This country guide is a brief overview of the main immigration, payroll, employment tax and manpower regulations which enterprises need to be aware of when deploying people into Thailand.
Kindly note that all information in this guide is accurate as of 1 July 2020.
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Country Guide: Thailand
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1. Introduction to the guide
Thailand is a rapidly-emerging market, and the immigration, tax, payroll and employment regulations are updated frequently. Generally, there are no regional variations in regulations across Thailand.
Few official updates are published in English, so many foreign enterprises choose to partner with local outsourced service providers to ensure they stay up-to-date with the latest compliance requirements.
The full regulatory requirements are complex, and this guide is not intended to make you an expert in all areas. Different rules and obligations may apply to each situation based on your business, strategy, and the profile of your people.
You are strongly recommended to seek further advice before taking action.
*Please refer to the Annex A at the end of this guide for the glossary of Thailand tax and social security forms.
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2. Assignment timeline
Candidate selection
Assignment/relocation benefits
Define roles and duties
Assignment cost estimation
What to action in Singapore What to action in Thailand
Pre-departure Relocation
Repatriation Assignment
Submit Pre- Work Permit Approval letter (WP3 letter)
Apply for Non-
immigrant B visa Activate Thai
payroll
Cease Singapore payroll Upon arrival in Thailand,
foreign national should arrange to visit any hospital in Thailand to obtain the medical certificate issued by Thai physician.
Annual summary of personal income tax return (PND 1 Gor)
Withholding tax certificate
Workmen Compensation
Monthly tax withholding
Monthly social security fund contribution Submit the work permit
application and medical certificate to secure the
work permit
Apply Income Tax Identification Number
Register with social security fund and workmen’s compensation fund.
Visa and work permit cancellation
Deregistration of Social Security Fund Extend the long-
term visa
Annual personal income tax return filing
(PND 91/ 90)
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3. Immigration requirements
Immigration rules in Thailand are complex, and processes can be lengthy if the correct procedures are not followed, or if the initial application is incorrect. Many enterprises expanding into Thailand therefore engage outsourced immigration service providers to navigate the complex administration.
There are various types of visa which allow foreign nationals to enter Thailand for tourism, occasional business trips, longer working arrangements, or to accompany working family members. Companies and individuals should ensure that they obtain the relevant visa type to ensure compliance.
In order for foreign nationals to live and work in Thailand, they are required to obtain a Non-Immigrant B visa (to stay and perform business activities in Thailand), work permit (for work legally in Thailand) and long term visa extension (if stay is expected to exceed 90 days).
Thailand company to assess their eligibility to apply work permit for a foreign national
Thailand company to submit Pre- Work Permit
Approval application to the Ministry of
Labour, Employment
Department (MOL)
MOL will process and issue Pre-Work Permit Approval (WP3) letter if
application is approved
Foreign national to apply Non-
Immigrant B visa upon receipt of the WP3 letter and
supporting documents from
Thai entity
Foreign national to visit any
hospital in Thailand to
obtain the medical certificate from
the Thai physician
Thailand company to apply for long
term visa extension to Immigration Bureau if foreign
national stay in Thailand is expected to exceed 90 days Thailand
company to submit work
permit application and
medical certificate to MOL to apply for the foreign national work
permit In practice, the whole work permit application process may take approximately up to 2.5 months
Arrival in Thailand
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Business visitors
Foreign nationals visiting Thailand to perform any of the following business activities1 should apply for a Non- Immigrant B visa:
1) Holding or attending meetings, lectures, seminars, trainings 2) Holding or attending an exhibition of art or culture
3) Providing an opinion 4) Speaking at a conference
5) Participating in a sports competition
If the foreign national expects to conduct any business-related activities beyond the scope listed, a work permit or an urgent work permit (whichever applicable) should also be applied.
However, it should be noted that the Thailand government encourages companies to hire locally unless such talent cannot be sourced locally. Thailand has strict guidelines on the company’s work permit quota, visa extension quota and list of occupations2 that foreign nationals cannot apply for.
Further, please note that in practice, work permit and long-term visa extension applications in Thailand are submitted manually.
If the Thailand company did not engage any immigration service provider, they should contact the following authorities for the relevant application forms:
• Thailand Immigration Bureau3 for the visa application form;
• Ministry of Labour, Employment Department4 for the work permit application form
The application form, necessary supporting documents required for the application and associated
application fees would depend on the type of business entity of the sponsoring Thai company (e.g. Limited Company, Representative Office, Branch Office etc).
1 For more information on the permissible business activities under B Visa, please refer to this section 3 of the Foreigners’ Working Management Emergency Decree (No.2) webpage: https://www.doe.go.th/prd/assets/upload/files/legal_th/92b6c499912462207f579dea958cf8a2.pdf
2 For more information on the list of occupations that foreign national cannot apply, please refer to this MOL webpage (in Thai):
https://www.mol.go.th/employee/occupation_prohibited/
3 Thailand Immigration Bureau website: https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?page_id=2815
4 Ministry of Labour, Employment Department https://www.mol.go.th/en/
