MENA Entrepreneurs Can Now Get a "Smart Visa" to Work in Thailand

Thailand has just released a “Smart Visa” for business professionals, in an effort to boost the destination's position as a Nomad hub, allowing Digital Nomads to stay for longer durations than three months. Currently, the visa applies to startup founders, investors, high-level executives, or other highly-skilled professionals.Thailand has seen a boom of digital nomads since 2014, but currently, digital nomads pay taxes as a foreign company, or register the company in Thailand, with the benefit of a tax holiday for 3 to 8 years.

Now, instead of reporting to authorities every 90 days, the Smart Visa holders will only need to report to the immigration bureau every one year, and the visa can extend to family members. Similarly to the French Tech Visa released by the French government earlier in January, Thailand's Smart Visa is expected to encourage business growth in the country, leading to long-term economic benefits. Applications are expected to open in January 2018. 

Main photo credit: Geo Travellers, licensed by Creative Commons.