on) to choose from, depending on the length of stay and your budget.

Airport transfer (international flights)

Building on the international flight arrival story (above), let’s finish your journey to get to your destination.

Once you’re ready to leave the airport, a second person will have collected your bags (you’ll still need to wait and point at the bags), and you’ll be escorted through customs. The last part is an exit straight out of the airport building into a waiting 7 Series BMW. The driver will take you home or hotel.

When leaving the country, you contact the Thai Elite visa time as described above, including your address details. A 7 Series BMW will be waiting for you at the time you specify, and takes you to the airport. A Thai Elite team member greets you on arrival and handles immigration matters for you (see above).

Whilst this is a luxury option that you may not otherwise seek out, there are two points to note that can sweeten the pot:

• The cheapest visa option, Elite Easy Access (five years) includes 24 of these transfers each year, essentially 12 return flights a year.
• If you have had the hassle of ordering a taxi service (even Grab etc) it can be quite stressful if it’s peak hour or raining.

Golf / spa days

I won’t say much about these options, as I’m totally the wrong person to evaluate such things as they hold zero interest to me. They are available, and from what little I can gather, are associated with luxury brands.

For the segments of the market that are interested in these activities, there is plenty of information on the official website outlining the partner locations.

Annual health check-up

Although I haven’t used the service, I can’t imagine it is more than the basic “turn and cough” type physical. If you are going to be in Bangkok, there are some excellent hospital options that provide these services (and more).

It’s a nice-to-have feature of a visa if you’re already seeking out the golf / spa days, although not an enticement for everyone.

Shopping discounts

The range of discounts seems to be expanding over time, and ranges from high-end shopping to hotels, restaurants, apartments, and experiences. Check out the official Thai Elite visa website for full details.

WHICH THAI ELITE VISA MAKES SENSE FOR YOU?

Your first decision will need to be how long you want to potentially stay in Thailand. Fortunately at each duration interval, there is a basic visa option as well as at least one luxury version.

Five years

If it is just one person, the Elite Easy Access visa is the clear winner based on cost and extras.

The Elite Family Excursion is, as the name suggests, for families, and is the cheaper per-person option (assuming four or more family members).

10 years

Elite Family Alternative is the cheaper no-frills option.

For an extra THB 20,000 per year, the Elite Privilege Access card provides 18 airport transfers, and a health check-up. Not fantastic value for the extra money, just based on what the card directly offers.

20 years

The Elite Superiority Extension card works out at THB 50,000 per year, the cheapest of all of the options in this scheme. It is a no-frills option, providing the minimum set of benefits across all of the cards. Similarly to the five-year Elite Easy Access option, you cannot add family members to this visa option.

For an extra THB 70,000 each year, the Elite Ultimate Privilege card (THB 120,000 per year) comes with unlimited airport transfers, 24 golf trips, 24 spa sessions, and annual check-up. Pay this money and you can have a hell of a luxurious lifestyle living in Thailand!

For completeness, there’s also the Elite Family Premium card, which is a “dependent” option for family members of a Elite Ultimate Privilege card holder.

FACTORS THAT COULD AFFECT YOUR DECISION

Do you want to live in Thailand?

This question really deserves an article of its own, however in summary here are some of the reasons that Thailand can appeal long-term:

• It is still cheaper than the majority of Western countries, although Thailand’s prosperous economy is starting to make things a little more expensive.
• Bangkok in particular is handy to many regional and long-haul destinations for those that love to travel (or have travel thrust upon them).
• The (sort-of) unique territorial taxation system that Thailand operates means that you could potentially not pay tax on foreign earnings (there is more to it than this simple statement).
• There is a reason that the country is called the Land of Smiles!

Does the Thai retirement visa work for you?

This discussion only applies to people 50 and above.

Assuming that you are following the letter of the law with the requirements for the retirement visa, there are a few things that could trip somebody up:

• The need to have THB 800,000 in a bank account for chunks of each year could be burdensome.
• Not being able to utilise this THB 800,000 is an opportunity cost.
• You may not have a pension, or consistent stream of income that the Thai government expects.
• If you have run (or still run) a business, you may not want to be diverting funds to Thailand in the structure that the visa requires (i.e. fixed amount, monthly).
• If your pension income is too high, you can get caught up paying Thai taxes on this income on top of whatever taxes have already been paid on the money in the first place (this particularly affects US citizens).
• It has to be renewed annually, and there is a lot of red-tape that needs to be complied with each time.

Tourist visas and other medium-term visa options

There’s no two ways about it, none of the Thai Elite visa options are cheap.

Thailand has long been known as a digital nomad hub, particularly in the Northern city of Chiang Mai. The majority of foreigners who come to Thailand to work remotely end up using a series of tourist visas and other short / medium-term visa options.

These options include the visas that promote learning Muay Thai boxing or the Thai language.

This article in no way begrudges anybody who chooses to use these options.

There are some pretty significant limitations and risks associated with this approach:

• Too many tourist visas in your passport and Thai immigration is going to become suspicious and starts denying you access to the country.
• The time cost associated with the border runs to get a new visa, and the costs of having to stay outside of Thailand whilst your visa is processed.
• The Thai language visa comes with an expectation that you actually attend classes to learn the Thai language – this will be tested by immigration officers.

In short, the Thai Elite visa is an option to take these issues away – for a pretty fee.

Real estate investment visas

Many countries around the world offer real estate investment schemes that come with a long-term visa option. Thailand is no different, and the scheme punts prospective candidates into buying from a defined set of development projects. If you have the money, and your heart is set on Thailand, then the real estate visa option may be very appealing.

It is fair to say that, like any real estate investment program around the world, there are a few things to consider:

• You could be limited in the options of places that you can purchase.
• Investing in real estate anywhere carries the usual risks of the ebbs and flows of a market, including financing and liquidity.
• You will gain exposure to the Thai Baht, which may or may not be a good thing for your investment portfolio.
• There could be challenges with sale of a property, realising the investment, and / or repatriating funds out of Thailand at a later date (this applies to lots of countries, not just Thailand).

You are unsure about Thailand / don’t plan on spending more than six months of the year in Thailand

If you are  planning on spending six months of the year (or less) in Thailand, sticking to tourist visas is probably easier for most people.

The Thai Elite visa is a lot of money to pay up-front. Therefore, make sure that you are comfortable with Thailand being your home or main base for the coming years.

Also, think twice if you are planning on living in somewhere other than Bangkok, Phuket, and perhaps even Chiang Mai. The value of the benefits of the Thai Elite visa (beyond the visa itself) diminish because of lack of nearby facilities outside of the major cities.

THAI ELITE VISA APPLICATION PROCESS

Online application

Make sure that you are using the official Thai Elite visa website, as there are many agent sites out there. The link:

https://www.thailandelite.com/

You’ll be asked a relatively straightforward set of questions, less than you’d typically need to provide on a bank account application form. Once filled out, the Thai Elite team reaches out promptly via email if there are any elements of the application that need updating. After you’ve got the paperwork sorted out, the application is sent off by Thai Elite to the Thai immigration authorities.

My approval came through a month after the application was submitted, however your experience can vary depending on which passport you hold. From what I gather, Western country passports are typically processed quickly (1-2 months), particularly if you haven’t spent much time in Thailand to-date.

With the approval, you’ll be provided with payment instructions to transfer the entire amount (in Thai Baht). Once this has been received (typically after a few working days), you’ll receive a full welcome pack email with next steps for getting your visa.

Getting the visa

Once I received my approval letter (via email), I contacted Thai Elite to let them know that I was coming. Upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi airport, I was met by the Thai Elite representative (see description of international arrivals, above) and taken to the Fast-Track immigration section.

They took my passport away for around 10 minutes whilst I sat and read through the Thai Elite welcome information that was provided. The Thai Elite member returned with the passport and a shiny new full-page visa sticker in my passport. From there, it was the “standard” service that Thai Elite offers to take me through immigration and off on my way.

SUMMARY

Thailand has a variety of visa options for those who wish to spend time there.

The Thai Elite visa is somewhat unique worldwide, and is a very interesting proposition if you have the money and want to save time. Malaysia has a similar scheme, Malaysia My Second Home, although with significantly higher costs.

It boils down to this – does Thailand fit into your location strategy, and do you see yourself being based there? If so, you won’t be disappointed.