Government may revamp immigration rules to make it easier for expats and long-term tourists

The government could revamp immigration rules this year to make it easier for ex-pats and long-term tourists to stay in the country, as part of a plan to boost investment and tourism revenue once the pandemic has gone.

Foreigners could no longer have to file 90-day reports of their whereabouts of the proposed changes,  a deeply unpopular requirement, particularly now that the online filing system has been down for more than a month.

Expats trying to file online is greeted with a flashy animation presenting the immigration service in a flashy light, followed by a simple text message stating that the system is "temporarily closed for maintenance." No further information, such as when the system might be fixed, being given. The TM-30 reporting system has also been down, which has frustrated hotel staff.

For foreigners working in Thailand, “immigration rules are the key pain point.” In a phone interview from Bangkok, Chayotid Kridakorn, 54, a former head of JPMorgan Securities (Thailand) who is leading a government task force to smooth investment into Thailand, said. “We want to make living and working in Thailand easier for foreigners.”

Authorities contend that making it easier for foreign companies to bring in skilled workers and for western retirees to stay in Thailand will boost the country's economy, which suffered its biggest contraction in more than two decades last year. According to the Bank of Thailand, GDP development will not return to pre-Covid levels until the third quarter of 2022.

Mr. Chayotid said that a detailed framework to boost investment and tourism will be proposed to the government's economic panel within a month. Improving immigration, visa applications, and work permits for foreign experts is one of the plans, as is relaxing the requirement for foreign workers to report their whereabouts to authorities every 90 days.

Incentives for foreign investors will also be included in the framework, such as corporate income tax cuts, relaxed property-holding rules, and incentives for retirees and start-up companies.