What Are the Requirements for Getting a Work Visa in Thailand

Start Here: Are You Working in Thailand?

Before income, cost, or how long the visa lasts, one question decides which of these visas you can apply for at all: where is your work legally performed, and who pays you?

• You work remotely for a company or clients outside Thailand. Your options are the DTV and the LTR Work-from-Thailand Professional. Both are remote-work visas: neither permits employment by a Thai company, work for Thai clients, or any Thai-source income.
• You are employed by a Thai entity — a Thai company, or the Thai operating entity or subsidiary of a foreign parent — in a BOI targeted industry. Your option is the LTR Highly-Skilled Professional. It is an employment visa, so it is not available to remote workers, freelancers, or the self-employed.
• You own or direct a Thai-registered company in a targeted industry, as a director or 25%+ shareholder. Your option is the SMART visa.

If none of the three describes you — most commonly because you are employed by a Thai company outside the BOI targeted industries — your route is the Non-Immigrant B visa plus a work permit, which is what the rest of this guide covers. Only once you know which branch you are on do income, qualifications, savings, cost, and duration decide anything. Those figures choose between visas inside your branch; they never move you to a different one.

About the Author: This article is produced by the team at Issa Compass, a technology-driven visa services platform that has guided over 10,000 expats monthly through Thai immigration processes, including Non-B visa and work permit applications, with a 99% approval rate for pre-qualified submissions.

What Exactly Is the Non-Immigrant B Visa and Who Needs It?

The Non-Immigrant B visa Thailand is the entry visa category specifically designed for foreigners intending to work or conduct business in Thailand. According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this visa is required before entering the country for employment purposes and is not interchangeable with a tourist visa.

Who needs it:

• Foreign nationals hired by a Thai-registered company
• Entrepreneurs managing a majority Thai-owned business
• Representatives of foreign companies opening a branch or liaison office in Thailand
• Teachers, trainers, and technical specialists contracted by Thai entities

If you enter on a tourist visa or a visa exemption and then begin paid work, you are in violation of Thai immigration law regardless of where your employer is based.

What Are the Thailand Non-B Visa Requirements?

The thailand non-b visa requirements fall into two categories: documents the applicant must provide personally, and documents the employer must supply. Both sets are required for a complete submission.

Applicant-Side Documents

• Passport valid for at least 6 months beyond the intended stay
• Completed Non-Immigrant visa application form
• Recent passport-sized photograph (4 x 6 cm)
• Copy of ID document (national ID or equivalent)
• Copy of any existing Thai visa or immigration status document, if applicable
• Proof of financial means

Employer-Side Documents

• Formal employment offer or contract from a Thai-registered company
• Thai company registration certificate (DBD-issued)
• List of shareholders and company directors
• Latest corporate tax returns or financial statements
• VAT registration certificate (Por Ngor Dor 20)
• Social security contribution records showing existing Thai employees

Applicants must also submit business-related documentation that confirms the nature of the employment. Requirements can vary slightly by embassy, which is one of the less-discussed complications of the Non-B process.

What Are the Thailand Work Visa Requirements After Arrival?

The thailand work visa requirements do not end at the border. Securing entry with a Non-B visa is step one. The second and equally critical step is obtaining a work permit from the Department of Employment. If the employer has previously obtained a WP.32 approval letter, the foreigner's work permit must be obtained within 15 days of their arrival in Thailand on their Non-B visa.

Work permit application thailand requires the following:

• Original Non-Immigrant B visa stamp in passport
• Completed work permit application (Tor Tor 1 form)
• Medical certificate from a Thai-licensed physician
• Educational certificates (degree or professional qualifications)
• Resume or CV in Thai or with a Thai translation
• Employer's company affidavit, tax documents, and social security evidence
• Three passport-sized photographs

According to the Board of Investment of Thailand, foreigners must secure the Non-B visa before entering the country to be eligible for a work permit. Applying for a work permit without a valid Non-B visa is not possible through the standard route.

What Is the Thailand Business Visa Requirements Compared to a Work Visa?

This is a distinction that trips up many applicants. The thailand business visa requirements use the same Non-Immigrant B visa category but serve a different purpose.

If you are visiting Thailand to conduct business activities (negotiations, site visits, meetings) but are not receiving Thai-sourced income, the Non-B business category covers you without a work permit. The moment you perform tasks for which you are paid by a Thai entity, a work permit becomes mandatory.

How Much Does a Work Visa Thailand Cost?

Work visa Thailand cost has two components: the visa fee and the work permit fee.

• Non-Immigrant B visa fee: Approximately 2,000 THB (single entry) or 5,000 THB (multiple entry), though this varies by nationality and issuing embassy.
• Work permit fee: According to the BOI, the processing fee to maintain an LTR work permit is 3,000 THB per year. Standard work permit fees vary depending on permit type and duration.
• Translation and notarisation: Budget an additional 2,000 to 5,000 THB for certified translations of foreign documents.
• Medical certificate: Typically 300 to 800 THB from a Thai clinic.

Third-party assistance fees vary significantly. Issa Compass publishes its pricing transparently on its platform and is priced up to 30% below traditional consultancy rates, making the total cost of professional support more accessible for solo applicants and small businesses alike.

Are There Alternative Pathways Beyond the Standard Non-B Route?

Yes, and two in particular are worth knowing:

The LTR Visa (Long-Term Resident)

The LTR is a 10-year visa, issued as 5 years plus a 5-year renewal, but it is not a single visa with uniform work rights. It is a set of separate categories, and the two work categories are very different from one another:

• Highly-Skilled Professional (HSP) is the Thai-employment category. It requires employment by a Thai entity — a Thai company, or the Thai operating entity or subsidiary of a foreign parent — in a BOI targeted industry. It is the only LTR category that carries a digital work permit, and it caps personal income tax on qualifying employment income at 17%. The income test is USD 80,000 a year averaged over the past two years, or USD 40,000 to 80,000 a year plus a master's degree or higher in science or technology. Owning or directing the company does not qualify: ownership income and director's fees are not qualifying employment.
• Work-from-Thailand Professional (WFT) is the remote-work category. It permits no employment by a Thai company, no Thai clients and no Thai-source income, and it carries no Thai work permit. The employer must be located outside Thailand and must be a public company listed on a stock exchange, a private company with at least three years of operation and combined revenue of at least USD 50,000,000 over the last three years, or a wholly-owned subsidiary of a company meeting one of those. The income test is USD 80,000 a year averaged over the past two years, or USD 40,000 to 80,000 a year plus one of: a master's degree or higher in any field, full and complete ownership of intellectual property, or Series A funding of at least USD 1,000,000. Freelancers, sole traders and the self-employed do not satisfy the employment test; their route is the DTV.

According to the official BOI LTR Visa program, applicants in both work categories must also be insured under a health insurance policy covering a minimum of USD 50,000, or currently receiving social security benefits in Thailand, or maintain a deposit of at least USD 100,000 in a bank account in the applicant's name for no less than 12 months. The process runs in two stages: BOI endorsement, then visa issuance. In Issa's own LTR applications, endorsement takes around two months from a complete submission and visa issuance a further two months — about four months in total.

The SMART Visa

The SMART visa is not a talent visa. Its talent, investor and executive categories (SMART T, I and E) are discontinued, and the only live category is SMART S, which is an ownership and directorship route. To qualify you must already have a Thai company registered and be a director or hold at least 25% shareholding, you must hold ฿600,000 in a personal checking or savings account for the last three months, and the company must operate in a targeted industry. It is a two-year visa from the start, renewable, and no separate work permit is required. Because it is tied to owning or directing your own company, an employer cannot use SMART to hire or sponsor a foreign employee — that hire needs a Non-B visa and a work permit.

Can You Get a Work Permit on a Non-O Visa?

Only on two bases. A Non-Immigrant O held on the basis of marriage to a Thai spouse, or as the parent of a Thai child, allows the holder to apply for a Thai work permit. Every other Non-O category is not allowed to get one — that includes Non-O retirement, guardian of a foreign child, dependant of a Non-B work permit holder, and dependant of a retirement visa holder. The Non-OA and Non-OX retirement visas do not allow a work permit either.

On the two categories that do qualify, the visa and the work permit are independent of each other. The marriage or parent-of-Thai-child visa only allows the holder to apply for a work permit; it does not depend on one. If the holder stops working, they can cancel the work permit and keep the visa, provided they still meet that visa's financial requirement — typically 400,000 THB in savings at extension.

The employer requirements are lighter than on a Non-Immigrant B. A company sponsoring a work permit for a marriage or parent-of-Thai-child visa holder needs a ratio of 2 Thai employees per foreigner rather than 4:1, and 1,000,000 THB in registered share capital rather than 2,000,000 THB.

There is also an alternative to the savings test at extension: a valid Thai work permit plus 40,000 THB per month in income, evidenced with the PND 91 annual personal income tax return and PND 1 monthly withholding returns. The work permit alone is not sufficient — immigration needs the tax filings to verify the income.

As with any Thai work permit, it is tied to a single employer: the holder may only work for that one Thai company while the permit is active.

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