Thailand’s exotic, friendly charm attracts tens of millions of visitors each year, with more and more tourists opting for a longer stay, either in retirement, for business purposes or simply as a lifestyle choice. And over the last decade, the Royal Thai Government has endorsed certain ‘foreigner privilege schemes’ in order to attract high spending tourists by offering greater ease of travel and business opportunities, but how useful are these schemes and what do they actually offer members?

In 2001 the government initiated the Longstay Tourism Development and Promotion Project, and the Thai Longstay Management Company was established to facilitate longstay for tourists over the age of 50, providing a one year multiple re-entry visa, fast immigration, accident insurance and many privileged discounts ranging from hotels and resorts and spa’s and over 2,000 shops around Thailand. Yearly memberships were available from 12,000 Thai Baht without the visa, up to 72,000 Thai Baht for the most complete package.

In March 2007, TLM launched a new service called “Thailand Second Home Longstay Project”, which allows foreigners to purchase a property in Thailand on a 30-year renewable lease, with carefully established legal assurances included in the deal to gain investors’ trust, although it’s currently on hold until the general election has been held and a new government is in office.

Business visa’s in Thailand are generally restricted to a maximum of ninety days and require a visit to a Thai Embassy abroad. Both programmes provide welcome visa assistance and fast tracking through immigration. Despite offering a longer five-year multiple re-entry visa, Thailand Elite still requires members to visit the local immigration office every 90 days, whereas Thai Longstay offers a one-year multiple re-entry visa with no further stamps required.

Thailand Second Home may still be worth waiting for, it seems, as this programme means you can purchase a lifetime membership for 500,000 Thai Baht and then securely purchase a home to use as you wish for the rest of your life. It also includes benefits such as discounted TLM membership rates and opportunities to realise an income through the management of Thailand Second Home.

Post election confidence may well lead to the creation of yet more privilage schemes in Thailand, or add to the benefits that already exist. But as is the case with many private investors, a common strategy seems to be “wait and see”. Please take a look at the full report at www.property-report.com/archives.php?id=1089&date=0711