Doing business in Thailand / Alien Employment
As anywhere in the world, foreigners working or doing business in the country are supposed to be in possession of a work permit. Nevertheless, there seems to be a large number of foreign businessmen in the kingdom for either a limited time or rather permanently who go along just being covered by a tourist visa.
While this is not according to the books, Thai authorities seem to view this fact with some tolerance. The attitude appears to be that foreign economic activity is generally seen as benefitting the country and there appears to be a reluctance to stir up too much controversy about foreigners doing business without work permits.
This is in sharp contrast to what is the case in a number of Asian countries ranging from India to the Philippines. In the Philippines, for example, the head of the Commission on Immigration and Deportation has in the passed years made a political issue out of foreigners doing business in the archipelago without having the according visas - last not least to generate publicity to further her presidential ambitions.
In Manila, foreign businessmen have repeatedly been harassed by immigration authorities for lack of conforming to statutes which, however, have been considered out-dated and harmful to the country by much of the governing establishment though not yet removed from the law.
Because in the Philippines, conforming to legal requirements has often been hard for foreign businessmen, this had led to a situation in which foreign businessmen have again and again been shaken down by immigration authorities. In the Philippines, under-the-table-money collected by corrupt immigration authorities has added costs to doing business that have sometimes been far higher than what would have been collected by the state if there would have been realistic regulations.
The above Philippine situation was cited to show that Thai regulations and immigration authorities are generally lenient in handling foreigners who maybe are not just tourists but engaged in some business activities without having according visas and permits. This, of course, doesn’t mean that anybody seriously interested in doing business in Thailand shouldn’t secure all the visas and permits as prescribed by the law. For one thing, the Thai government has made the granting of residence visas and work permits easier throughout the last few years. Applications are now supposed to be dealt with (positively or negatively) within two weeks.
Application for work permits may be filed by either the employer or the employee at the Alien Division of the Labor Department in Bangkok or in any provincial Labor Office in the province where employment will take place.
The validity of a work permit depends on the time specified in the applicant’s visa, hence non-immigrant alien and holders of short term visa should be aware of the expiration dates of their visas.
If an alien enters under the Investment Promotion Law, an application for a work permit must be submitted within thirty days of entry. While an application can be approved before entry the work permit will only be issued after the applicant has entered the country in accordance with the Immigration Law. An applicant may not enter the country as a tourist or in transit.
Regardless of for how long the work permit is issued, it will initially only be valid for the period that the alien’s non-immigrant visa allows him to stay in the country under the Immigration Law, and then is subject to renewal provided that the visa itself is renewed or extended. A work permit must be renewed before its expiration date, or else it will automatically lapse and a new application will have to be made.
Application Procedures
If an alien applies for a work permit, the following papers are to be submitted together with his application form:
* Residence Certificate or Alien Identification Card, if alien is a resident
* Passport and Visa
* Physician’s certification of the alien’s mental soundness
* Certificate of Employment
* Three passport photographs, front view, without hat, taken not over six months before application
* An organizational chart giving the names and positions of all the employees in the company
* The company’s registration documents from the Trade Registration Department, showing the business classification and purpose, the name of partners, managers and directors.
* The company’s list of stockholders certified by the Trade Registration Department
If the employer applies for his employee’s work permit, an authorization of the alien needs to be presented together with an Agreement of Employment or Employment Contract. It should be filed by the employer before the alien arrives in Thailand. The employer should likewise ensure the appearance of the alien upon his arrival in Thailand. However, a work permit applied by the employer will only be issued upon entry of the alien employee in Thailand. However, an alien who is allowed to work by the Thai government for promotion of industrial investments may start working immediately without permit, provided he applies for the work permit within 30 days from his arrival in Thailand.
An alien may not engage in any function other than that described in the work permit which will list the nature of work, the employer, the place of work, the length of time etc. Permit holders must obtain prior permission to change their occupation or place of work.
Decisions to issue or not to issue a work permit is to be made two weeks after application. The filing fee for work permits is 11,000 Baht per year. If application is for less than one year, the fee is proportionate.
Filing for extension requires the presentation of the same documents, plus evidence of the applicant’s compliance with the conditions stipulated in his earlier permit.
An expatriate may not own or register a car and legally cannot sign any official or company documents, or receive any salary, until the work permit has been issued.
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