Each Thailand LTR holder may apply for up to 4 dependents (a legally married spouse plus children under 20); each dependent must separately meet one of three financial security options — health insurance of USD 50,000 or more / Thai Social Security / a bank deposit of USD 25,000 maintained for at least 12 months. The principal applicant instead uses a choice of USD 50,000 health insurance / Thai Social Security / a USD 100,000 deposit (also maintained for 12 months).
Thailand’s LTR (Long-Term Resident) visa is administered by the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) as a 5-year + 5-year, up to 10-year, multiple-entry structure.
The details are usually where mistakes happen, not “what LTR is”: for the same USD 80,000 figure, what does it mean in different categories? Can freelancers or business owners apply? Is health insurance always required? Is the 4-dependent cap still in place? Does the 17% tax rate apply to all four categories?
The following organizes the most common questions by the current four LTR categories.
Quick Reference: Dependents, Financial Thresholds, and Key Tax Figures
| Item | Current Threshold/Rule |
|---|---|
| Maximum number of dependents | Up to 4 per LTR holder |
| Maximum age for a child dependent | Under 20 |
| Principal applicant’s financial security (choose one) | Health insurance ≥ USD 50,000 / Thai Social Security / bank deposit ≥ USD 100,000 (maintained 12 months) |
| Dependent’s financial security (choose one) | Health insurance ≥ USD 50,000 / Thai Social Security / bank deposit ≥ USD 25,000 (maintained 12 months) |
| 90-day reporting | Extended to once-a-year reporting (immigration address reporting) |
| Re-entry permit | Exempt (exemption of re-entry permit) |
| Thai tax residency test | 180 days or more in Thailand within a tax year, in total |
| 17% personal income tax benefit | Only applies to Highly-Skilled Professionals (HSP) |
*Except for the tax residency test, which follows Thailand’s Revenue Department rules, the above is based on current publicly available BOI LTR official information.*
What Are the Four LTR Categories?
LTR has four main applicant categories:
- Wealthy Global Citizens (WGC): focused mainly on global assets and investment in Thailand.
- Wealthy Pensioners (WP): 50 years of age or older, focused mainly on passive income; the lower-income branch also requires investment in Thailand.
- Work-from-Thailand Professionals (WFTP): focused mainly on personal income, a qualifying overseas employer, and the remote-work relationship.
- Highly-Skilled Professionals (HSP): focused mainly on personal income, targeted industries or specified professions, and the employment arrangement.
Each of the four categories is assessed independently.
Dependent Eligibility
Zagdim’s key takeaways:
- Up to 4 dependents, limited to a legally married spouse plus children under 20.
- Same-sex spouses may apply, but unmarried long-term partners may not.
- Each dependent needs a separate application account and must prepare their own financial documentation.
Q1: Which family members can an LTR holder bring as dependents?
Zagdim’s quick answer: A legally married spouse and children under 20, up to 4 people.
Under the BOI LTR official homepage’s current public position, a qualifying dependent is “the LTR holder’s or applicant’s legally married spouse, and children under 20.” So not all family members can be attached to a principal applicant’s LTR directly: the relevant marriage or parent-child documentation must still be submitted at the time of application, and each dependent needs to set up their own application account, which is then linked to the principal applicant’s case.
Q2: What is the maximum number of dependents allowed under LTR?
Zagdim’s quick answer: Up to 4 dependents per principal applicant.
The current official rule is that each LTR holder may have up to 4 dependents, so when planning as a family, in addition to checking the principal applicant’s eligibility, you should also confirm whether the number of family members falls within the dependent scope currently listed on the homepage.
Q3: At what age can a child no longer continue as an LTR dependent?
Zagdim’s quick answer: Children must be under 20 — once they turn 20, they no longer qualify.
The official homepage currently states that a qualifying child must be “under 20,” and a dependent visa will only be granted up to age 20. So if a child is close to turning 20 at the time of application, it is not enough to check only whether they are still under 20 on the day of filing — subsequent residence arrangements should also be considered.
Q4: Can a same-sex spouse apply as an LTR dependent?
Zagdim’s quick answer: Yes — a legally established same-sex marriage qualifies for dependent status.
Yes — the authorities have explicitly stated that “same-sex marriage is recognized and can apply for LTR under the dependent category,” with the key test being a legally established marital relationship, not the genders of the spouses.
Q5: We’re not married, just long-term partners — can we apply as dependents?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — a partnership currently does not qualify as a dependent relationship.
The current official wording is “a partnership does not currently qualify as a dependent relationship,” so even if the two people have lived together and shared a life for many years, that partnership alone cannot substitute for a legally recognized spousal relationship.
ask Zagdim if you would like help assessing your family’s eligibility for Thailand’s LTR visa.
Financial and Insurance Security
Zagdim’s key takeaways:
- Principal applicant: choose one of health insurance ≥ USD 50,000 / Thai Social Security / bank deposit ≥ USD 100,000 (maintained 12 months).
- Each dependent: separately needs USD 25,000 in deposits (or equivalent insurance/social security) — this is not covered by the principal applicant’s allowance.
- The deposit threshold isn’t “held for 12 months, then free to withdraw” — it must be maintained for the entire visa validity period.
Q6: Do dependents also need to separately meet health or financial security requirements?
Zagdim’s quick answer: Yes — each dependent must independently meet one of the three security options, each at a USD 25,000 threshold.
Under the official homepage’s current requirements, dependents likewise need to meet one of the following three options: health insurance of USD 50,000 or more, Thai Social Security, or a bank deposit. If taking the bank-deposit route, the current threshold is “at least USD 25,000 per dependent, maintained for at least 12 months” (the deposit may be held in the name of the principal applicant or the dependent). So when a family uses the bank-deposit option, you cannot simply prepare the principal applicant’s USD 100,000 and assume all family members are already covered.
*Example calculation (a hypothetical scenario, not an actual client case): a family of 4 (principal applicant + spouse + 2 children) taking the bank-deposit route entirely would need to prepare: USD 100,000 for the principal applicant + 3 dependents × USD 25,000 = USD 175,000 in total — all of which must be maintained for at least 12 months. This is just one of the three financial security options; the amounts and structure would differ under the health insurance or Thai Social Security route.*
Q7: Is health insurance mandatory to apply for LTR?
Zagdim’s quick answer: Not necessarily — health insurance is just one of three financial security options.
Not necessarily — the principal applicant’s common financial security requirement is a choice of one of three: health insurance of at least USD 50,000; Thai Social Security; or a bank deposit of at least USD 100,000 in the applicant’s own name, maintained for at least 12 months. So health insurance is just one path, and not every LTR applicant is required to additionally purchase a policy.
Q8: Without health insurance, can I just use a USD 100,000 deposit instead?
Zagdim’s quick answer: Yes, but the amount must meet the threshold and be maintained for the full 12 months — it can’t be deposited at the last minute.
Yes — a bank deposit is itself one of the three official financial security options, but it must meet two conditions at the same time: an amount of at least USD 100,000 + having been maintained for at least 12 months. So you cannot transfer USD 100,000 into an account the day before applying and treat that as satisfying this route.
Q9: Does the USD 100,000 only need to be held for 12 months?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — the 12 months is only the entry threshold; it must be maintained for the whole visa validity period.
That’s not the correct way to understand it: “at least 12 months” is the entry threshold for the deposit route itself, but the authorities clearly require that every condition and requirement be maintained during the LTR’s validity (officially listed examples include *bank account balances* and *insurance coverage*). So having already held the deposit for 12 months does not mean you can move the entire amount out the day after receiving LTR.
Q10: After getting LTR, can I cancel my health insurance?
Zagdim’s quick answer: Not recommended without first confirming a replacement is in place.
If your LTR financial security is based on health insurance, you should not treat it as only needing to be valid on the day of application — the BOI explicitly lists *insurance coverage* as an example of a condition that must be maintained throughout the visa’s validity. If you plan to switch from health insurance to a bank deposit or Thai Social Security or another form of security, you should confirm how the old and new arrangements will connect first, rather than letting the existing coverage lapse before dealing with the replacement.
Reporting and Maintaining Eligibility
Zagdim’s key takeaways:
- The 90-day reporting requirement has been extended to once a year, and the re-entry permit is exempted.
- Annual reporting is only an address filing — it is not the same as a full eligibility re-review.
- The 10-year validity period = the first 5 years + eligibility reconfirmation + the following 5 years; it is not something you can ignore once approved.
Q11: Does LTR still require reporting every 90 days?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — this has been extended to once-a-year reporting.
LTR holders generally no longer follow the ordinary 90-day reporting cycle that applies to other foreign nationals — the BOI describes this benefit as: “90-day report extended to 1-year report,” meaning the standard 90-day residence reporting is changed to once a year.
Q12: Does once-a-year reporting mean a full eligibility review is done every year?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — annual reporting is only an address filing; maintaining eligibility is a separate matter.
No — annual reporting is a form of *immigration address reporting*, primarily a residence/address filing. Whether income, assets, employer, investment, insurance, and so on continue to meet LTR conditions is a separate eligibility-maintenance matter. So annual reporting ≠ a full annual re-certification of LTR, but that also does not mean holders can stop maintaining their original LTR eligibility — the BOI still requires every condition to be met continuously throughout the visa’s validity.
Q13: Does leaving Thailand under LTR require a separate re-entry permit?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — LTR is already exempt from the re-entry permit requirement.
No — official BOI benefits explicitly include *exemption of re-entry permit*, and LTR itself is a multiple-entry arrangement. So there is no need, as with some other Thai long-term residence statuses, to apply for a separate general re-entry permit before each departure in order to preserve your existing stay status.
Q14: Once LTR is approved, do the original eligibility conditions still need to be maintained?
Zagdim’s quick answer: Yes — all conditions must be maintained throughout the visa’s validity.
The official wording is: “Every condition and requirement must be maintained during the length of the visa…”, specifically listing examples such as investment amounts, employment status, bank account balances, and insurance coverage. So it should not be understood as: meeting the threshold on application day, getting LTR approved, and then no longer needing to manage anything — for example, if eligibility was based on a bank deposit, a specific employer, investment in Thailand, or health insurance, ongoing maintenance needs to be part of your planning.
Q15: Is LTR’s 10-year period valid continuously after approval, with no further eligibility review?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — eligibility must be reconfirmed after the first 5 years before it can be extended into the second 5 years.
No — the rules provide that the initial permission to stay is for up to 5 years, and only if eligibility is still met at that point can it be extended for a further 5 years. So LTR’s 10 years should be understood as the first 5 years + eligibility reconfirmation + the following 5 years — which is also why family financial security, insurance, deposits, employment status, and other eligibility conditions cannot be based only on the day of the initial application.
Tax Status
Zagdim’s key takeaways:
- Holding LTR does not automatically make you a Thai tax resident (or automatically exclude you from being one) — that is determined by the number of days spent in Thailand (180 days).
- The 17% personal income tax benefit only applies to the HSP category; the other three categories do not have it.
- The foreign-sourced income exemption only applies to WGC/WP/WFTP, and “foreign-sourced” is determined by the legal source of the income, not the remittance account.
Q16: Does getting LTR automatically make me a Thai tax resident?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — tax residency status is based on days spent in Thailand, not visa type.
No — LTR is an immigration and residence status, while Thai tax residency is determined separately under the Revenue Department’s rules. Thailand’s Revenue Code currently uses, as one of its core tests, the number of days spent in Thailand within a tax year: staying a total of 180 days or more results in being treated as a Thai tax resident. So holding LTR ≠ automatically becoming a tax resident, and holding LTR ≠ automatically not becoming a tax resident — visa status and tax status must be handled separately.
Q17: Do all four LTR categories get the 17% personal income tax benefit?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — the 17% rate is limited to the HSP category.
No — the BOI’s LTR benefits comparison materials clearly list the 17% personal income tax rate under Highly-Skilled Professionals (HSP) only; the other three main categories do not have this benefit. And it is not the case that “100% of an HSP’s income is taxed at 17%” — what actually applies is qualifying employment income that meets tax regulation requirements, which must still be handled according to Revenue Department rules.
Q18: Can Wealthy Pensioner use the 17% tax rate?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — 17% is an HSP-exclusive benefit.
No, Wealthy Pensioner status alone cannot be used to apply HSP’s 17% tax benefit — Wealthy Pensioner corresponds to a different set of LTR tax treatments. The 17% item in the BOI’s current benefits comparison table is listed only under HSP, so “LTR has a 17% tax rate” should not be understood as something all LTR holders share.
Q19: Which LTR categories get the foreign-sourced income exemption?
Zagdim’s quick answer: WGC, WP, and WFTP qualify; HSP does not (HSP instead corresponds to the 17% rate).
The BOI’s benefits comparison materials list tax exemption from overseas income under Work-from-Thailand Professionals, Wealthy Global Citizens, and Wealthy Pensioners; there is no such entry for HSP, which instead corresponds to the 17% personal income tax treatment described above. In simple terms:
| Main LTR Tax Benefit | Applicable Category |
|---|---|
| Foreign-sourced income exemption | WGC, WP, WFTP |
| Qualifying 17% employment income treatment | HSP |
Actual application still needs to go back to the underlying tax regulations, not just a single line in the BOI’s benefits table.
Q20: Does the “foreign-sourced income exemption” mean any money transferred from an overseas account into Thailand is tax-free?
Zagdim’s quick answer: No — the key test is the legal source of the income, not where it’s remitted from.
That is not how it works: “which bank account the money is transferred from” and “where the income is legally sourced from” are not the same thing — for example, if a salary is first paid into a bank account in Hong Kong or Singapore, but under Thai tax law it is, in substance, Thailand-sourced income, it cannot automatically be called “foreign-sourced income” simply because the money is remitted from overseas. The Revenue Department’s rules for ordinary tax residents also distinguish between Thailand-sourced and foreign-sourced income: assessable foreign-sourced income earned from 2024 onward may fall within the scope of Thai personal income tax if, under the general residence rules, it is subsequently remitted into Thailand.
This content is a general information summary and does not constitute immigration, legal, labor, tax, or investment advice. LTR Wealthy Pensioner’s passive income and property investment, WFTP’s overseas employer and employment relationship, and HSP’s targeted industries and professional qualifications are all subject to the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI)’s current public information. In particular, situations involving business owners, freelancers, jointly held property, private company dividends, and borderline targeted-industry cases should not be judged solely by job title or a single figure.
ask Zagdim if you would like a one-on-one review of your LTR dependents, financial security, or tax position.
Information current as of September 2026.
Have a question about this guide? Leave a comment below, or ask Zagdim directly.
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