The Thailand SMART Visa – A Guide to Eligibility & Benefits

The SMART Visa is a Board Of Investment (BOI) initiative to boost Thailand's economy through innovation.

The aim is to attract highly qualified individuals in specific areas of industry, to help the country grow through new talent and technology.

In this post, we'll take at deep dive on the SMART Visa categories and their eligibility requirements, and the potential benefits of the visa.

SMART Visa Overview

The SMART Visa is targeted at highly skilled workers, investors, executives, and entrepreneurs.

There are four key categories that you can apply under:

1. Talent
2. Investor
3. Executive
4. Startup

The idea is to attract highly skilled people to work in Thailand in specific industries, known as S-Curve industries. The industries are as follows:

• Automation and Robotics
• Aviation and Logistics
• Biofuels and Biochemicals
• Next-Generation Automotive
• Smart Electronics
• Affluent, Medical and Wellness Tourism
• Digital
• Medical
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Human Resource Development in Science and Technology
• Environmental Management and Renewable Energy
• Agriculture and Biotechnology
• Food for the Future

Key Benefits

The main benefit is a 4-year permission to stay (except the Startup Visa, which has a maximum initial validity of 2 years).

Immigration reporting is reduced to once per year, rather than the usual 90-day reports required under most Non-Immigrant Visas.

No re-entry permit is required to leave and return to the country.

You’ll also receive access to a fast-track service at international airports in Thailand.

Importantly, the visa also offers work eligibility for spouses and children of SMART Visa holders, without the need for a separate work permit (under the SMART “O” category).

All SMART Visa holders and their dependents must have valid health insurance with coverage of at least USD 100,000, including for COVID-19.

Eligible Categories

SMART Talent Visa (T)

The Talent Visa is for science and technology experts who earn a minimum of 100,000+ Baht per month.

You must have an employment or service contract with a company or institution in Thailand, with a remaining term of at least 1 year at the time of application.

If employed by a startup, or if you're a retired expert with endorsement from a relevant agency, the minimum income requirement is reduced to 50,000 Baht per month.

SMART Investor Visa (I)

This visa is for those who:

Invest at least 20 million Baht in a technology-based company involved in manufacturing or delivering services in one of the targeted industries; or

Invest at least 5 million Baht in a startup, incubation, or accelerator program endorsed by relevant agencies (e.g., the National Innovation Agency, Digital Economy Promotion Agency, or National Science and Technology Development Agency).

The investment can be spread across multiple companies.

SMART Executive Visa (E)

For senior managers with:

• A minimum monthly salary of 200,000 Baht
• At least a Bachelor's degree
• Ten years of work experience

The employing company must be certified as operating in one of the targeted industries by a relevant government agency.

SMART Startup Visa (S)

This category is for entrepreneurs who want to launch a business in Thailand.

Eligibility includes:

• A deposit of 600,000 Baht in a Thai bank account (or the same amount in a foreign account, held for at least 3 months)
• Establishing a company within the first year, operating in one of the targeted industries
• Owning at least 25% of the company or holding a director position
• For each dependent (spouse or child), an additional 180,000 Baht must be held in your Thai or home country account for at least 3 months.
• Valid health insurance is also mandatory for you and your dependents.

SMART Other Visa (S)

This category is for the legal dependents (spouse and children) of holders of SMART T, I, E, or S visas. Dependents are granted residence and may be permitted to work (without a separate work permit) if the main visa holder qualifies.

How to Apply

Step 1:

First you need to apply online for your qualification endorsement. You can register for this at https://smart-visa.boi.go.th.

Once registered, you need to complete an application form for the type of SMART Visa you wish to apply for (T, I, E, S, and O if any).

You will need PDF versions of the required documents to upload via the website. These documents form part of your application.

Step 2:

After 30 days, you will receive notification of your application. Immigration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the relevant agencies will also be informed of the result. If successful, you will receive an endorsement letter, which is required to apply for your SMART Visa.

Step 3:

At this point you can apply for your SMART Visa. You can do this in one of three places:

1. The Royal Thai Embassies/The Royal Thai Consulate Generals (in case of residing overseas)
2. The Immigration at One Stop Service Center for Visa and Work Permit(OSS), Chamchuri Square Building, Bangkok
3. EEC Labour Administration Center in Chonburi

This must be done within 60 days of the issuance date of the endorsement letter.

The processing fee is 10,000 Baht per year of visa permission, and must be paid in cash.

Can a SMART Visa Be Extended

Yes. You should apply for renewal at least 60 days before your current visa expires. The endorsement process takes about 30 working days, and you'll need to resubmit documentation to confirm continued eligibility.

Is a SMART Visa Worth It?

Since its launch in 2018, over 1,000 SMART Visas have been issued.

The majority have been issued under the Startup (S) and Talent (T) categories, with significant uptake from applicants from the UK, US, Germany, France, Australia, Japan, and India.

The income and investment requirements are not prohibitively high compared to other long-term visa programs. For startups, the capital can be held in a foreign account (held for 3 months), unlike the retirement or marriage visas that require funds in a Thai account.

That said, some critics argue the Startup Visa could be misused by remote workers or digital nomads seeking a long-term stay. While this is possible in theory, the BOI has tightened compliance checks in recent years. Real incorporation and sector alignment are required.

Thailand's low cost of living, competitive labour costs, and growing startup ecosystem make it an attractive place to start a tech-based business.

Not many people seeking a long-term visa will qualify for one of the SMART Visa categories, but it does present an additional pathway to a long-term stay in the Kingdom, particularly for those skilled in the required industries who want to work for a company in Thailand.

I think the monthly salary requirements are quite fair and not overly prohibitive, given the skill level of the workers the scheme seeks to attract. Even the investor requirements aren't as high as I thought they might be.

Additionally, as a startup, you don't have to keep your 600k Baht in a Thai bank, if, that is, you have proof of it being in a bank account in your home country or country of residence for at least 3 months prior to your application. This differs to a retirement or marriage-based visa extension, for which the money must be held in a Thai bank account.

Looking at the data, it's clear that the scheme is predominantly being used for the Talent and Startup categories. In fact, startups account for 560 visas issued to date.

I wonder if the 250 Talent visas issued to date are largely employees of those Startups.

Potential Downsides

• Cost: The fee structure can be expensive for families. A holder with a spouse and two children would pay 40,000 Baht annually in visa fees. Over four years, this equals 160,000 Baht.
• No Clear Path to Residency: The SMART Visa doesn’t currently lead directly to permanent residency or citizenship. Extensions are possible, but not guaranteed, especially if your employment or business situation changes.

Many SMART Visa holders invest time, money, and energy into building a life in Thailand. Yet, even after 4 or 8 years, there’s no clear long-term security. If the government offered a pathway to residency or property ownership rights for long-term contributors, the SMART Visa would become significantly more attractive.

My feeling is that the scheme would be far more appealing if there was a pathway to residency, or even the opportunity to personally own land and property without restriction, after a certain period on the SMART Visa.

After all, many of the people on these visas will have invested heavily, both financially and personally, in Thailand, yet their futures will indefinitely be subject to the same visa restrictions.

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