Headlines this week say Thailand has launched an online system for foreigners seeking a 10-year residency visa. That is half right. You have been able to apply for the Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa online since the scheme opened in September 2022. What is new is the machinery behind the form: in September 2026 the Board of Investment (BOI), the government agency that runs the LTR programme, switched on an integrated processing portal that pulls the checks of four state bodies into one process.
The BOI set this out in a press release dated 5 October 2026, alongside the first four-year scorecard for the visa. If you are a retiree, remote worker, investor or specialist weighing up the LTR, here is what the change means and what it does not.
What the BOI announced
According to the BOI, the new portal centralises review work across the Department of Consular Affairs, the Immigration Bureau, the Department of Employment and the Revenue Department. In practice these are the agencies that handle visa issuance abroad, permission to stay, work permits and the tax side of the scheme. The BOI says the aim is to cope with rising application numbers and clear what it calls long-standing administrative bottlenecks.
The physical counterpart is the Thailand Investment and Expat Services Center (TIESC), a one-stop office on the 6th and 7th floors of the Parade Zone at One Bangkok, on Rama IV Road near MRT Lumphini. TIESC has been open since 17 March 2025 and brings visa and work permit services under one roof with the Immigration Bureau and the Department of Employment.
What the BOI has not done is publish a new target processing time or change the eligibility rules. Anyone hoping for faster decisions should treat that as a stated goal rather than a promise until the official timelines are updated.
Four years in numbers
The BOI says 12,010 people have been approved for the LTR since 2022, and it puts the economic value of the programme at about USD 1.28 billion (THB 43 billion), or more than USD 107,000 per recipient. That figure counts visa fees, spending in Thailand, direct investment and tax paid by highly skilled professionals.
Retirees are the largest group. Of the 12,010 approvals, 4,561 are Wealthy Pensioners, 1,779 are Highly-Skilled Professionals, 1,043 are Work-from-Thailand Professionals, 737 are Wealthy Global Citizens and 3,891 are dependants. By nationality, the United States leads with more than 2,400 approvals, followed by Japan with more than 1,300 and the United Kingdom with more than 1,000. Among the two professional categories, the BOI says 54% of holders are in executive roles.
How the process works today
The steps on the official LTR site are unchanged. You create an account at ltr.boi.go.th and submit an application for qualification endorsement with your documents. Dependants need their own accounts, linked to the main applicant by a document number. Once the file is complete, it goes to the relevant agencies, and the BOI says you should hear the result within 20 working days, longer if extra documents are requested.
After endorsement there is a short pre-approval step of one to three working days. You then have 60 days to collect the visa, either at TIESC in Bangkok or at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate abroad, some of which use the Thai e-Visa system. Miss the 60-day window and you have to apply for endorsement again.
The BOI charges no fee for the endorsement itself if you apply directly. It also offers an optional paid application service run by VFS Global, and the LTR site carries a prominent warning about fraudulent firms claiming to be authorised agents.
Fees and what you get
The visa fee is 50,000 baht per person for the 10-year multiple-entry visa when it is issued in Thailand. Embassies and consulates base their fee on that figure, but the BOI warns it is usually higher abroad once exchange rates and local charges are added. LTR holders working for a Thai employer pay 3,000 baht a year for a digital work permit; Work-from-Thailand Professionals cannot get one, because their employer is overseas.
The 10 years come in two halves. Immigration grants permission to stay for up to five years at first, and your eligibility is checked again before that runs out. If you no longer meet the criteria, for example because you sold the property that counted towards your investment, the visa can be revoked. Benefits listed by the BOI include reporting to immigration once a year instead of every 90 days, multiple re-entry, fast-track lanes at international airports and a 17% personal income tax rate for Highly-Skilled Professionals.
Who qualifies
There are four main categories, plus dependants. Every category needs health insurance with at least USD 50,000 of cover, Thai social security, or USD 100,000 held in a bank account for at least 12 months.
Wealthy Pensioners must be 50 or over with passive income, such as a pension, rent or dividends, of at least USD 80,000 a year. Those with between USD 40,000 and USD 80,000 can qualify by also investing USD 250,000 in Thai government bonds, a Thai company or Thai property. Salaries do not count.
Work-from-Thailand Professionals need average personal income of USD 80,000 a year over the past two years, or at least USD 40,000 with a master's degree, and must work for a listed company or an established private firm with at least USD 50 million in combined revenue over three years. Highly-Skilled Professionals face a similar income test, need to work in one of the BOI's targeted industries and usually need five years of relevant experience in the past ten.
Wealthy Global Citizens need at least USD 1 million in assets, and USD 500,000 already invested in Thailand through government bonds, a Thai company or Thai property. Spouses and children under 20 can join as dependants, up to four per holder, and the BOI confirms same-sex married spouses are eligible.
What it means if you are thinking of applying
For most readers the practical change is behind the scenes: one file, seen by every agency involved, rather than a file passed between offices. The rules, thresholds and fees are the same as before, so the hard part is still the paperwork proving income, assets and insurance. If you already hold an LTR, the BOI has not announced any change to your conditions.
If you are comparing options, the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) remains the lighter route for remote workers and freelancers, while the LTR is built for higher earners, investors and retirees who want a decade of stability and a work permit. Check the official LTR site before you apply, because conditions must be maintained for the life of the visa.
FAQ
Is this a new 10-year visa? No. The LTR visa has existed since September 2022. The change announced on 5 October 2026 is an integrated back-office portal, rolled out in September 2026, that links the four agencies reviewing applications.
Where do I apply? Online at ltr.boi.go.th, the official BOI site. Applying directly costs nothing at the endorsement stage; an optional paid service is available through VFS Global.
How much does it cost? 50,000 baht per person for the visa if issued in Thailand, usually more at an embassy abroad, plus 3,000 baht a year for a work permit if you work for a Thai employer.
How long does it take? The BOI says qualification endorsement takes about 20 working days once your documents are complete, followed by one to three working days of pre-approval. You then have 60 days to collect the visa.
Can I bring my family? Yes. A legal spouse and children under 20 can apply as dependants, up to four per holder.
Sources: Thailand Board of Investment press release No. 175/2569 (5 October 2026); BOI One Start One Stop Investment Center news release; the official LTR visa site (ltr.boi.go.th), including its visa issuance and application timeline pages; NationalWorld.