European and American travelers prefer Thailand’s 10-year visa

According to recent information, applications for Thailand’s 10-year visa program have been submitted by European visitors at a higher rate than those submitted by Americans or Chinese tourists four months after the program’s inception.

According to The Bangkok Post, Deputy Government Spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul stated that the new long-term resident (LTR) visa had received over 3,000 applications from individuals residing in other countries between November 1 and February 28.

The number of candidates coming from Europe was the highest, with 940 individuals making the application.

The United States and China tied for second place as the countries with the second and third highest number of candidates, respectively, with 517 and 325 applicants.

To be eligible for the visa program, foreigners must hold assets totaling at least $1 million, have a validated annual personal income of at least $80,000 for each of the preceding two years, and have made investments totaling at least $500,000 in Thai government bonds, foreign direct investment, or Thai property.

Moreover, retirees who are at least 50 years old and have an annual pension or stable income of at least $80,000 per year are eligible to apply for this visa.

Prior to the epidemic, the government of Thailand had the ambitious goal of attracting one million tourists from outside the country during the next five years through the implementation of a new visa program.

The nation with the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia welcomed 11 million tourists from outside the region in 2017. This year, the Thai government hopes to welcome 30 million tourists from other countries.