Thailand offers such a great quality of life that many people look to expatriate and either open a business or find an employer here, in order to enjoy it all year long. The Thai Law not only allows foreign nationals to work in Thailand, it also allows you to live in the country as long as you abide to the rules.
Therefore it is essential to be aware and fully understand which are the rules to obtain and keep the right to live and work in Thailand, by the means of a Non-Immigrant Business Visa, Work Permit, and finally the much sought after one-year extension.
1. Obtaining a NON-B Visa
The NON-B Visa, shorthand for Non-Immigrant Business Visa, must be obtained at a Thai embassy in your country of residence, before entering Thailand. This visa allows you to stay in Thailand for 90 days, with the purpose of seeking employment. It can be issued either as Single-Entry or Multiple-Entry, the latter allowing you to stay for another 90 days at the end of the first period by simple exiting and re-entering the country (what is commonly called a "visa-run").
To obtain a NON-B Visa, you must be able to show that you have been offered employment by a Thai company. This is done by the means of a letter from that company, stating they intend to employ you as well as the details of such employment. The purpose of employment must be of nature not to be easily done by a Thai citizen, as this could lead to the visa not to be approved. You will also have to submit all the documents related to the employer company, such as business registration, tax reports, etc... The employer company could also be your own company if you are starting a business.
It is important to note that obtaining a NON-B Visa, does not give you the right to work in Thailand. For that you have to first obtain a Work Permit, which is the next step.
2. Obtaining Work Permit
Once you have obtained a NON-B Visa, and have entered Thailand using it, the next step is to apply for a Work Permit. You will have to provide a set of documents justifying your identity, as well as your qualifications for the employment (education degrees, resume...), and your employer will have to provide another set of the company's documents (business registration, tax registration, etc...) and submit all these documents to the Labor Department of the province where your employer is situated. Upon approval, you must go and pickup your Work Permit in person.
Now you are officially allowed to start work. However, keep in mind that the Work Permit allows you to work only for the purpose you have been employed for, and only at the location mentioned by your employer. All changes in position, or working place must be reported to the Labor Department and your Work Permit must be updated with the new information.
3. Obtaining Tax ID
Now that you are allowed to work, you also have to pay tax, and therefore need to be issued a Tax ID. This is done at the Revenue Department by simply submitting a photocopy of your passport and filling a form. Your employer should actually take care of this step for you. You will then receive a small card with a Tax ID Number, in the same format as the Thai ID Card Number.
4. Obtaining a 1 year extension of stay
A few weeks before your NON-B Visa expires, the employer company will now have to prepare a large set of documents to be submitted at the local Immigration Office. These are all the company related documents, plus all the tax reports proving that you have been properly paying taxes. Then you have to submit these documents in person, and will be given an Extension of Stay of 30 days, while your request is being considered.
Usually after three weeks the Extension of Stay will have been approved, but sometimes it may take longer, and may even require several 30-day Extension of Stays before receiving the final one. Once you receive it, you will notice that it is one year starting from the request date, and not from the current date, this is normal. You can now consider yourself a resident of Thailand since your stay will now last more than 6 consecutive months.
5. Renewing your 1-year extension of stay
Before your extension of stay expires, the employer company must again prepare the large set of documents related to the company and tax reports to be submitted to the Immigration Office by you in person. This step is similar to previous one and has the same requirements and procedure. You will be issued a 30-day extension of stay while your application is considered, and a few weeks later you will get your full one year extension, from the date of application.
As long as you keep paying your taxes correctly, complying to the conditions of employment, and not engaging in any illegal activities, this will provide you with a durable and perfectly legal way to live and work in Thailand without ever having to leave the country.
6. Re-entry permit
If you plan to leave the country temporarily, you will have to obtain a Re-Entry Permit beforehand, otherwise your Visa, Extension of Stay and Work Permit would be immediately cancelled on exiting the country. These can be issued as Single-Entry or Multiple-Entries, for a different cost, are very easy to obtain at the local Immigration Office.
7. 90-day report
The Thai Law requires all foreigners staying in Thailand for more than 3 months with a non-immigrant visa to report to the Immigration Office every 90 days. You will be asked for a full copy of your passport and to fill a form, declaring your current address to the officers. They will then attach part of this form to your passport, with a time stamp for your next visit. Be aware that the time stamp of the 90-day report is not an extension of stay, you are never allowed to stay in the country longer than your Extension of Stay.
This requirement has actually been in the Law texts for a long time, but has only been recently truly enforced, with all offenders being subject to a fine not exceeding 2,000 THB if you report yourself and of 4,000 THB if you are discovered in fault.
The detailed list of documents necessary to the processes mentioned in this article will be published soon, in separate articles for the sake of readability.