The new, long-term resident (LTR) visa -- which kicked off on Thursday -- will allow selected non-Thais to stay in the kingdom for up to 10 years, Mr Suchart said. The visa offers a range of tax and non-tax benefits to attract new foreign residents, technologies and talents to stay or work in the country longer, he said. Spouses and children under 20 years of age will also qualify for the same visa, he said, adding that each LTR visa holder can have a maximum of four dependents. The new visa programme, unveiled more than a year ago, seeks to build on post-pandemic efforts to welcome back visitors as the tourism industry accounts for 12% of gross domestic product. "The long-term resident visa programme will help Thailand in the post-Covid economic recovery," Duangjai Asawachintachit, secretary-general of Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI), said on Wednesday.
