Thailand's Long-Term Resident (LTR) Visa is a 10-year visa issued through the Board of Investment, with annual address reporting instead of the usual 90-day cycle. For British applicants, the category you belong in is decided by one question asked before any income figure: is the company that pays you registered in Thailand, or outside it?
Answer that and the four LTR categories stop competing for your attention. Two will be relevant; two will not.
The question that decides your category
Thai long-stay visas split work into two kinds. The dividing line is where the paying entity is registered — not your passport, and not where you physically sit.
| Kind of work | What it means | Visas that allow it |
|---|---|---|
| Working at a Thai company | You work for, or run, a company registered in Thailand — usually with a work permit, or a visa that replaces one. | Non-B; Non-O Marriage; Non-O Parent of Thai Child; LTR Wealthy Global Citizen; LTR Highly Skilled Professional; LTR Wealthy Pensioner; LTR dependents; SMART S |
| Remote work from Thailand | You work for a foreign employer while living in Thailand, are self-employed through a company outside Thailand, or freelance for clients outside Thailand. All revenue and income must be from outside Thailand. | DTV; LTR Work-from-Thailand Professional (WFT) |
The consequence is absolute in both directions. A DTV or LTR-WFT holder is not allowed to derive any income or salary from any Thai company. And a UK employment contract is not evidence for WFT unless the employing company sits outside Thailand — any Thailand connection in the employer's operations undermines the requirement.
Within the LTR itself:
- Employer outside Thailand → Work-from-Thailand Professional. WFT holders cannot obtain a Thai work permit at all. Not a digital work permit, not an exemption for a Thai company.
- Employed by a company in Thailand → Highly Skilled Professional, if the role sits in a BOI targeted industry. HSP holders can get a work permit with any company.
- Qualifying on assets or pension rather than a job → Wealthy Global Citizen or Wealthy Pensioner. Both can also get a work permit with any company.
Book a free consultation to check which category your employment actually fits
Category 1: Wealthy Pensioner — for British retirees
Minimum age 50. Two routes:
- Passive or unearned income of at least USD 80,000/year; or
- Passive income of USD 40,000–80,000/year plus USD 250,000 invested in Thailand, in your own name.
Then the health coverage or savings condition (one of): health insurance covering hospitalisation and medical treatment in Thailand for at least USD 50,000 with at least 10 months of remaining coverage; currently receiving social security benefits in Thailand; or bank statements showing at least USD 100,000 maintained for 12 months.
The rule British applicants most often trip over: income must be genuinely passive or unearned. Employment income does not qualify regardless of amount. If you are still drawing a salary alongside a pension, that signals to BOI that you may not be fully retired — expect the question.
Accepted evidence of passive income is one of: an individual income tax return — the SA100 is named explicitly for UK applicants; a pension certificate together with 12 months of bank statements; or dividend income evidenced by an auditor-issued company financial report, minutes of meeting, and company shareholder list.
A second trap: a provident-fund or pension account statement showing contributions is not proof of pension income. BOI wants evidence you are currently receiving distributions — current pension-payment stubs or a formal pension-commencement letter from the provider. Accumulation-only accounts do not qualify.
And on the savings option: superannuation, pension fund or other locked retirement balances do not satisfy the USD 100,000 route unless converted to accessible cash in your personal account for the full 12 months.
If you attend One Bangkok for issuance and an interview is requested, the coaching is simple and specific: state clearly that you receive a pension, that you are here to retire, and that you are not here to work.
Category 2: Work-from-Thailand Professional — for British remote employees
For a British national working remotely from Thailand for a qualifying employer outside Thailand. Three conditions.
Condition 1 — income (one of): average personal income of at least USD 80,000/year over the past 2 years; or USD 40,000–80,000/year and one of a master's degree or higher, full and complete ownership of intellectual property, or Series A funding of at least USD 1,000,000. The lower income band never qualifies on its own.
Condition 2 — the employer (one of):
- A public company listed on a stock exchange;
- A private company with at least 3 years of operation and combined revenue of at least USD 50,000,000 in the last 3 years; or
- A wholly owned subsidiary of a company meeting one of the above — the parent must hold 100% of shares.
Note what the threshold actually is: USD 50,000,000 combined across three years, for a private company. A listed employer clears Condition 2 without any revenue figure. And the subsidiary route is incomplete unless you also evidence that the parent meets the listed-company or revenue test — a shareholder list certification, for example.
On evidence, BOI generally expects audited financial statements as filed with the regulatory authorities, or the employer's corporate income-tax filings showing qualifying revenue. A self-issued revenue-summary letter alone is not sufficient. Plan for the possibility that BOI asks for full, unredacted audited statements after submission — that request is where applications most often stall, and failing to meet it can forfeit the service-fee refund.
Condition 3: the same health coverage or savings options as Wealthy Pensioner.
Documents: passport biodata page; passport-style photograph (white background, formal or business attire, no glasses, headgear or accessories); Thailand Digital Arrival Card; criminal record from your home country, country of residence, or Thailand; individual income tax return; CV. Then the employment set: an employment letter stating current position and dates; a permission letter authorising you to work remotely from Thailand or other locations; the full employment contract with the overseas company; and evidence of the company's qualifying status.
The BOI and e-Visa portals accept PDF, JPG and PNG only. Word and Excel files are rejected outright.
Category 3: Wealthy Global Citizen
Global assets of USD 1,000,000, of which at least USD 500,000 must be invested in Thailand. Both parts are required together. Then the same health coverage or savings condition.
Evidence of global assets: an investment portfolio statement, a deposit account statement, or an overseas property title deed with a land registrar extract.
Evidence of the Thailand investment must be one of: Thai government bonds with a remaining maturity of no less than 5 years; investment in a Thai company (shareholder certificate, a Bor.Or.Jor. 5 shareholder list no more than 3 months old with the latest audited financial reports, an SEC Securities Business Licence for venture investments, or a broker's letter certifying a SET-listed holding held at least 1 year); or Thai property — a Department of Lands sale and purchase agreement, title deed, leasehold with at least 10 years remaining, or a construction agreement indicating the purchase value.
The critical exclusion: a bank deposit or transfer alone does not satisfy the USD 500,000 Thailand investment. Cash may support your global-assets evidence or the USD 100,000 savings option — it is not the investment path. A mortgaged freehold property is acceptable, but full ownership or lease evidence is still required.
Category 4: Highly Skilled Professional
The category for experts employed by, or providing services to, companies in BOI-targeted industries in Thailand.
Condition 1 (one of): average personal income of at least USD 80,000/year over the past 2 years; or USD 40,000–80,000/year and a master's degree or higher in science or technology. The field is specified — a general master's, or a professional certificate, does not satisfy that route.
Condition 2 (one of): employed by contract at a Thai or foreign company in a BOI targeted industry; or proof of expertise in a field specified by BOI.
The industries are: automotive; electronics; affluent tourism; agricultural and biotechnology; transportation and logistics; automation and robotics; aviation; biofuels and biochemicals; digital; medical; defense; petrochemical and chemical; International Business Center; circular economy industries; and other industries where BOI determines the applicant holds special expertise.
What the document list reveals about the category: HSP requires an employment letter from the current Thai company (or a signed employment agreement if employment has not yet started), a company profile, the most recent audited corporate annual financial statement, the WP.46 employment certificate form signed by the company's director or authorised person with that person's ID card (or work permit if foreign), a corporate affidavit and shareholder list, VAT registration certificate (P.P.01), VAT amendment form (P.P.09), and corporate income tax return (Form P.N.D.50).
So USD 80,000 of income does not by itself qualify a Thai business owner or director — ownership income and director fees are not a substitute for qualifying employment. Ambiguous cases go to a consultation and legal review rather than a confirmation.
Work permits by LTR category
| Category | Thai work permit |
|---|---|
| Wealthy Global Citizen | Yes — any company. Exempt from the 4:1 Thai staff ratio, exempt from minimum registered share capital, no minimum salary. |
| Highly Skilled Professional | Yes — any company. Same exemptions. Collected at TIESC, One Bangkok, in 3–5 working days. |
| Wealthy Pensioner | Yes — any company. Same exemptions, despite the category name. |
| LTR dependents | Yes — any company, including the dependent of a WFT holder. |
| Work-from-Thailand Professional | No — not allowed at all. |
Across all these categories the LTR visa is independent of the work permit — cancelling a work permit does not cost you the visa.
If your employer fails the WFT company test
A UK salary over USD 80,000 with an employer that is neither listed nor turning over USD 50,000,000 across three years is a common British profile, and it does not become an HSP application. HSP is built around employment with a company in a BOI targeted industry and a Thai corporate document set; changing category does not repair a foreign employer that fails Condition 2.
The route that fits is the DTV, which is the standard recommendation for remote employees, freelancers and self-employed applicants working outside Thailand and does not test employer revenue at all. The gate is ฿500,000 / $17,000 in personal savings maintained 3 months. Five years, multiple entry, with validity running from the visa issue date and each entry allowing a stay of up to 180 days. Minimum age 20.
Two things to plan around. The in-country 180-day extension is often denied — the default is a border run and re-entry on the DTV before your stay permit ends. And your paperwork must be free of Thailand: a remote-employment contract must not mention Thailand, freelance client contracts must not mention Thailand, and your CV's current role must show no Thai addresses, clients, suppliers, partners or brands.
Applying as a British national
Which mission covers you. Issa's embassy data lists the United Kingdom as served by the Thai mission in London, with a processing time of about 2 weeks — a figure that applies across visa types, LTR included. Reapplication after a rejection is possible for UK applicants, though an in-person interview may be required.
Overseas LTR issuance. If you want the visa issued outside Thailand it must be in your country of citizenship or residency, and you must stay in that country until it is issued. Embassy fees vary by location and currency and can be considerably higher than the Thailand figure — confirm before paying. If your flight to Thailand is imminent and overseas processing looks long, the alternative is to enter Thailand and take issuance in Bangkok instead.
Police clearance for a DTV via London. UK applicants need an ACRO certificate, issued within 6 months of submission, obtained before applying. The DTV government fee at London is GBP 300; Issa's service fee is a separate line — DIY free, Plus ฿3,000 / $89, or Full Service ฿10,000 / $299.
Passport renewal. If you renew your passport after your LTR is issued, the LTR stamp must be transferred regardless of where the passport was renewed. Issa assists with UK passport renewal for clients in Thailand.
Process, timeline and cost
Two stages: BOI endorsement takes approximately 2 months; visa issuance must be initiated within 2 months of endorsement. Around 4 months in total.
The Qualification Endorsement is not the visa. It confirms BOI approved your qualifications — you cannot reside in Thailand on it.
Fees are quoted as two separate figures, never a single all-in total:
- Issa service fee for the BOI endorsement: ฿35,000 / $1,059
- Government fee on issuance in Thailand: ฿50,000 / $1,520 — TIESC collects it in cash or by Thai mobile banking QR; card is available at a 3% processing fee if arranged in advance. Issued overseas, the fee is embassy-dependent.
Health insurance is not required at first submission. Submit it when BOI requests it, and make sure it is active on the date of that additional-document submission. If your application is not endorsed, the Issa service fee is refunded.
Dress code at One Bangkok is formal: no bare shoulders; collared shirt for men, collared shirt or blouse for women; closed-toe shoes, no slippers or sandals; and a passport photo matching the same standard. Morning slots tend to skip interviews.
Dependents
Spouse and children under 20, to a maximum of 4 dependents. Each is a separate BOI application and must be issued at the same location as the main applicant — you cannot collect in Bangkok while your spouse takes an overseas e-Visa. The consent form for sponsorship of a dependent is not submitted at initial BOI submission; it needs the main applicant's LTR number first and is submitted at the additional-document stage, signed by both parties.
After approval
- Annual address check-in replaces the standard 90-day address reporting.
- All LTR categories, dependents included, are issued multiple-entry — no separate re-entry permit.
- The 10 years is an initial 5-year stamp plus a 5-year extension; before the first five years expire you submit updated documents at the LTR office at One Bangkok showing you still qualify.
- Maintain your health coverage or savings evidence for as long as BOI requires.
Tax. WFT, WGC and WP holders receive a foreign-sourced income exemption; HSP instead gets a 17% capped flat tax rate on qualifying employment income plus corporate tax relief for the employing company. None of this should be relied on without confirmation from a tax advisor. Keep records that separate remitted personal capital — a USD 100,000 savings balance, say — from earned income remitted from a foreign employer.
Frequently asked questions
My UK employer is a subsidiary of a larger group. Whose revenue counts?
A wholly owned subsidiary can qualify under Condition 2 Option 3, but only with evidence that the parent meets the listed-company test or the USD 50,000,000 three-year revenue test — the parent must hold 100% of shares, and a shareholder list certification is the kind of evidence expected.
I'm 52 with a UK pension and I also do some consulting. Which category?
Wealthy Pensioner requires passive or unearned income; ongoing employment income does not qualify no matter the amount. If the consulting is significant and paid by a company outside Thailand, WFT may be the better fit — but it carries its own employer test and no work permit. This is exactly the case that should go to a consultation before you assemble documents.
Can I take a Thai job later on an LTR?
Depends entirely on category. WGC, HSP, WP and LTR dependents can apply for a work permit with any company, exempt from the 4:1 ratio, minimum share capital and minimum salary. WFT holders cannot obtain a work permit at all.
Is the LTR better than the DTV for a British remote worker?
LTR-WFT gives 10 years rather than 5, annual reporting rather than 90-day reporting, and the foreign-sourced income exemption. The DTV asks for ฿500,000 in savings and no employer revenue evidence at all. Where the LTR income and employer tests are comfortably met, WFT is the stronger long-term position; where they are marginal, the DTV is the more realistic application.
Next steps
Settle the employer-location question, then test your income against the category it points to. Start your eligibility check in the Issa Compass app, or book a free consultation with an Issa visa specialist to have your employment structure and employer evidence reviewed before you commit to a category.
