Thailand SMART Visa: Startup Eligibility and BOI Process

Which SMART sources control?

Use the numbered 2025 announcements first. Por. 5/2568 repealed the former qualification framework, and Por. 6/2568 repealed the former procedure. BOI's website still exposes older category pages, FAQs and a pre-reset checklist. Where those pages conflict, the current numbered announcements control new applications.

What SMART actually is

BOI Announcement Por. 5/2568, issued on 18 February 2025, records the Cabinet decision to keep SMART only for foreign entrepreneurs engaged in startups and to use LTR as the principal route for other high-potential applicants. It repealed the former SMART qualification announcement.

For applications submitted under the current measure, the published privileges are conditional:

• Principal applicant: an entrepreneur behind a certified startup already established in Thailand.
• Stay: no more than 2 years for the established-startup route.
• Work: no separate work permit for the certified project or activity, subject to prohibited-occupation rules.
• Family: a lawful spouse and legitimate children who are under 20 can apply as SMART O dependants under the current SMART-S instructions.
• Reporting: SMART uses a one-year address-reporting cycle and BOI status reporting.

These are not general startup, investment or remote-work privileges. BOI must certify the startup and the applicant must remain within the approved scope.

The current SMART applicants

Current eligibility checklist

• The startup is already established in Thailand.
• A relevant government agency certifies it as a startup in a targeted industry.
• The applicant is a director or holds at least 25% of registered capital.
• At least THB 600,000, or equivalent, has remained in an eligible account for at least 3 months through the application date.
• An additional THB 180,000, or equivalent, is held for each accompanying lawful spouse or legitimate child for the same period.
• Health insurance covers the applicant and included dependants for the full stay in Thailand.
• The applicant and dependants have no prohibited characteristics under Immigration law.

The current announcement does not revive the former Talent, Investor or Executive thresholds. A salary, technical job title or investment by itself does not create current SMART eligibility.

The 18 targeted industries

Por. 5/2568 carries forward the 18-industry list in BOI Announcement Por. 5/2566:

• Automotive
• Electronics
• Affluent tourism
• Agriculture, food and biotechnology
• Automation and robotics
• Transportation and logistics
• Petrochemical and chemical
• Digital
• Medical
• National defence
• Direct and significant circular-economy support
• Aviation, aerospace and space
• Human-resource development in science and technology
• Environment management and renewable energy
• Technology, innovation and startup-ecosystem management
• Target-technology development
• International business centres
• Alternative-dispute-resolution services

Appearing on the list is only the first filter. The relevant government agency—not a company description, pitch deck or this publication—must certify the startup and its targeted-industry fit.

Start with the current BOI laws and documents page. It places the 2025 announcements above the older category material and links the Thai originals and English translations.

Fees, timing and where issuance happens

Published figure	Rule verified 22 August 2026
Qualification endorsement	Por. 6/2568 says the process is to be completed within 30 working days after a complete, compliant application is submitted.
Endorsement-letter use	The qualified applicant has 60 days from issue to complete visa issuance.
SMART-S extension planning	BOI tells holders to request renewal of qualification endorsement at least 60 days before the current SMART Visa expires, then complete the Immigration extension at TIESC before that expiry date.
Visa issuance fee	THB 10,000 per year of permission at TIESC. Overseas posts charge in local currency and can vary with exchange rates or local additions.
Overseas letter routing	BOI's issuance page publishes a normal routing period of about 7–14 working days after the selected mission is notified; the mission's own e-Visa processing remains separate.
Bangkok appointment window	The issuance page allows advance booking from 2 working days to 30 days ahead.

Those figures come from BOI's current application overview and issuance instructions. They cover different stages and are not added together as one promised processing time.

What the 30-working-day endorsement clock covers

The figure is a structured qualification-endorsement process, not an end-to-end visa promise. Por. 6/2568 gives the One Stop Service up to 3 working days to forward a complete file, the relevant agencies up to 20 working days to report their checks, and the One Stop Service up to 7 working days to screen and notify. Visa issuance at Immigration or an overseas mission follows separately.

Health-insurance requirement

Por. 5/2568 requires insurance for the full stay but does not state a monetary sum. BOI's current management page separately states at least THB 500,000 of hospitalisation coverage in Thailand and full-stay coverage for the applicant and included spouse or children. Confirm the exact accepted policy wording before buying insurance.

Application — step by step

1. Qualification endorsement: submit the current form and evidence through the channel specified by BOI.
2. Agency review: BOI and the relevant agencies assess startup certification, targeted-industry fit, Immigration status and prohibited-work issues.
3. Notification letter: an approved applicant receives a qualification-endorsement letter with a 60-day issuance window.
4. Issuance in Thailand: the current BOI page directs eligible in-country issuance to Immigration at the Thailand Investment and Expat Services Center, One Bangkok.
5. Issuance abroad: BOI sends the letter to the selected Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate-General, after which the applicant uses that post's e-Visa process and document instructions.
6. After issuance: work is limited to the certified scope. Follow BOI's one-year status-report and continued-stay instructions.

Dependants and children — SMART O

Por. 5/2568 covers the principal entrepreneur's lawful spouse and legitimate children. BOI's current SMART O page and 2025 extension form limit a SMART-S dependant child to under 20. The principal must also show an additional THB 180,000, or equivalent, per included dependant, held for at least 3 months, plus full-stay health insurance.

Por. 5/2568 permits the lawful spouse to work without a separate work permit only within the principal SMART-S holder's approved work rights; the spouse's rights cannot exceed the principal's. The announcement does not give that exemption to children. BOI's live management instructions say a legal child of a SMART-S holder who wants to work must apply for a work permit through the One Stop Service Center under Department of Employment criteria, and the job must not be prohibited for foreign workers.

SMART-S extension: endorsement first, Immigration before expiry

BOI's current management page tells a SMART-S holder to submit the renewal-of-qualification-endorsement application at least 60 days before the SMART Visa expires. That lead time allows for the endorsement review; it is not an automatic extension of permission to stay.

After BOI notifies the holder of the endorsement result, the holder must apply for the Immigration extension at the Thailand Investment and Expat Services Center (TIESC), 6th floor, PARADE Zone, One Bangkok, before the existing SMART Visa expires. BOI also says the notification letter presented to Immigration must still be within 60 days of issue. The endorsement and the Immigration extension are separate steps, so the current passport expiry date remains the stay boundary until Immigration grants the extension.

If the certified startup or work changes

The work privilege is tied to the certified project or activity. Por. 5/2568 requires further certification for changes or additions to the work. Do not assume a new company, activity or job remains inside the existing endorsement.

BOI's current management page tells holders to submit its Qualifications Update Form as soon as possible after a position, title, responsibility, assignment or additional employment changes. That operational notification does not replace the further certification required by Por. 5/2568.

For termination or material changes, use the current SMART Visa Unit process and confirm the Immigration effect before relying on a grace period; the controlling 2025 announcements do not create a universal grace period.

Two separate annual reporting duties

“Annual reporting” is not one task. SMART holders have a yearly Immigration address report and a separate BOI status or eligibility report. BOI's management page gives the Immigration window as 15 days before through 7 days after the due date; a re-entry starts a new one-year count, while an extension alone does not.

Por. 6/2568 describes the BOI report as annual from the permission date, but BOI's operational page currently publishes a September filing schedule. Those official wordings are not identical. Confirm the applicable BOI status-report deadline for the individual file rather than treating one date as universal.

Bangkok location — use the issuance page

BOI's current application and issuance pages checked 22 August 2026 place the SMART Visa Unit at the 6th and 7th floors, Thailand Investment and Expat Services Center, One Bangkok, MRT Lumphini. Older category pages can still show Chamchuri Square; use the current issuance page and confirm before travelling.

Comparing SMART with other long-stay options? See SMART vs LTR and DTV vs SMART for the full side-by-side.

Official sources checked 29 August 2026

• BOI Announcement Por. 5/2568 — qualifications and conditions (English translation)
• BOI Announcement Por. 5/2568 — Thai original
• BOI Announcement Por. 6/2568 — application procedure (English translation)
• BOI Announcement Por. 5/2566 — incorporated 18-industry list
• BOI SMART Visa issuance instructions
• BOI SMART management page — insurance, annual reports and change notifications

Common questions

Related: Working in Thailand legally · LTR route guide · DTV vs SMART · SMART vs LTR