BOI, LTR or SMART visa: which one fits your situation?
They answer different questions: BOI promotion is for a company and its project, the LTR visa is a ten year personal visa for four defined profiles, and the SMART visa has, since February 2025, been open to new applicants only as the startup category. So if you are choosing for yourself rather than for a company, the real choice is LTR versus SMART S, and for most people who qualify for either, the LTR is the stronger document.
Last reviewed 19 October 2026
Three different instruments
| Scheme | Who it is for | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| BOI promotion | A company with a qualifying project | Corporate tax holiday of up to 13 years, import duty exemptions, majority or full foreign ownership, land, and its own visa and work permit regime for foreign staff. The full list. |
| LTR visa | An individual fitting one of four profiles: wealth, pension, remote work for a large foreign employer, or high skill in a targeted industry | Ten years (issued five plus five), annual reporting instead of every 90 days, no re-entry permits, a digital work permit where you work, and the four Thai employees rule waived by name. The thresholds. |
| SMART S | A startup founder whose company is certified in a targeted industry | Residence to build the startup, work without a separate work permit, and dependents who can live in Thailand. The only SMART category still open to new applications. |
Choosing as an individual
Start from the LTR income and investment thresholds. If you clear one of the four categories, the LTR gives you ten years, the lightest reporting of any Thai visa, and tax treatment the SMART visa never offered. The government fee is 50,000 baht per person, fixed and published.
The surviving SMART S route is narrower than it sounds. Under Por. 5/2568 you need a startup established in Thailand and certified in a targeted industry by an agency such as the National Innovation Agency or depa, you must hold at least 25% of the registered capital or a directorship, show 600,000 baht held in a bank for three months (plus 180,000 baht per dependent), and carry health insurance for the whole stay. If you can meet an LTR category instead, you avoid tying the visa to the fate of one certified company.
Choosing for a company
BOI promotion is a corporate decision, not a visa decision, and it is granted activity by activity: the BOI promotes activities, not companies. The visas it brings for foreign staff are a side effect of the promotion, not the reason to seek it. What it costs to apply is on the BOI cost page, and how long it takes is its own question.
If the category is genuinely unclear, that is normal: most applicants arrive not knowing which scheme they are eligible for, and fee quotes vary by an order of magnitude. Three quotes from agents who do this weekly, each told the same facts, is the fastest way to find out which application you are actually making, and the LTR cost page shows what the paperwork should cost.
Related questions
- LTR visa: what are the income and investment thresholds?
- What does BOI promotion actually get you?
- The four Thai employees rule: when does it actually apply?
Sources
- BOI Announcement Por. 5/2568 of 18 February 2025: SMART visa qualifications, startup category only (official English translation)
- BOI Long-Term Resident visa official site: categories, privileges and fees
- Thailand.go.th official guide: obtaining BOI promotion
This is general information about how a filing works, not accounting or tax advice for your company. Confirm anything that matters against the official notice or with your accountant. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.