The former Prime Minister of Thailand proposed to launch a visa program for millionaires

Thaksin Shinawatra, the former head of the Thai government, has proposed creating a new long-term visa program for wealthy foreigners. According to the idea, the country can attract about 600,000 investors, each of whom will invest 1 million dollars. In return, participants will receive the opportunity to stay for a long time and legal guarantees for owning real estate.

Goal and scope:

The total revenue under the program may exceed $600 billion. These funds, according to the author's idea, will help:

• reduce the national debt,
• invest in education,
• activate the domestic market and consumption.

Proposed conditions:

• Multiple-entry or long-term visa (for example, for 10 years),
• Permission to acquire full ownership of real estate,
• The possibility of extending the visa status in the future.

Related offers:

Shinawatra also proposes to introduce an additional fee of 300 baht (approximately $9) per international passenger. These proceeds will be used to develop aviation hubs and increase the country's competitiveness in logistics and tourism.

Possible difficulties:

• Lack of precise legal mechanisms for the implementation of the program,
• Uncertainty about land ownership,
• Doubts about the real interest from a large number of investors,
• The slowdown in Thailand's economic growth is less than 2% per year.

In 2023, Thailand was visited by about 1.48 million tourists from Russia, which made Russia the largest European market for Thai tourism. In 2024, this figure increased to about 1.74 million people, an increase of about 18% compared to the previous year. According to the results of the first half of 2025, more than 1.03 million Russians entered the country, which is 12.3% more than in the same period of 2024. In January 2025 alone, Thailand received about 270,000 tourists from Russia, which is 35% higher than in January 2024. According to forecasts, by the end of 2025, the total number of Russian tourists may reach 1.9–2.2 million.