Non-immigrant "b" Visa & Work Permit Information

[beaner]

I've been having a hellova time trying to find succinct information regarding securing a Non-Immigrant "B" Visa and Work Permit in Thailand. So, I went about gathering the information in one document for myself.

If anyone has input on the information below please do let me know and I'll edit it to make sure it's correct - understand that the info I found on the "Interwebs" has differed slightly from site to site, opinion to opinion, and even government agency to government agency (!) so what is written below may not be completely accurate - bear with me! It has literally taken me DAYS to pull this together.

Visa Information

Foreigners are required to obtain a visa if going to Thailand for business. The foreigner must already have a Non-Immigrant Visa to apply for a work permit. A foreigner applies for a non-immigrant visa when he/she wants to stay or work in Thailand. This visa has several categories including a business visa ("B"), details below.

Two avenues are available:

A. Employer submission

B. Foreign employee submission

NOTE: It is recommended that the applicant apply for visa at the Thai Embassy/ Consulate in the country where he/she has residence.

Item A. has been intentionally left out

B. Foreign employee submission for a Non-Immigrant "B" Visa

1. Requirements for Obtaining an Entry Visa to Thailand:

A. A valid passport must be submitted with an application form. The passport must be valid for traveling to Thailand and must have at least 6 months validity remaining.

B. The completed and signed visa application form for each passport (contact your local Embassy or Consulate).

C. One recent passport-size photograph (4 x 6 cm) of the applicant taken within the past 6 mos.

D. Copy of the employment contract – to include applicant's salary - which acts as evidence of adequate finance for the duration of stay in Thailand (20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family).

E. Letter of Employment from the company indicating the applicant's position, length of employment, salary and purpose of visit(s) to Thailand (see attached letter to be edited, stamped with the company seal).

F. Corporate documents of the employing company (must be signed by authorized director and affixed with the seal of the company):

1. business registration and business license

2. list of shareholders

3. company profile

4. details of business operation

5. list of foreign workers stating names, nationalities and positions

6. map indicating location of the company

7. balance sheet, statement of Income Tax and Business Tax (Por Ngor Dor 50 and Por Ngor Dor 30 of the latest year)

8. value-added tax registration (Por Por 20)

2. Validity of Visa

Visa must be used within 90 days from the date of its issuance. Should the applicant be unable to enter Thailand within this period, an extension of another 90 days may be granted at the discretion of the consular officer issuing the visa, and a new fee will be charged. The total of validity must not exceed six months.

Items 3. through 5. Intentionally left out

6. Period of Stay In Thailand by Visa Classification:

· Non-Immigrant Visas: Issued for 90 days stay in Thailand. Thai consulates may grant such visas at their own discretion. No extension will be granted.

· Holder of this type of visa is entitled to stay in Thailand for a maximum period of 90 days. He or she may apply for an extension of stay at the Office of the Immigration Bureau and may be granted such extension for a period of one year from the date of first entry into Thailand.

· The applicant must submit an additional supporting letter specifying the purpose of their visit Non-Immigrant visa is issued for business, research and other work related purposes. A Tax Clearance Certificate is required at departure from the country – this is not needed yet, but will be required each time the employee departs the country, whether it be on business or on a visa-run. The accountant should know how to handle this certificate.

Estimated Costs:

-90-Day Single-Entry $65.00 CAD

This is the only visa that the Vancouver Consulate will issue. Note that with the holder of this visa must exit the country every three month for two to three days of visa processing, unless he/she goes to the Immigration Bureau of Thailand in Bangkok to request an extension or the One-Year Multi-Entry visa. The applicant may be able to get this in their province at the Immigration or Employment Bureaus there.

-One-Year Multiple-Entry $175.00 CAD.

-Three-Year Multiple-Entry ($350.00 CAD) is available for but can not be applied for through a Consulate.

Timing:

-Depends on how quickly the company can supply the applicant with the documents required (above).

-Then from one day to one week for the visa from the Consulate.

Work Permit Information

The Thai Embassy/Consulate does not issue work permits. You must obtain the work permit at the Employment Office of the province in which you reside, or in Bangkok at the Ministry of Labour & Social Welfare, Department of Employment, Alien Occupational Control Division, Thanon Mitmaitri, Dindaeng, Bangkok, 10400; tel. 245-35l8 or fax. 245-7289

List of document required to apply for a Work Permit:

• Completed application Form WP3 (page 3 of attached)
  
• A certificate of employment issued by a present employer (page 7 of attached)
  
• Applicant's education and job experience certification form (page 8 of attached)
  
• Valid passport and photocopies of all pages
  
• Three photographs (5" x 6") taken within six months
  
• Health certificate (not exceeding the period of 6 months) certified by a doctor
  
• Letter explaining the necessity to hire the foreigner
  
• List of all foreigners hired in the company, their positions, number of works permit (page 9 of attached)
  
• Power Of Attorney from the employer with a 10THB duty stamp affixed, a copy of the employer's ID card and a copy of the employee's ID card (page 11 of attached)
  
• Copy of the employer's work permit if an "alien". If the employer is not working in Thailand or has no work permit, a Power of Attorney certified by a Notary Public and the Thai Embassy is required.
  
• Copy of Thai Company Registration showing the objective of the company
  
• List of Shareholders' names (not exceeding the period of 6 months)
  
• Current balance sheet of the latest year.
  
• Organizational chart of the company
  
• Copy of VAT Registration (Form Phor Por 01) identifying the type of business and Form Phor Por 09 if there is any change.
  
• Copy of any relevant licenses for a company engaging in business for which a license is required, e.g. restaurant license, hotel license, tourism license, liquor license, chemical import license.
  
• Map showing the location of the company
  
• Forms regarding the approval of the alien (TOR. THO 10) and power of attorney of the employer.
  
• Other related documents available which will depend upon the kind of business
  

There are two routes to obtain a Work Permit:

A. Sponsorship by an established Thai company

A-1. Increase a company's capital

B. Formation of a company

A. Sponsorship by an established Thai company

Pros:

-usually easily executed by an established company as they are likely to have experience in handling such permits and may even have multiple work permits allocated if its a large enough organization

Cons:

-employer must already be established in Thailand

-multiple visits to various governmental departments may be required in order to secure the necessary documentation

-requires a letter of approval from the Ministry of Labour. To obtain this letter, the applicant's prospective employer in Thailand is required to submit Form WP3:

Office of Foreign Workers Administration, Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour; Tel. 02-2452745

Or at the Provincial Employment Office in your respective province.

Est. Costs:

-750 - 3,000 THB depending on the length of the work permit (3 months to 12 months)

Timing:

-up to 8 weeks until the final Work Permit is received

Steps to Take:

-Employee applies for Non-Immigrant "B" visa

-Upon arrival in Thailand, the employee is granted an initial 90-day stay permit

-The employee applies for temporary Work Permit at the Department of Employment

-The employee applies for Extension of Stay Permit at the Immigration Bureau

-Await work permit to arrive

A-1. Increase the capital on an established company in order to secure a second work permit

Pros:

-faster processing (versus sponsorship or new company formation)

-increases the company's worth and stature

-In the case of the company changing capital from 2 to 4 million the new employee can be one of directors or can be just an employee, and does not have to be a Thai national. This alleviates the hassle of finding another Thai national to be a director.

-Alleviates the need to get a Thai director to sign the company papers when required as one director can now sign papers or both of the directors can sign together (in a limited company every director can sign versus in a non-limited company or partnership only the Thai director can sign papers).

Note: If the new employee leaves the company, simply cancel the work permit. However, if the new employee is made a director, the company papers must be changed to remove their name (cost 3-4,000 THB). The capital would stay the same. Also, the second work permit can be for a different function than the first, it doesn't have to be in the same functional area such as sales – it can be in marketing, for instance, or administration.

Cons:

-required to find another Thai director for the company which could be difficult

-increasing the capital costs more money on an on-going basis when taking into consideration monthly costs

-time it takes to execute the change

-requires a letter of approval from the Ministry of Labour. To obtain this letter, the applicant's prospective employer in Thailand is required to submit Form WP3:

Office of Foreign Workers Administration, Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour; Tel. 02-2452745

Or at the Provincial Employment Office in your respective province.

Estimated Costs:

-24,000 THB to process company change

-Annual fee 15,000 THB

-Monthly fee 3,525 THB per permit to cover employee costs (service 750, tax 975, social 900)

Timing:

-4-5 weeks

Steps to Take:

-Advertise the change in capital in the local newspaper.

B. Formation of a company

Pros:

-Less expensive to execute than changing the capital on an established company (20,000 vs. 24,000 THB)

Cons:

-Monthly fees are more than when one changes the capital on an established company since you are only paying for one work permit and not splitting it between two: 3,950 vs. 2,625 THB (1 work permit: service 1,500, tax 1,950, social 500; 2 work permits: service 1,500, tax 1,950, social 1,800).

-requires a lawyer and accountant in Thailand - it's often difficult to find efficient and English-fluent professionals who are able to explain the ins-and-outs.

-can not execute from outside the country, the applicant must be in the country

-longer time to process than if you were to change the capital on an established company

Estimated Costs:

-20,000 THB for a new partnership company

-Annual fee is 15,000 THB

-Monthly 3,950 THB (service 1,500, tax 1,950, social 500)

Timing:

-6-8 weeks

Steps to Take:

-Contact a lawyer/accountant to execute

WP3.pdf

Consul_Letter_SAMPLE.doc

[digitalchromakey]

Long read!

B.1 You missed out the WP3 receipt for the first non immigrant B visa application.

Some far away honorary Thai consulates may actually only ask for a 'company invitation letter' for a one year multiple entry non immigrant category B visa.

When you apply for a work permit, you can also add an extra 100 THB to the fees.

Your tax and social security figures are out and obviously the charges will vary a lot depending on who you use to make the necessary changes.

For a Canadian, you can also assume that many labour departments will now stipulate a minimum salary of 50,000 THB per month along with 4x Thai employees per foreigner employed.

[jdinasia]

Beaner --- you might want to look at ThaiVisa.com

plus if your post is composed of cut and pasted things from other sites you need to include a link and have their permission to post it here (unless it falls into common usage for copyright)

[ubonjoe]

Beaner I am confused not by your lengthy post but because you earlier were asking about a tourist visa.

One section of your post is related to getting a non-b visa. As digitalchromakey said some consulates will issue a b visa with just an invitation letter. The following is a link to the Ottawa embassy visa page if you go down to near the bottom of page you will find a list of consulates. From MFA website info Ottawa and Vancouver are official consulates the remainder are most likely honarary consulates. Contact one of them I and see what their requirements are.

Link: http://www.magma.ca/~thaiott/visa3.htm

The remainder of your post deals with issues you can sort out here once you get your visa.

Also you can still do a lot on a tourist visa after you get here if you are unable to get a b visa. You might also be able to change your visa if you get all the domuments together that are required as indicated on the immigration website under change visa.

Link: http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/ba...p?page=service#

[beaner]

Beaner --- you might want to look at ThaiVisa.com

plus if your post is composed of cut and pasted things from other sites you need to include a link and have their permission to post it here (unless it falls into common usage for copyright)

That's my point jdinasia... I did look at ThaiVisa.com and couldn't find this information all in ONE place!

Didn't simply cut and paste - this document is CRAFTED my friend. haha

PS... you're welcome!

[beaner]

Thanks so much Ubonjoe.

I have checked the Ottawa and Vancouver sites... was confused by the Consulate in Vancouver as her information was slightly different than on the website in that they will only grant 90-Day Non-Immigrant Visas - it says that they do One-Year, Multi-Entry, etc. but that's not the case.

Again, why I gathered all the info and documents together here - so that someone else doesn't have to do all the running around and searching hundreds of posts like I did.

Just paying it forward friends!

Cheers.

[beaner]

Long read!

B.1 You missed out the WP3 receipt for the first non immigrant B visa application.

Some far away honorary Thai consulates may actually only ask for a 'company invitation letter' for a one year multiple entry non immigrant category B visa.

When you apply for a work permit, you can also add an extra 100 THB to the fees.

Your tax and social security figures are out and obviously the charges will vary a lot depending on who you use to make the necessary changes.

For a Canadian, you can also assume that many labour departments will now stipulate a minimum salary of 50,000 THB per month along with 4x Thai employees per foreigner employed.

Thanks for this digitalchromakey.

-Can you explain what the WP3 receipt is?

-Company invitation letter is the Letter of Employment mentioned under B.1.E.

-Yes, you're correct - the fees will vary, so I'll take those figures out.

Cheers!

[beaner]

Can't seem to edit the original post. DRAT!

Y'all will have to read the replies for updated info... exactly what I didn't want as this was the issue I had myself!

Oh well.

[Mario2008]

When you apply for a WP you will get a from stating that you have applied and when you can pck your WP up. This form is the WP3 application.

[digitalchromakey]

-Can you explain what the WP3 receipt is?

-Yes, you're correct - the fees will vary, so I'll take those figures out.

Check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on the visa application process link here non immigrant "B" visa The letter of approval from the Misitry of Labour is actually the receipt you get when your work permit application is accepted.

Also your tax and social security figures are wrong; however I see that you have already found out that the nature of these forums is such that you cannot revise posts at a later date (other than right after posting).