The B category is for those coming to work for an employer in Thailand and for those coming to conduct business or invest. Holding it does not permit work: a separate work permit must be applied for first. Starting work before the permit is issued is an offence for both the worker and the employer.
The applicant does not apply alone. A Thai company must sponsor, and that company must itself meet the criteria: registered capital, the required ratio of Thai employees to each foreign national, and tax and social security filings in order. Most refusals come from the company's position, not the applicant's.
We check the company first, because filing before it qualifies achieves nothing.
The order of the steps
- Check the sponsoring company: registered capital, Thai employees, and the tax and accounting filings on record.
- The company applies to the Department of Employment for permission to employ a foreign national and obtains the letter needed for the visa application.
- The applicant applies for the visa at a Thai embassy or consulate abroad.
- After entry, the work permit application is filed.
- Work may begin only once the permit is issued.
- File the extension of stay before permission expires, and obtain a re-entry permit before every departure.
Documents from the sponsoring company
- Company certificate and shareholder list issued within six months.
- The latest audited and filed financial statements.
- Withholding tax and VAT filings for recent periods.
- Employer registration and the list of Thai employees on social security.
- A map and photographs of the premises.
Documents from the applicant
- A passport with the remaining validity the rules require.
- Degree certificates and employment references, in some cases legalised in the issuing country.
- A medical certificate in the prescribed form.
- Photographs, 4 x 6 cm.
- A police clearance certificate where the deciding office requires one.
The capital and Thai-employee ratio requirements are administrative rules that change periodically and differ by sector. Send us the company details and the current criteria can be checked.