The Thai Elite visa, which offers multiple-entry stays between five and 20 years, will totally replace its current packages on October 1 2023. Founded by then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2003, Thailand Privilege Card Company is wholly owned by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. But a new senior management team at Elite has decided to introduce unprecedented changes.
All new applications for Elite must be made by September 15 under the existing application rules: after that it will be too late. Current holders of the popular Elite Easy Access – a five year visa available for as cash payment of 600,000 baht – have until August 15 to transfer to a longer Elite visa, usually for 20 years: after that it will be also be too late.
No official announcement has yet been made to detail what the new October 1 Elite visa packages look like. Enrolment and renewal fees are likely to rise as the principle of Elite has always been to attract high spenders, wealthy expats and global citizens. The number of packages, some of which include deals for expat families as well as individuals, may well be reduced or combined.
Scrutiny of application details will almost certainly be intensified. Currently, files are checked against the Thai immigration database and information held by Thai embassies abroad. This referral might be extended to Interpol after it was found necessary to cancel some Elite members who were involved in “grey” businesses or fraudulent or criminal international activity. Other memberships have been refused to some Elite holders whose original visas were for study or voluntary work – sometimes dubiously issued for untraceable cash during the Covid pandemic.
Membership of Elite programs stultified in the few thousand members for many years, but zoomed to over 20,000 in 2022 and is now thought to be nearing 30,000. Well over one third of recent applications are from Chinese citizens, but Thai MPs and tourist authorities have both complained publicly about abuses. For example, visa agents in Chinese cities have been offering under-the-table Elite visas in return for mammoth cash sums. Some abuses have been linked to corruption in Thai immigration and disreputable language schools enrolling absentee learners.
Clarification is also needed on regular working in Thailand by Elite holders. Elite does not offer work permits as part of any deal, although one program Flexible Plus has offered access to Department of Labour permits in return for a US$1 million investment in property, the stock exchange or companies. Government policy does allow non-work permit holders to attend occasional business meetings or organize events, but the parameters are ambiguous and largely untested. The Thailand Privilege Card Company has promised to explain the brand new framework well in advance of the October 1 inauguration.
