Related: SMART Visa guide · LTR Visa guide · DTV vs SMART
The 2025 SMART reset
BOI Announcement Por. 5/2568, reopened in Thai and English on 1 August 2026, replaced the former SMART framework. The current principal route is SMART S for a founder or director of a certified technology startup established in Thailand; SMART O remains for the legal spouse and children of a SMART holder. The former Talent, Investor and Executive categories are therefore not presented here as current options.
Current side-by-side comparison
| Factor | SMART | LTR |
|---|---|---|
| Principal categories | SMART S startup entrepreneur | Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioner, Work-from-Thailand Professional, Highly Skilled Professional |
| Published stay structure | Up to 2 years | Up to 10 years, issued in two 5-year periods if conditions remain met |
| Qualification focus | Certified Thai technology startup plus founder, director or ownership conditions | Separate wealth, passive-income, foreign-employment or high-skill conditions |
| Published processing fee | THB 10,000 per year | THB 50,000 when collected in Thailand |
| Address reporting | One-year reporting privilege | 90-day reporting extended to one year |
| Work | No separate work permit for endorsed startup activity | Digital work permit available where the holder works for an entity in Thailand; not for the Work-from-Thailand category |
| Special tax provisions | No SMART-specific tax concession identified in the current BOI material | Category-specific treatment under Royal Decree 743 |
Freshness: every figure in this table was checked against the official BOI sources linked below on 1 August 2026.
LTR is not one income test
The current BOI LTR material keeps four distinct categories: Wealthy Global Citizen (W), Wealthy Pensioner (P), Work-from-Thailand Professional (T) and Highly Skilled Professional (H). Each has its own qualification route. A single salary figure cannot accurately describe all four, so use the current BOI criteria for the category that matches your facts.
Tax correction
The 17% personal-income-tax rate belongs to qualifying employment income of the Highly Skilled Professional category, not the Work-from-Thailand category. Royal Decree 743 separately provides a foreign-income exemption for the W, P and T categories on the income specified by that decree. This is category-specific law, not a universal promise that every remittance is tax-free; obtain Thai tax advice for your income and residence facts.
Claims withdrawn pending fresh proof
We removed the previous universal salary comparisons, tax-savings examples, Pattaya popularity claims, local filing-transfer claims, application-time estimates and predictions about which visa “wins”. None should be used for a personal decision without current official evidence for the applicant and category.
Official sources reopened 1 August 2026
- BOI Announcement Por. 5/2568 (English)
- BOI Announcement Por. 5/2568 (Thai)
- BOI procedure Por. 6/2568 (English)
- BOI procedure Por. 6/2568 (Thai)
- SMART Visa: current programme and privileges
- BOI LTR: current criteria and privileges
- Royal Decree 743 (official English translation)
Need a category check?
Map the facts to the published categories above; final qualification remains with BOI.