The principal law governing the employment of foreigners in Thailand is the Alien Employment Act B.E. 2521 (1978).
The Act does not apply to foreigners working in the following capacities:
| 1. |
as members of a diplomatic mission; |
| 2. |
as members of a consular mission; |
| 3. |
as representatives of member countries and officials of the United Nations and its specialized agencies; |
| 4. |
as personal servants coming from foreign countries to work regularly for persons in 1.,2. or 3.; |
| 5. |
as persons who perform duty or mission under an agreement concluded between the Government of Thailand and a foreign Government or international organization; |
| 6. |
as persons who perform a duty or mission for the benefit of education in culture, art, sport or other activities as may be prescribed by Royal Decree; and |
| 7. |
as persons permitted by the Government of Thailand to enter and perform any duty or mission. |
Restricted occupations
Under the Act certain occupations are reserved exclusively for Thai nationals, including engineering, architecture, accounting, law, brokerage and carpentry, amongst others.
List of occupations limited to Thai nationals.
| 1. |
Manual work; |
| 2. |
Work in agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry or fishery excluding specialized work in each particular branch or farm of supervision; |
| 3. |
bricklaying, carpentry of other construction work; |
| 4. |
wood carving; |
| 5. |
driving mechanically-propelled carried or driving non-mechanically-propelled vehicle, excluding international aircraft piloting; |
| 6. |
shop attendance; |
| 7. |
auction; |
| 8. |
supervising, auditing or giving services in accountancy excluding internal auditing on occasions; |
| 9. |
cutting of polishing jewellery; |
| 10. |
haircutting, hairdressing or beauty treatment; |
| 11. |
cloth weaving by hand; |
| 12. |
weaving of mats or making products from reeds, rattan, hemp, straw or bamboo pellicle; |
| 13. |
making of Sa paper by hand; |
| 14. |
lacquerware making; |
| 15. |
making of Thai musical instruments; |
| 16. |
nielloware making; |
| 17. |
making products from gold, silver or gold-copper alloy; |
| 18. |
bronzeware making; |
| 19. |
making Thai dolls; |
| 20. |
making mattress of quilt blanket; |
| 21. |
alms bowls casting; |
| 22. |
making silk products by hand; |
| 23. |
casting Buddha images; |
| 24. |
knife making; |
| 25. |
making paper or cloth umbrellas; |
| 26. |
shoemaking; |
| 27. |
hat-making; |
| 28. |
brokerage or agency excluding brokerage or agency in international trade business; |
| 29. |
engineering work in civil engineering branch concerning designing and calculation, organization, research, planning, testing, construction supervision or advising excluding specialized work; |
| 30. |
architectural work concerning designing, drawing of plan, estimation, construction directing or advising; |
| 31. |
garments making; |
| 32. |
pottery or ceramic ware making; |
| 33. |
cigarette making by hand; |
| 34. |
guide or conducting sightseeing tours; |
| 35. |
street vending; |
| 36. |
type-setting of Thai characters by hand; |
| 37. |
drawing and twisting silk-thread by hand |
| 38. |
office of secretarial work; |
| 39. |
legal or lawsuit services. |
Work permits
The Act provides that a foreigner may engage in work which is not a restricted occupation only upon receipt of a work permit from the Director – General of the Department of Employment or his entrusted official. An exception is provided in case of necessary and urgent work.
Where a foreigner is permitted entry to work in Thailand under the Investment Promotion Act or other laws e.g. the Petroleum Act of 1971 or the Industrial Estates Authority Act of 1979, the Act still requires the foreigner to submit an application for a work permit. The application must be submitted within thirty days from the date of the foreigner’s entry into Thailand or thirty days from the day he is aware that he has been granted permission to work if he is already in Thailand. The foreigner is allowed however to work in Thailand pending the issue of his work permit.
A permit holder must keep the permit with him or at the place of work during work hours in order that it may be readily shown upon inspection. A permit holder shall not engage in work other than that specified in the permit or change the locality or place of work from that specified in the permit without first obtaining approval.
Work permit conditions.
The Director - General of the Department of Employment may prescribe conditions for foreigners to comply with in order to obtain a work permit under the Act, except where a foreigner is permitted entry to work in Thailand under the Investment Promotion Act or other laws.
The most current conditions came into force on 8 October 2004. Applications received prior to 8 October 2004 will be considered under the conditions in effect prior to this date.
The current conditions under which a work permit will be granted include, but are not limited to:
| 1. |
For foreigners working for an employer that has paid up registered capital of at least Baht 2 million, for every Baht 2 million in paid up registered capital one permit can be issued.
For foreigners working for a foreign juristic person carrying on business in Thailand that has invested money from abroad not less than Baht three million, for every Baht 3 million one permit can be issued. Where a foreign juristic person that entered Thailand to carry on business prior to October 30, 2002 has no evidence of bringing in money from abroad, consideration shall be based on the size of the investment indicated in bank statements for the last six months. Where the total amount is Baht three million or more, for every Baht three million one permit can be issued.
If the foreigner has a Thai spouse and the marriage is registered under the law and the couple cohabitate openly as husband and wife, the investment required per permit shall be reduced by one half.
A maximum of ten foreigners may be granted a work permit under the above conditions, except as may be appropriate in any of the following cases:
- Working for an employer who has paid at least Baht 3 million in income tax to the government in the past year
- Working with an employer in the export business that has brought not less than Baht 30 million in foreign currency into the country in the past year
- Working with an employer in the tour business that has brought not less five thousand foreign tourists to Thailand in the past year
- Working for an employer that employs at least 100 Thai nationals.
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| 2. |
For foreigners working for an employer that has paid up registered capital of at least Baht 2 million or a foreign juristic person carrying on business in Thailand that has invested money from abroad not less than Baht three million, in any of the following cases the limitations above regarding the number of foreigners shall not apply
- Foreigners using technology in their work that Thai people are unable to do or where the domestic labor market cannot meet the demand, whereby the technology shall be transferred to at least two Thai people within the prescribed period;
- Foreigners working by applying specialized knowledge and skills for work to be accomplished within a definite period of time
- Foreigners working in the entertainment, theatrical or music business, where the work is occasional and for a definite period of time
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| 3. |
Foreigners working for a foundation, association or any other organization whose objectives are non-profit making and in the interests of the society as a whole. |
| 4. |
Foreigners working for a representative office of a foreign company engaged in international trade may obtain work permits under the following conditions:
- for giving advice in various aspects about the goods of the head office distributed to an agent or user, dissemination of various information about the goods or services of the head office and the reporting of business movements in Thailand to the head office: a maximum of two foreigners is permitted.
- for sourcing goods or services in Thailand, quality control of goods that the head office buys or employs to produce in Thailand: a maximum of five foreigners may be permitted except in the case where the representative office can source goods or service for the head office to purchase and the head office has ordered goods or services from producers in Thailand with a value of not less than Baht 100 million in the past year
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| 5. |
The regional office of a foreign multinational can receive permission to employ not more than 5 foreigners unless the regional office has brought not less than 10 million into Thailand to meet expenses in the last year. The regional office must meet conditions similar to the rules for establishing a regional office contained in Regulations of the Office of the Prime Minister 1992. |
| 6. |
Foreigners working for the government, a state enterprise or public organization. |
| 7. |
For foreigners entering Thailand to work in financial institutions under the supervision of the Bank of Thailand or the Ministry of Finance or government agencies that supervises financial institutions, permission shall be granted according to the number allowed in the certificate issued by the relevant authority. |
Visas for work permits
Foreigners who wish to take up employment in Thailand must enter on a non-immigrant visa and then apply for a work permit and a long stay visa.
Various categories of non-immigrant visa are currently provided to meet the needs and qualifications of individual business people. These include business visa (category B), the most common visa used to apply for work permits and investment and business visa (category IB) for foreigners working under investment projects promoted by the Board of Investment.
Non-Immigrant visas can be obtained from all Thai Embassies and Consulates provided that the relevant documents are submitted.
Validity of work permits
A work permit is generally issued for a one year period and may be renewed every year thereafter. If the duration of employment is less than one year, a work permit will be granted only for the period requested.
The validity of a work permit will also not exceed the validity date of the visa’s "permit to stay".
Foreigners residing in Thailand for more than 90 consecutive days are required to register their address with the Immigration Bureau every 90 days. This requirement applies to all foreigners, including holders of work permits and long-term visas.
Renewal of work permit
An application for renewal of a work permit must be submitted before the expiration date of a valid work permit. If a work permit has expired, another application must be completed for a new work permit.
If a work permit is not granted or extended, or is not allowed for a change of work or location, the applicant is entitled to appeal the decision to the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare within 30 days. A decision will be rendered within 60 days.
Necessary and urgent work
A foreigner who is permitted to enter Thailand temporarily under the immigration law in order to engage in work which is necessary and urgent for a period not longer than fifteen days does not require a work permit. The foreigner may commence work only after he has notified the Director-General of the Department of Employment or his entrusted official in writing in the form prescribed by the Director - General. Guidelines have been issued to define work that is necessary and urgent.
One-Stop Service Centre for Visas and Work Permits
The One-Stop Service Centre for Visa and Work Permits helps facilitate foreigners by granting visa extensions, re-entry permits and work permits within 3 hours.
Persons that may apply at the One Stop Service Center for Visas and Work Permits include:
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Executives or experts that have privileges under the Investment Promotion Act of 1997, the Petroleum Act of 1971 or the Industrial Estates Authority Act of 1979 |
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General investors, who bring in not less than Baht 2 million for investment, may obtain one year approval, |
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General investors, who bring in not less than Baht 10 million for investment, may obtain approval for two years. |
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Executives and experts working at a company with registered capital or total assets of not less than Baht 30 million. |
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Journalists that come to work as the foreign press, shall submit a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a copy of ID Press Card issued by the Department of Public Relations. |
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Research and development experts concerning science and technology. |
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IT experts. |
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Bank officials of foreign banks with a branch or representative office certified by the Bank of Thailand. |
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Foreigners who come to work in Thailand on a necessary and urgent basis for a period not longer than 15 days. |
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Foreigners working for representative offices of international trading firms or regional offices of trans-national corporations. |
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Foreigners working in regional operating headquarters. |
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Foreigners approved by Cabinet by publication in the Government Gazette. |
Australians working in Thailand
Under the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (“TAFTA”) that came into effect on 1 January 2005, Thailand will relax a number of the conditions relating to visas and work permits for Australian business people. Australia is the first country to receive such privileges. The 39 occupations currently restricted to Thais only are not affected by TAFTA.
Business visitors
Australian business visitors to Thailand will no longer require a work permit to attend meetings or seminars and meet business contacts for stays of up to 15 days. An APEC Business Travel Card holder may stay for up to 90 days.
Thailand will explore the possibility of extending the period for which Australian business visitors who do not hold an APEC Business Travel Card to 90 days.
An Australian business visitor holding a non-immigrant visa can apply for and receive a temporary stay and a work permit for a period of up to 90 days, which may be extended for a total period of more than one year from the arrival date.
Inter-corporate transferees and contractual service suppliers
Australian inter corporate transferees may be granted a work permit for an initial period of 1 year and then renewed on a yearly basis for up to 5 years. The employer must not have more than 10 foreign employees and must have brought at least Baht 3 million in foreign currency into Thailand per foreign employee.
Thailand has agreed to explore the possibility of extending the initial period a work permit is granted for from 1 year to 3 years with a total period of stay up to 10 years.
Australian contractual service suppliers providing services to an Australian or Thai company may be granted a work permit on a yearly basis for up to 3 years if the employer has not more than 10 foreign employees and at least Baht 2 million in paid up capital per one Australian employee.
A contractual service supplier is defined in TAFTA to include an Australian national that is a qualified manager, executive or specialist service provider, working as an employee of a Thai company with substantive business operations.
Thailand has agreed to explore the possibility of eliminating management needs test requirements for Australian intra-corporate transferees and contractual service suppliers.
TAFTA does not require the employer to satisfy a minimum ratio of Thai to foreign employees, a condition often imposed to obtain a work permit.
Thailand will allow intra-corporate transferees and contractual service suppliers with work permits to attend meetings or seminars and meet business contacts anywhere in Thailand. The Department of Employment must be informed of the intention to have such flexibility when applying for the initial work permit. Australian companies will be able to apply for a work permit for an employee before he enters Thailand.
Spouses of Australians working in Thailand will also be permitted to work in Thailand as managers, executives or specialists.
One-Stop Service Centre for Visas and Work Permits
Access to the One Stop Service Centre for Visas and Work Permits will be granted to:
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Australian investors having fully paid up capital of at least Baht 2 million. |
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Australian intra-corporate transferees of a branch or affiliate that brings not less than Baht 3 million in foreign currencies into Thailand. |
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Australian contractual service suppliers of a juristic person having fully paid up registered capital of at least Baht 2 million. |
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