The Labour Ministry will seek cabinet approval to issue long-term resident (LTR) visas to attract wealthy and high-potential foreigners to Thailand, in a bid to stimulate the economy and investment.
The ministry will also seek approval to extend the operations of service centres to issuing certificates of identify (CI) to Myanmar workers for another two months.
Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin announced the moves after a meeting of the migrant workers’ policy management committee on Friday.
Mr Suchart said the commitee agreed to economic and investment stimulus measures to attract high potential foreigners for lengthy stays, targeting four groups of people – the rich, pensioners, foreigners who want to work remotely from Thailand, and highly skilled professionals.
They would be eligibnle to apply for long-term residence (LTR) visas. The visas would be valid for five years and renewable, with total validity capped at 10 years, the minister said.
He said the meeting also agreed to recommend extending the operations of CI service centres in four provinces – Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakan, Ranong and Chon Buri –to grant certificates of identity to Myanmar workers for two more months.
Mr Suchart said Myanmar officials were working with the ministry’s Employment Department and advised that about 100,000 Myanmar nationals working in Thailand still do not have certificates of identify. On receiving those certificates, they could submit their CI to seek permission to stay in Thailand from the Immigration Bureau within a given time, and they could work here until Feb 13, 2025.
The ministry would forward the commitee’s proposal to the cabinet for consideration, he said.