In the past Thailand has toyed around with digital nomad visa schemes but the conditions were crazy to the point that it begged the question of whether or not Thailand government actually understands what "digital nomad" actually means. In the past these visas were available to such a select group of people that I don't know of anyone that would actually qualify. The first round was particularly nuts in that you had to have proof of making $60,000 a year from a singular employer to qualify. I know quite a few people that work online but almost none of them pull down this sort of money and even the people that I do know that made this much make it from contractual work so therefore they would not qualify since it wasn't a singular employer.
I don't even know how someone would pull that off or if such jobs actually exist. I guess they do but not many people are going to have these positions.
Recently, Thailand introduced a new type of visa that is far less stringent and many more people will qualify for it. The terms of the visa are 1 to 5 years and it seems as though it will be in the reach of a lot of people out there that might be looking for a place to call home while they work remotely.
The "Destination Thailand Visa" is the easiest one to obtain and you are not required to show proof of anything as of yet. I am sure that this will change because Thailand has a tradition of seriously opening up visas to people and then for some reason regretting doing so and then they introduce a ton of extra crap that you have to provide until nobody bothers with it anymore. But at least for now this visa is very attractive. Basically, you just need to apply at a Thai consulate and say that you want the visa and then provided Interpol isn't looking for you, you pay $500 and you get a 1-year multiple entry visa. This visa can be extended in-country for up to 6 months additional time. There is a fee associated with this and at the moment it is around $140. This of course could all change in time so get in there quick if you are considering it!
The next visa is for people that don't want a hassle of a visa that is going to end but it comes with some paperwork.
Proper Digital Nomad Visa
Officially known as the "long term resident visa" this one requires proof that you have access to 500,000 Thai Baht in income per year. This is a very low amount and is at the moment around $14,500 per year of income. While the paperwork varies from place-to-place, some locations will simply accept this amount of money appearing in a Thai bank account and you don't even need to provide information about where it came from. Over the course of each year an additional minimum of 500,000 THB will need to move into the account during that time. Again, as of now they don't seem to be all that fussed about where the money came from so if you are a contractual worker pulling in money from a variety of sources, you will not need to provide invoices showing how you made the money, just that you have it.
Here is one thing that might chase a few people away though and that is that you have to pay taxes on this income. The rate is 17% so let's do some quick math and we find that this is 85,000 THB or approximately $2500. So this visa is far from "free" but it does allow you to stay in the country without interruption for up to 5 years. There is no reports about what you can do at the end of 5 years as this system was only introduced into the Kingdom as of June 1st, 2024. Things can change a lot in Thailand over the course of the next 5 years so who is to say what it will look like at that point.
For someone that doesn't pay taxes on their income for whatever reason that might be, being in a 17% bracket really isn't that bad and paying $2500 a year to NEVER have to depart Thailand unless you want to, really isn't that bad. To put things in perspective a commonly abused "Education Visa" normally costs about the same amount but it also comes with some sort of classes, many of which the students don't actually attend but join the school simply for the visa access. People that have used this method of staying in the country for multiple years have had issues renewing them after 1 year because Immigration doesn't believe you are actually studying anymore and let's be honest here, most of the people that go this route aren't really studying.
So for people that are looking for a relatively hassle-free visa to Thailand this could be your chance! Given that obtaining long-term visas has historically been a real pain in the butt in this country for a long time I think this will appeal to a lot of people out there.
Also, not just every country is qualified for this visa but a list of all eligible countries can be viewed here. It also details the countries that are definitely not eligible under this program and it should be no surprise that this is countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Korea.
So now my hope is simply that Thailand decides to stick with this one and not do a bait and switch like they have done so many times with visas in the past. We have a foreigner friendly Prime Minister at the moment so perhaps this one will last. We'll see!