Thailand SMART Visa
Eighteen targeted industries, plus a work permit exemption most Thai routes do not offer. The Smart Visa is for founders and experts rather than for employees.
Start here
| Need | Best page |
|---|---|
| Eligibility and how it works | SMART Visa guide |
| Compare every Thai route | Thailand long stay routes compared |
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | Founders, investors, executives and experts in targeted industries |
| Visa family | Non-immigrant SMART Visa |
| Validity | Up to 4 years |
| Stay | 2 years initial for the startup track |
| Financial threshold | THB 600,000 deposit held 3 months on the startup track, about USD 18,750 at THB 32 per USD (2026) |
| Equity requirement | 25 percent shareholding or director role |
| Work permit | Exempt. This is the key benefit |
| Family | SMART O for spouse and children |
| Settlement | None |
| Processing | 4 to 6 weeks |
The eighteen industries
Next-generation automotive, smart electronics, affluent medical and wellness tourism, agriculture and food biotechnology, automation and robotics, aviation and logistics, biofuels and biochemicals, digital, medical hub, national defence, circular economy supporting industries, aerospace and space, science and technology human resource development, environmental management and renewable energy, technology and startup ecosystem management, target technology development, international business centres, and alternative dispute resolution.
If your business is not in one of these, SMART Visa is not available and you are looking at a Business Manager route instead.
The categories
The programme was built with five sub-categories: Smart T for talent, Smart I for investment, Smart E for executives, Smart S for startups, and Smart O for dependants.
Only SMART S and SMART O remain fully documented on the BOI site. The other three appear in the contact form but not in the published criteria. Treat any agent offering Smart T, Smart I or Smart E as unverified until BOI confirms the current rules in writing.
This is a real problem for planning, and it is why the programme is less used than its benefits suggest. A visa category that exists in a dropdown but not in published guidance is not a category you can build a move around.
SMART S requirements
- A technology-based startup in a targeted industry, already established in Thailand
- Director role or at least 25 percent shareholding
- THB 600,000 deposit, held at least three months
- Health insurance
- BOI endorsement
Good fit
Founders who have already set up a Thai company in a targeted industry and want to work in it without a separate work permit and without the 4 to 1 Thai employee ratio. Digital and technology businesses, which sit comfortably inside the list.
Poor fit
Anyone whose business is outside the eighteen industries. Anyone who has not yet incorporated in Thailand. People who need certainty about which sub-category applies, since three of the five are undocumented. Founders who need a path to permanent residence, because there is none.
Watchpoints
- The BOI SMART Visa site is visibly out of date. Latest news items are from 2019. Criteria may have moved without the page moving.
- Only SMART S and SMART O are documented. Do not plan around Smart T, I or E without written confirmation.
- The company must already exist in Thailand. This is not an entry visa for people who intend to incorporate later.
- THB 600,000 must be seasoned three months. Same discipline as the DTV.
- Targeted industry is a hard gate. No discretion for businesses outside the list.
- BOI issues a fraud warning. Only the TIESC centre is legitimate.
Sources
- Board of Investment, SMART Visa programme and targeted industries. Checked 2026-10-22.
- thaievisa.go.th, SMART Visa category. Checked 2026-10-22.
- BOI, TIESC contact and fraud warning. Checked 2026-10-22.