Thailand introduced the new visa, called the long-term resident visa, in September as part of its strategy to lure talent from across the world.
It allows holders to stay in the country for 10 years and grants them a preferential personal income tax rate.
The application period began Sept 1.
“Since the launch on Sept 1, up until the present, over 1,600 applicants have submitted applications,” said Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of Thailand’s Board of Investment, in a group interview this week in Tokyo.
Americans were the largest group by nationality, followed by Chinese, British and Germans, he said.
The visa aims to attract foreign professionals in sectors such as electric vehicles and biotechnology, remote workers who wish to work from Thailand, and wealthy retirees.
Those who have applied so far are “mostly remote workers and retirees, but highly skilled workers also have a high number” of applications, Narit revealed.
The government expects Southeast Asia’s second largest economy to grow 3.2% this year and 3% to 4% next year, mainly thanks to the recovery of the tourism sector, which accounted for about 20% of Thailand’s gross domestic product before the pandemic.
But the government also hopes to upgrade Thai industries by fostering investment and drawing talent to high-tech, especially with its population aging rapidly.
Narit said Thailand would also offer a new package of incentives for businesses investing in specific sectors.
Starting in January, Thailand will allow corporate income tax exemptions of up to 13 years for investments in advanced industries, such as biotechnology and nanotechnology.
At present, the corporate tax exemption period is eight years for the most favoured industries.
Another incentive will be introduced for foreign companies that already have operations in Thailand if they relocate research and development centres from other countries.
The programmes come as companies around the world restructure their supply chains, which is giving opportunities to economies hoping to lure more investment.
“We create a business environment that can respond to global conditions, such as geopolitical conflicts, Covid, and supply chain disruptions,” Narit said, adding that his country is “not in conflict with any country, and is safe for investment”.
He also expressed hope that global companies’ diversification of supply chains “will lead to growth in Thailand in sectors such as automation, robotics, aviation and medical”.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s neighbour and another major production hub, Malaysia, is also keen to draw more foreign investment in a changing global environment.
In a separate interview with Nikkei Asia in November, Azmi Zulkifli, CEO of InvestKL, a government investment promotion agency for greater Kuala Lumpur, said: “If I could pick up one lesson learned in the past two years, it is (that) companies … have realised that putting eggs in one basket is not a good strategy.”
As businesses in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region relocate operations from China, he said that Malaysia is focusing “a lot more on automation and robotics” sectors to add value to the country’s industries.
As far as a finding the talent needed to move the economy forward, Azmi said that experienced Malaysians who are now overseas will be essential, in addition to foreign professionals.
“We have seen a very good number coming back to be the leading regional managing directors, as well as chief executive officers, of large multinationals,” he said.