The SMART visa: BOI endorsement, the five categories, and what a 2025 reform changed

The SMART visa is the Board of Investment's route for the people Thailand set out to attract — technologists, investors, senior executives and startup founders in its targeted industries. If you have read older guides, part of what they describe has changed. This note sets out what the SMART visa is, the five categories it was built around, what a 2025 reform did to them, who can still apply today, and how BOI endorsement works — with the honest caveat that approval is never ours to promise.

What is the SMART visa, and who runs it?

The SMART visa is a long-stay visa administered by the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) for skilled and entrepreneurial foreigners working in the country's targeted industries. It is not a visa you buy; you qualify into it on your role, salary, investment or startup, and a BOI "qualification endorsement" is the gateway. The BOI defines the targeted industries — from digital, medical and robotics to aviation and the startup ecosystem itself — and only work that falls within them is in scope. It is a genuinely different instrument from a tourist or retirement visa: it is built around what you do, not merely where you stay.

What are the five categories the programme was built around?

The SMART visa was designed as five categories, each keyed to a letter. SMART "T" (Talent) was for highly skilled science-and-technology professionals; SMART "I" (Investor) for those investing in technology-based businesses; SMART "E" (Executive) for senior managers in technology companies; SMART "S" (Startup) for founders of technology startups; and SMART "O" (Other) for the legal spouse and children of a SMART visa holder. Each carried its own salary, investment or deposit test and a validity of up to four years. That five-letter structure is the one most older articles still describe — and it is the point where the current position departs from them.

What changed in 2025 — is it still open to talents, investors and executives?

No — for new applications the Talent, Investor and Executive categories were closed. Under a BOI restructuring that took effect on 4 February 2025 (BOI Announcement No. Por. 3/2568), the SMART "T", "I" and "E" categories were discontinued to remove the overlap with the Board's Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa. Talents, investors and senior executives who would once have applied under those letters are now directed to the LTR visa instead. What remains open under the SMART programme is the startup route — SMART "S" — together with SMART "O" for a holder's family. If a guide still tells you to apply for "SMART T", it predates this change; confirm the current position before you act.

Who can still apply — the SMART "S" startup route today?

SMART "S" is for a foreign entrepreneur building a technology startup in one of the BOI's targeted industries. As published by the BOI at the date checked (25 July 2026), the core requirements are a fixed deposit of at least THB 600,000 held for at least three months, health insurance covering the period of stay, and — for the established-company tier — a holding of at least 25% of the company's registered capital or a director's position in a certified startup. The visa is issued as a two-year SMART "S", renewable, within the maximum permission to stay the BOI sets. A dependent can be added under SMART "O" against a further deposit the BOI specifies (published as THB 180,000 per dependent at the date checked). These figures are set and revised by the BOI — treat them as indicative, not a quotation, and confirm the current thresholds with the BOI or with us.

What does BOI endorsement involve, and what does it give you?

BOI endorsement is the qualification step that turns eligibility into a visa. You apply online through the BOI's SMART visa portal, upload the documents, and the BOI — with the certifying agency for your field — assesses whether you qualify; on a qualification endorsement you proceed to visa issuance, at a Thai embassy, the One Stop Service Centre in Bangkok or an EEC centre, within the window the BOI sets. A processing fee applies (published as THB 10,000 per year of visa permission at the date checked). The benefits are the reason people pursue it: no separate work permit is required to work for the endorsed company or in the endorsed activity; the usual 90-day reporting is extended to an annual (one-year) report at the One Stop Service Centre; and holders receive a fast-track lane at international airports and an exemption from the re-entry permit. A SMART "O" spouse may live in Thailand on equivalent terms.

SMART "S" or the LTR visa — which fits you?

It depends on what you are: a startup founder fits the SMART "S" route, while a salaried professional, an investor or a senior executive now fits the BOI's Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa, which absorbed those profiles in 2025 and carries its own ten-year footing and work route. And to correct a common assumption: owning a condominium in Thailand does not, by itself, give you any right to live or work here — ownership and immigration status are separate questions, which we cover in Does buying a condo give residency?. To weigh the routes side by side, see the Visa & Residency hub; we prepare and file, and are glad to talk it through.

Notes

This article is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice on your particular situation. Any legal work is a separate engagement under a written engagement letter, following a conflicts check and for a separate fee; you remain free to appoint another adviser. We prepare and file applications — we do not promise an outcome or a processing time; SMART visa endorsement and issuance rest with the BOI and the Immigration Bureau and are discretionary. Immigration rules, categories, thresholds and fees change, and approval is never guaranteed — confirm the current requirements with us before you act.

Sources

• Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) — SMART Visa programme, categories, criteria, endorsement and fees: smart-visa.boi.go.th (checked 25 July 2026).
• Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) — SMART Visa restructuring (Announcement No. Por. 3/2568), effective 4 February 2025, directing talent, investor and executive applicants to the LTR visa: boi.go.th (checked 25 July 2026).
• Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) — Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa programme: ltr.boi.go.th (checked 25 July 2026).

This article is published in multiple languages. Where the versions differ, the English version prevails.