Yingluck Shinawatra has been given a 10-year visa from the British government, according to BBC Thai.
“She can enter and leave England anytime but each stay in the kingdom must not exceed six months,” BBC Thai said in a Thai-language report, quoting a source.
The travel arrangements of the former prime minister since she left the country last year have been a subject of scrutiny in Thailand. Related agencies have told the public they are doing everything in their power to bring her back to serve time.
Earlier, many speculated she might have claimed asylum in the UK.
Spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no information.
"[The MFA] only learned from the news report. The ministry itself has no information about this," she said.
The Foreign Ministry said it had already cancelled Ms Yingluck’s passports. Sources said she might be holding a passport of a European country.
A long-term visa is better than an asylum in Yingluck's case since claiming the status usually takes a long time during which the applicant cannot go abroad, work or open bank accounts.
Yingluck left the country on Aug 24 of last year, the day before the Supreme Court was to issue its ruling on whether she was guilty of dereliction of duty over the rice policies of her government. The following month, the court issued its ruling in absentia, stating that she had failed to stop fraud and corruption involving the rice-pledging policy and sentencing her to a 5-year jail term.
