Révisé par ThaiLawOnline, un cabinet d'avocats thaïlandais agréé exerçant en Thaïlande depuis 2006. Avocate thaïlandaise en charge du dossier : Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., licence du barreau thaïlandais 3149/2556.
Dernière mise à jour :
Permis de travail (ใบอนุญาตทำงาน, bai anuyat tham ngan, sometimes shortened to WP) is the licence issued by the Department of Employment under the Foreigners’ Working Management Emergency Decree B.E. 2560 (2017) that allows a foreigner to work in Thailand for a named employer, in a named position, at a named place. It is separate from the visa: the visa lets a person stay, the permit lets that person work. Almost every foreigner employed by a Thai company, and every foreign directeur who actively runs one, needs a permit before the first day of work, and the permit is tied to that job.
Table des matières
What the decree requires
The Emergency Decree of 2017, amended in 2018, replaced the older Working of Alien Act. It defines work broadly as using physical energy or knowledge, whether or not for pay, so unpaid help in a friend’s business is still work. The applicant must already hold a Non-Immigrant visa, in most cases the Visa d'affaires Non-B; a tourist entry or exemption de visa is not accepted.
The permit is issued by the provincial employment office of the Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour, for one year (3,000 baht) or two years (6,000 baht), but never beyond the applicant’s permitted stay, so the permit and the prorogation de séjour are renewed together. Processing can take several weeks. The permit records the employer, position, job description and province; work outside that description is an offence.
What the employer must show
Capital and staff. Thaï société à responsabilité limitée normally needs 2,000,000 baht of paid-up capital for each foreigner it sponsors. Four permanent Thai employees per foreigner (the rapport de 4 pour 1), all registered with social security, is a separate test and a different authority applies it: it is item 2.1(5) of the criteria table annexed to Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568 of 23 January 2025, which Immigration applies to the one-year extension of stay rather than to the permit. The same item relaxes the ratio to one Thai employee per foreigner, and excuses the 2,000,000 baht of capital and the financial statements, for exactly three structures: a representative office, a regional office and a multinational branch office. A startup reaches one to one through the other limb of item 2.1, which covers the eighteen targeted industries and startups certified by DEPA or the National Innovation Agency, asks for a foreign employee earning at least 50,000 baht a month and a company with at least 1,000,000 baht of registered capital, and applies the one-to-one ratio to a startup once five years have passed since the company was registered. A foreigner married to a Thai national needs half of each: 1,000,000 baht and two Thai staff. Neither figure scales without limit: for a company limited the regulation works on capital, and that route stops at ten unless the employer meets one of four tests on tax paid, export earnings, tourist numbers or Thai headcount. The headcount route in the regulation, one foreigner per four Thai employees and not more than three, is clause 6 and applies where the employer is a natural person rather than a company. The criteria are clause 5 of the Department of Employment Regulation on the criteria for considering permission for aliens to work B.E. 2547. It was made under the older Working of Alien Act, and the Emergency Decree of 2017 keeps existing subordinate rules in force so far as they do not conflict with it and until rules made under it replace them. A company under the Treaty of Amity needs 3,000,000 baht. BOI-promoted companies are exempt from the ratio and file through the One Stop Service Centre.
Documents. Passport with the Non-B visa, photographs, a medical certificate, a CV and degree certificates translated into Thai, the employment contract, and the company file: affidavit, shareholder list, VAT registration, latest audited accounts and the list of foreign employees. A Bangkok application goes to the Department of Employment office for the district where the company is registered. The common mistake is starting work while the application is pending, which is an offence for both sides.
Penalties, and who does not need one
A foreigner working without a permit faces a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 baht, deportation and a bar on new applications; the employer faces 10,000 to 100,000 baht per foreigner, with imprisonment possible for a repeat offence. Immigration treats the arrest as grounds to cancel the extension of stay.
Some categories work lawfully without the standard permit: holders of the LTR visa (a digital work permit), SMART visa holders in approved activities, and DTV holders working remotely for employers outside Thailand. Directors who only attend board meetings and sign resolutions are generally not treated as working, but a director who manages staff or signs contracts day to day is. The list of prohibited occupations still applies whatever the visa.
Foire aux questions
Can a foreigner work in Thailand without a work permit?
Only in narrow cases: LTR and SMART visa holders, DTV holders working remotely for a foreign employer, and a few exempt categories such as diplomats. Everyone else needs a permit before starting, and volunteering counts as work.
Combien coûte un permis de travail en Thaïlande ?
The government fee is 3,000 baht for a one-year permit and 6,000 baht for two years, plus about 1,000 baht for each later change to the permit. The employer must also meet the capital and Thai-staff requirements, which are the real cost.
Can I work for a foreign company from Thailand on a tourist visa?
Not lawfully on a tourist entry. Remote work for an employer abroad is tolerated only under the DTV or LTR framework; on a tourist visa or visa exemption it is unpermitted work, even if no Thai client or salary is involved.
Voir aussi : Ratio d'employés thaïlandais et étrangers de 4 pour 1, contrat de travail, BOI, Traité d'amitié, et les guides sur permis de travail à Bangkok ET work permit violations and penalties.
Actualités juridiques thaïlandaises, gratuites par courriel
Des informations claires et concises sur les changements législatifs thaïlandais concernant les étrangers : propriété, visas, mariage, affaires et testaments. Un court courriel par mois, envoyé par un cabinet d’avocats établi depuis 2006. Zéro spam, désabonnement possible à tout moment.