Thailand Business Visa
Thailand Business Visa in Brief Summary.
A Thailand Business Visa is issued to a person wishes to be in the Kingdom for the purpose of investment, doing business, work at company or teaching in the school or University.
It is also called Non-Immigrant “B” Visa. (the word “B” comes from “Business”).
This Thai Business Visa allows you to bring your spouse and children to stay in Thailand with you.
For this Non B Visa Thailand, you have an option to obtain at Thai Royal Embassy overseas or at the Thailand Immigration Office.
There are a lot of business and job opportunities in Thailand.
A skilled worker is in demand just like professional workers.
Thailand has a lot to offer to aspiring people who are hardworking and passionate about what they do.
Businesses also flourish in the country mainly because many businessmen go here to execute business meetings and also to set up a new business or company.
The requirements and qualifications varies with each type of Non-Immigrant B Visa.
Thai Non-Immigrant B visa for business are given to a person who is interested in conducting a business in Thailand and working in Thailand.
In order to stay legally in Thailand for a long period of time you must acquire this type of visa to secure yourself and your stays in Thailand.
Thailand Working visa is quite complicated but is easy to acquire if you know the process and the requirements of the visa you would like to obtain.
Our law firm assists with Non-immigrant B Visa applications. Moreover, this kind of visa is the one of steps in order for you to obtain Permanent Residence (PR) as well.
To know how you can apply for Non B Visa, please read the information below.
“As the Business Visa is relevant with the Work Permit, we are highly suggest you to read information of Work Permit here: Thailand Work Permit”
Table of Content:
- Who are eligible to apply for Thailand Business Visa?
- Overview Process for Non B Visa Thailand.
- Basic requirements for Thailand Business Visa.
- List of Documents for obtaining the visa at Royal Thai Embassy.
- List of Documents for obtaining the visa at Thai Immigration Bureau.
- Validity of Stay.
- Conclusion.
1.Who are eligible to apply for Thailand Business Visa?
Look at the photo below!
Thailand Business Visa can be issued to Business Owners such as the Director/Managing Director/CEO position of the company.
It can also be issued to the foreign staff (Non Thai) who are working and receiving salary from the company or school.
The such above person whether owner or staff will get the same type of visa as Non – Immigrant B Visa. And their family can also apply for Dependent Visa in order to stay with them.
2.Overview Process for Non B Visa Thailand.
Again! Look at photo below as it shows every step since you do not have any visa or other kind of visa that is not Non – Immigrant B Visa.
Just note for you that it has some process in compliance with the Work Permit process because it is connected each other.
As you see, if you never had Non – Immigrant B Visa before, you need to go out of Thailand first.
Because you cannot obtain the WP.3 letter from the Ministry of Labour while you are inside Thailand.
And WP.3 letter is an important document to obtain Non – Immigrant B Visa at Royal Thai Embassy for first time applicants.
But, if you already have Non B Visa or you just need to extend the Visa, you can direct to do it at the Thai Immigration Office.
Working as a foreigner in another country requires strength and will to survive in an unfamiliar place, but before you can start working you will need to enter that country first, and to do that you must have a visa for that particular country.
In Thailand, as a foreigner you must first obtain a Non-Immigrant B Visa or also known as Non-B and a Work Permit in order for you to conduct business, to work, or to work as an English teacher.
The Non-Immigrant “B” visa allows a foreigner to work in Thailand legally under the Ministry of Labour and the Immigration Bureau’s conditions.
You can also find example of WP.3 letter as shown on the photo below.
3.Basic requirements for Thailand Business Visa.
The Non-Immigrant “B” Visa is the most common type of visa acquired by a foreigner in Thailand as it is the type of visa for working in Thailand and conducting business in Thailand.
If the applicant has appropriate qualification, the Embassy will issue a non-immigrant visa type “B”, single entry with three months validity to the applicant within two working days.
With this kind of visa, the applicant will be permitted to stay in Thailand not more than 90 days.According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand (MFA), here are the following requirements for the visa application:
Basic requirement that needs to be complied for Thailand Business Visa.
Please make sure since you set up the company or clarify with the company that you are going to work with that it complies with the regulation as follows:
- About registered capital, The company must have 2 million Thai Baht paid up capital in order to obtain 1 Business Visa. In short, if the company need to obtain business visa for 2 persons, the company must have 4 million Thai Baht paid up capital.
- About number of Thai staff, The company must have 4 Thai staffs in order to obtain 1 Business Visa. In short, if the company needs to obtain business visa for 2 persons, the company must have 8 Thai staffs.
- About VAT (GST), the company must register VAT with the Revenue Department and must pay the VAT regularly. There are no specific laws and regulation on how the company should pay, but the Immigration Officer will consider case by case basis.
- About Specific License, if the company is doing some business that requires to obtain specific license, the company must obtain it first.
- The company paid tax and social security fund correctly and regularly and on time.
4. List of Documents for obtaining Thailand Business Visa at Royal Thai Embassy.
As shown in the Action Plan above, you need to obtain the visa at Royal Thai Embassy if you have never held a Non – Immigrant B Visa yet. (if you already have it or you just need to extend, you can jump to the List of documents for applying Thailand Business Visa at Immigration Office below).
Private documents:
- Passport or travel document with validity of not less than 6 months.
- Completed visa application form.
- Recent passport-sized photograph (4 x 6 cm) of the applicant taken within the past 6 months.
- Evidence of adequate finance (20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family).
- 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 at the Office of Foreign Workers Administration, Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour.)
- Copy of Work Permit issued by the Ministry of Labour and alien income tax or Por Ngor Dor 91 (only in the case where applicant has previously worked in Thailand).
Corporate documents:
- business registration and business license
- list of shareholders
- company profile
- details of business operation
- list of foreign workers stating names, nationalities and positions
- map indicating location of the company
- balance sheet, statement of Income Tax and Business Tax (Por Ngor Dor 50 and Por Ngor Dor 30 of the latest year)
- value-added tax registration (Por Por 20)
Tips for Foreigners working as a Teacher in Thailand.
Once the foreigner arrives Thailand, the educational institution will apply a teacher license at the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of University Affairs and also apply for work permit at the Ministry of Labour for the applicant.
The work permit will be issued within 5 working days.
After being granted teacher license and work permit, the applicant is required to submit teacher license, work permit, employment contract and employment certificate to the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok in order to apply for visa extension to cover the term of employment.
Tips about Non-Immigrant “B” Visa.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that the applicant should apply for visa at the Thai Embassy and/or Consulate in the country where he or she has the residence in order for a smooth process.
Although conversion of visa is possible in case the foreigner entered Thailand under other types of visa, but he or she will be required to exit Thailand to cancel the previous visa and apply for Non-Immigrant “B” Visa to the Royal Thai Embassy in other country.
5. List of documents for applying/extension of Non – B Visa at Thai Immigration Bureau.
Even if you are business owner or staff and you already have Non – B Visa, you can apply or extend the business visa inside Thailand at Thai Immigration Bureau.
You can see the official list of documents that the Immigration Officer use for 2019 below:
6.Validity of Stay.
Once you obtained it from Royal Thai Embassy, you are entitled to stay in Thailand for a maximum period of 90 days.
Once you obtained it from Thai Immigration Bureau, you will get the period of visa for one year.
And you have duty to report every 90 days if you are stay in Thailand consecutively for more than 90 days.And don’t forget to apply Re-Entry Permit even Single or Multiple before you leaving Thailand to secure the Non – Immigrant B Visa.
You can see how Re-Entry Permit look like at photo below.
Conclusion.
Getting a Non-Immigrant Visa to Thailand is quite complicated and requires a tedious process.
It will involve a lot of documents from the hiring company and educational institution.
If you happen to be a business owner or would like to conduct a business in Thailand, then you must secure all the company documents and make sure that you follow all the requirements and pass the qualifications under the set forth rules of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and/or Thai Immigration Bureau.
Remember that you must provide all the original documents in order to have a smooth sailing on getting your Thailand Business Visa or Non-Immigrant B Visa and Work Permit in Thailand.
Avoid using unreliable agencies and illegal agents who promises to assist you in getting these important documents to stay in Thailand.
Recently, the government has been very strict with implementing rules and regulations for holders of this type of visa, so be aware and be wary as you need to comply with the rules of the Kingdom of Thailand if you want to stay longer here.
The above mentioned are just checklist or a reminder for someone who would like to obtain a working visa in Thailand.
Never worry for Siam Attorney can be reached easily for inquiries and assistance.
Siam Attorney’s lawyers can help you process Bangkok job visa and Thailand visa as quickly as possible.
We will help you to do everything in correctly and legally to make you have sweet dream every night! Thank you.