Investment/EEC visa and privileges

Chatrudee Theparat

The cabinet approved EEC visa and EEC privileges in a bid to facilitate investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

Prime Minister Sreetha Thavisin said the cabinet approved a proposal of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office for four types of the EEC visa with each of ten years term in order to facilitate foreign investment in EEC.

Prime Minister Sreetha Thavisin

The EEC will offer the EEC visa for investment in high technology investment including four type visas; specialist (EEC Visa-S); executive (EEC Visa-E); professional (EEC Visa-P); spouse and followers (Visa-O).

Those investors will be allowed to enjoy an automatic “EEC work permit” and a flat rate of 17 % of income tax.

Entrepreneurs can submit the EEC visa application via EEC’s One stop Service (OSS).

Deputy government spokeswoman Rudklao Intawong Suwankiri said the cabinet also approved for the EEC to announce its promotional privileges to drive investment in the EEC which effectively date back to January 1, 2024.

The EEC visa and privileges are aimed to help the government to drive investment in the EEC to reach the target of 500 billion baht in five years.

The objective of the plan is to achieve a goal to bring in a total real investment 500 billion baht in five years, fostering new investments valued at 100 billion per annum, and EEC’s GDP to expand 6.3%.

Currently, its real investment in the EEC is about 70 billion baht a year. The agency has planned to attract investors to reach its actual investment of 100 billion baht.

The government is confident that the real investment of 100 billion baht this year will be achieved, thanks to supporting factors of geo-politics, which leads the movement of supply chain manufacturers.