Foreigners who want to apply for Thailand residence permit (Thai residency, Thai green card) must hold a passport that bears a Non-Immigrant Visa and has been granted with one-year visa extensions which shows that up until the date of application submission, he has been staying in the Kingdom for at least 3 consecutive years (without interruptions). The residence permit which is based on investment in Thailand has the following rules:
1. The applicant must have brought into Thailand at least Baht 10 million and this must be proved with a letter issued by the commercial bank in Thailand which reveals evidence of financial remittance into Thailand.
2. The investment made by the applicant must be beneficial to Thailand’s economy in one or more of these types:
a. Investment in a limited company or public company (buying shares) with paper evidence certified by state authority concerned and such business must not be against the national peace and order, culture or public morality.
b. Purchase of state-issued security or state enterprise’s security where Ministry of Finance or Bank of Thailand is a guarantor with paper evidence of such acquisition
c. Investment in the stock market such as ordinary shares, bonds, preference shares or investment units, etc. on condition that such investment must be approved or certified by the Stock Exchange Commission of Thailand. Certificates of such assets are required to be furnished along with the application .
3. By the end of September of each year, the foreigner who was granted a residential permit must submit documentary evidence of his investment acquisition to the Immigration Commission or the authorized official. This has to be done for 3 consecutive years from the date the resident permit is granted. The Committee and Secretary of the Immigration Commission or the authorized official has the authority to investigate the investment to find out whether such investment is made according to the criteria stipulated by the Immigration Commission or not before reporting the findings to the Immigration Commission.
4. If the investigation reveals later that the foreigner who was granted the residential permit lacks qualification as stipulated by the Immigration Commission, the residential permit may be revoked.
For Thai resident permit consultation, contact ThaiLawyers.