Work Permit in Thailand (Foreigners’ Working Management Emergency Decree)

ตรวจสอบโดย ThaiLawOnline สำนักงานกฎหมายไทยที่ได้รับใบอนุญาตและดำเนินกิจการในประเทศไทยตั้งแต่ปี พ.ศ. 2549 ทนายความผู้รับผิดชอบสำนวน: วิชุดา อรรถเมธากุล, น.ม., ใบอนุญาตเนติบัณฑิตไทย เลขที่ 3149/2556.

อัปเดตล่าสุดเมื่อ 5 กันยายน 2569

ใบอนุญาตทำงาน (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 director who actively runs one, needs a permit before the first day of work, and the permit is tied to that job.

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 วีซ่าธุรกิจประเภทที่ไม่ใช่ B; a tourist entry or visa exemption 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 การขยายเวลาพำนัก 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. A Thai company limited normally needs 2,000,000 baht of paid-up capital for each foreigner it sponsors and four Thai employees per permit (the 4:1 ratio), all registered with social security. A foreigner married to a Thai national needs half of each: 1,000,000 baht and two Thai staff. 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.

คำถามที่พบบ่อย

ดูเพิ่มเติม: 4:1 Thai-to-foreign employee ratio, employment contract, บอย, สนธิสัญญาไมตรี, and the guides on ใบอนุญาตทำงานในกรุงเทพฯ และ work permit violations and penalties.