Work Permit

Are you looking forward to working in Thailand, but are stuck or aren’t clear about Thai work permit application procedure, or the documents required, or the conditions associated with it? If yes, you’ve come to the right page! This page would talk about several aspects such as, what is a work permit, the documents required, the application process, and also the conditions associated with it.

A Thai work permit is official permission that allows a non-native Thai to legally work and operate a business in Thailand, as either a skilled professional or an employer. Working in the Kingdom of Thailand without a work permit attracts severe consequences, including a fine or imprisonment. Usually, it is the company’s registered capitalization that determines the success of a work permit application. Companies hiring foreign nationals and applying for a work permit must meet the following criteria.

• The company must have a fully paid-up registered capital of at least 2 million baht. But, in case the applicant is a foreign national married to a Thai lady, the registered capital may only be 1 million baht.
• However, on the other hand, in case of a foreign company operating in Thailand, applying for a work permit for any of its foreign employees requires the company to bring at least 3 million baht per employee in the country.

Organizations falling under the above category are allowed to apply for a maximum of 10 work permits. However, BOI promoted companies are an exception in this regard. Thailand’s Board of Investment can approve special rights to promoted companies on the issuance of work permits, and visa for foreign nationals, working as technical specialists on the projects.

Prior to obtaining a Thailand work permit, it is necessary for the applicant to obtain a Thai non-immigrant visa, before his/ her entry in Thailand. BLS helps and guides you through the procedure of applying for a non-immigrant visa in your country of residence, or a country near to Thailand. Besides, BLS would also help you convert your tourist visa to a non-immigrant visa without requiring you to leave Thailand. Here’s more to the steps involved in obtaining a Thailand work permit.

Here’s what you’d require to obtain a non-immigrant visa.

• The applicant’s company requests the concerned authorities to issue you a non-immigrant visa, so as to clear the road to apply for a Thai work permit.
• The applicant has been offered a job by a company in Thailand, or he/ she starts a Thai company to employ yourself.
• The applicant’s company shows trust and confidence in the applicant as a good and moralistic human being, respectful towards Thailand’s culture and the laws of the nation.

It is necessary for the applicant to apply for this visa within 30 days of your date of departure from Thailand. The Consulate or the consular office will ask for financial statements and copies of the registration documents from your company.

To obtain a Thai work permit, applicants must submit the following documents.

• Non-Immigrant Visa
• The copy of every page of your passport, along with the applicant’s signature on the each copy.
• Signed copy of the educational degree.
• Signed copy of the transcript.
• Departure Card TM.6
• Signed copy of the certificate and licenses that the applicant holds.
• The applicant’s CV or Resume, describing the applicant’s past positions experience, duties, professional performance, length and place of employment in detail.
• The applicant must submit the marriage certificate (if married to a Thai National). This also includes submitting the original and signed photocopies, along with the Thai wife’s Thai ID card, household registration, and birth certificates of children.
• 3 photographs of 5 x 6 centimeters in size (not passport photos). The photographs must show full face of the applicant. The applicant must be wearing business attire (no hat and some jurisdictions demand the applicant to wear a suit and tie) in the photograph. The photograph must be clicked within six (6) months before applying for Thai work permit.

Thailand’s government authorities may require all of the above documents to be certified by the embassy of the applicant’s country, along with a declaration that every document is a true and original copy. This would require paying an authentication fee to the embassy. Besides, the government may also ask you to translate the documents in Thai.

The applicant’s employee too needs to submit the following documents.

• Commercial Registration Department Certificate proving that the organization is duly registered as a juristic person, furnishing the name of the Managing Director and/or Director, along with its objections and the registered capital. *
• VAT Certificate – Phor Phor 20 *
• Social Security Payment filing
• Shareholders List certified by the Commercial Registration Department. *
• Factory License (if needed) issued by Factory Department, Ministry of Industry. *
• VAT filing – Phor Phor 30

Withholding Tax – Phor Ngor Dor 1