Thailand tweaks visa-for-cash plan, popular among Chinese, to aid developers amid supply glut

Mainland Chinese, Japanese, South Koreans, Britons and Americans are top five holders under Thailand’s visa-for-cash programme

New visa variation from January 1 offers five-year residency tied to purchase of completed condominium worth at least 10 million baht (US$331,560)

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The panoramic evening skyline of Thai capital Bangkok belies the crisis in the local economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:30am, 8 Dec 2020Updated: 8:00pm, 8 Dec 2020

Thailand will launch a new visa-for-cash plan targeting wealthy foreigners to help rescue the nation’s developers as the coronavirus pandemic worsened a supply glut amid the nation’s worst recession on record.

The government will offer five-year residency from January 1 to investors who purchase a completed property worth at least 10 million baht (US$331,560) from participating developers, according to Thailand Privilege Card, the state-owned operator of the visa programme. The property, mainly condominiums, must be held for five years.

The Southeast Asian nation has introduced nine visa packages since 2003, offering five- to 20-year residency for 500,000 baht to 2 million baht, without requiring any property investment. Mainland Chinese, Japanese, South Koreans, Britons and Americans made up the five top nationalities among its 11,100 buyers.

“The idea is to help the real estate sector clear unsold stock, bring in new investment and value-added to the economy and improve the cash flow for the developers,” company president Somchai Soongswang said in a phone interview.

“Based on our statistics and observations, there is no problem in the housing sector per se, the issue is only in the condominium segment.”

Somchai Soongswang, president of Thailand Privilege Card, the state-owned operator of visa-for-cash programme. Photo: Handout