Last updated: 2026-05-12
How the Smart Visa programme works in Thailand, the five categories, and where it makes sense versus a standard Non-B and work permit.
The Smart Visa is a Thailand visa programme run by the Board of Investment for foreign experts, investors, executives, and startup founders working in industries the Thai government has designated as priority sectors. It launched in 2018 and was refreshed in 2022 with a wider list of qualifying activities and looser eligibility floors.
The headline feature: a Smart Visa holder doesn't need a separate work permit. The visa itself covers the right to work for the sponsoring company in the qualifying activity. That removes the standard 2-million-baht capital and 4-Thai-employees-per-foreign-permit ratios that apply under the normal Non-B and work-permit flow.
Smart T (Talent) is for senior specialists earning above a salary threshold and working in a targeted industry. Smart I (Investor) is for direct investors putting at least 20 million baht into a Thai company in a targeted industry. Smart E (Executive) is for senior managers at companies operating in targeted industries, with a salary and education floor.
Smart S (Startup) is for founders building a company in a targeted industry, usually after going through a recognised accelerator or incubator. Smart O (Other) covers the spouse and dependent children of any of the above, with the right to live, work, and study in Thailand without a separate visa run.
A multi-entry visa of up to four years per cycle, no work permit required, annual reporting at immigration instead of the standard 90-day report, and the right for the spouse and children to work and study in Thailand under the Smart O.
The "targeted industries" list overlaps heavily with the BOI promoted-activities list. It currently covers next-generation automotive, smart electronics, affluent and medical tourism, agriculture and biotech, food processing, robotics, aviation and logistics, biofuels and biochemicals, digital, medical hub, defence, education and human resources, and circular economy. The exact list is updated by the Smart Visa committee from time to time, so check the current programme page before assuming an activity qualifies.
The Smart Visa is worth pursuing when your role and your company both genuinely sit in a targeted industry, and when you'd otherwise be running into work-permit ratio limits or annual renewals. If you're a generalist founder running a service business that doesn't fit the targeted list, you're better off with a Non-B visa and a standard work permit, or with BOI promotion if your activity qualifies.
The application is reviewed by a Smart Visa committee that includes BOI and immigration. Documentation is heavier than a standard Non-B (qualification certificates, employment contracts, financial proof, endorsement letters) and the qualification check takes a few weeks before the visa itself can be issued. Most operators use an experienced agent or law firm for the first one.
This page is a plain-English reference. It is not legal advice. For specifics that affect your business, consult a qualified Thai law firm.
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This is the public version. The one with names of who's worth hiring, which agents get applications rejected, and how members got their permits issued lives inside the TC Network for founders in Bangkok.