Thai Elite Visa Set for Revamp on October 1st: Expect Price Hikes of “50-500%” Says Leading Agent

Last week, the Thailand Privilege Card Co., which manages the Thai Elite Visa program, informed its accredited agents that, on October 1st (the start of the Thai fiscal year), it would be launching an entirely new suite of membership packages in connection with the company’s rebranding plan on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the program.

Following what it characterized as a “careful consideration with all stakeholders”, it would be discontinuing all the programs existing membership packages and replacing them with new memberships on October first.

Those hoping to qualify under the current rules will need to submit their applications no later than by September 15th, this year. Applications under the new rules will open 15 days later.

The company pointed out that the changes would not affect existing members and that those who have already filed their applications will be considered on the basis of the original membership packages as long as the already-submitted application have been submitted through the right channels, are not deficient in terms of documentation, and have been paid for within 30 days of receiving an approval letter.

The Thai Elite visa competes in a large and diverse Southeast Asian market (and also competes with other Thai programs) for long-term residency visas. Even relatively minor changes to program policy – to say nothing of complete program overhauls, as appears to be in the cards for October – have the capacity to substantially shift the Thai Elite program’s competitive position.