The most common misunderstanding is that a business visa allows the holder to start work. It does not. A visa permits entry and stay; work requires a separate work permit. Working before the permit is issued is an offence for the worker and for the employer.
The order cannot be rearranged either. The company must exist and meet the criteria before it can apply for anyone. How many work permits a company can support depends on its registered capital and how many Thai employees it has.
We act both for the company, which is the applicant, and for the foreign national who holds the permission, including extensions of stay and the reporting that follows.
What this group covers
- Visas: advice on which category fits the situation, and preparation of the supporting documents.
- Non-Immigrant B, for employment and business.
- Non-Immigrant O, for spouses and family of Thai nationals, and for retirement.
- Work permits: first applications, amendments and renewals.
The order of the steps
- The company must be registered, with the registered capital and Thai staff the rules require.
- The company applies to the Department of Employment for permission to employ a foreign national.
- The foreign national applies for the Non-Immigrant 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.
- Apply to extend the stay before the current permission expires, and report every ninety days.
Deadlines that are hard to put right
- Overstaying carries a daily fine and can lead to a re-entry ban.
- Letting the work permit expire makes every day worked afterwards unauthorised.
- Changing employer or position without amending the permit first.
- Missing the ninety-day report, which is finable even while the stay itself is valid.
What to bring
- A passport with enough validity left, and the page showing the latest entry stamp.
- The departure card and the residence notification receipt, if you have them.
- Company certificate, shareholder list and the latest financial statements.
- Withholding tax filings and social security records for the staff.
- Degree certificates and employment references, for positions where qualifications must be shown.
The criteria and the required documents are administrative rules that change periodically and differ between offices. This page is general guidance; tell us the details and the current rules can be checked.