Thailand Work Visa
Thailand
Residency
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See if you're a match →This residence pathway is for people with a qualifying job offer, employer sponsorship, or skilled-work profile in Thailand. It generally requires the role and applicant to meet local qualification, salary, labor-market, and immigration rules.
- Type
- Work residence
- Job fit
- People with a qualifying job or employer in Thailand
- Core requirements
- Job offer, employer documents, and work authorization rules
- Renewal / path
- Renewal depends on continued employment and may count toward long-term residence.
Summary
The Non-Immigrant B Visa (often called the "Non-B") is Thailand's standard employer-sponsored work visa. It's the visa that most foreigners taking jobs at Thai companies receive — a one-year renewable visa tied to a specific Thai employer, paired with a work permit from the Ministry of Labour. It's the baseline route into Thailand's workforce for anyone who doesn't qualify for the LTR visa's remote-work or highly-skilled tracks.
The Non-B is a two-part arrangement: the visa (stay right) is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the work permit (the right to actually perform work) is issued separately by the Ministry of Labour. You need both. Crucially, holding a Non-B without also holding a work permit is not enough — paid work without the permit is a criminal offense.
Eligibility
You qualify if all of the following are true:
- You have a firm job offer from a Thai-registered company.
- Your Thai employer meets the sponsorship threshold.
- You hold a passport valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date.
- You have no disqualifying criminal history.
Thai employer requirements
The sponsoring company must:
- Be a legally registered Thai entity at the Department of Business Development (DBD).
- Hold a minimum registered capital of THB 2 million (approximately $55,000) per foreign employee, fully paid up.
- Employ at least four Thai nationals for each foreign work permit issued.
- Show at least one year of operations and stable tax filings (in most cases).
Exceptions exist for BOI-promoted companies (reduced Thai-to-foreign headcount ratios), representative offices, and regional operating headquarters.
Position requirements
The role must be one that Thai law allows foreigners to perform. Thailand's Working of Aliens Act reserves 27 occupations exclusively for Thai nationals (agriculture, retail trade below certain thresholds, tour guiding, etc.). Most white-collar and specialized roles are open to foreigners.
What the Non-B does not do
- Not multi-employer. The visa and work permit are tied to one employer — switching jobs requires canceling the existing work permit, updating the visa, and filing for a new one.
- Not automatic family inclusion. Spouse and children need their own Non-O dependent visas, which don't include work rights.
- No permanent residency on its own — but Non-B time counts toward the 3-year Non-Immigrant residency prerequisite for Thai permanent residency.
2025 updates
- Starting October 13, 2025, Thailand's new e-Work Permit System became mandatory. Applications now run through the Ministry of Labour's digital portal.
- The Thailand Investment and Expat Services Center (TIESC), opened March 2025, streamlines visa and work permit coordination for BOI-sponsored companies.
- As of August 9, 2025, foreign applicants no longer need to appear in person at the Department of Employment to collect their work permit.
What This Route Allows
If approved, this route gives you work residence in Thailand. Renewal or longer-term path: Requires continued qualifying employment; any later long-term residence filing is separate and should be supported with continuous lawful stay, payroll, tax, address, and permit-history records.
What This Route Is Not
This is not a guarantee of approval. Immigration authorities can still review documents, admissibility, background, funds, and whether the facts match the pathway rules.
Next Steps
- Secure a job offer in Thailand. The employer must commit to sponsoring both the visa and the work permit. Most reputable Thai firms already have the infrastructure for this.
- Receive the invitation letter and supporting company documents. Your employer provides a formal employment letter, their DBD company registration, audited financial statements, tax filings, and a social-security registration showing their Thai employee count.
- Apply for the Non-B visa abroad. File at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate — U.S. applicants typically use the Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. or a Thai Consulate-General (Los Angeles, Chicago, New York). The base visa fee is $80 for a single entry or $200 for multiple entry. Some consulates now accept applications through Thailand's e-Visa portal at thaievisa.go.th.
- Enter Thailand with a 90-day stamp. On arrival the Non-B gives you 90 days to obtain your work permit.
- Apply for the work permit. Your employer files with the Ministry of Labour through the e-Work Permit system. Fee is THB 3,000–6,000 (~$85–170).
- Extend the Non-B to a one-year stay. Before the 90 days runs out, visit Thai Immigration with your active work permit and your employer to extend the visa to a full one-year permission-to-stay. Renewals are annual thereafter.
- Stay compliant. File 90-day reports, keep the work permit current, maintain the TM-30 address registration, and carry the work permit booklet whenever working.
Sources
- Royal Thai Embassy — Non-Immigrant B Visa — MFA official visa information.
- Thailand Immigration Bureau — stay extensions and 90-day reporting.
- Thai Ministry of Labour — Work Permits — the work permit regulator (Department of Employment).
- Thailand e-Visa portal — online visa application platform.
- Thailand Board of Investment — for BOI-promoted employer exceptions.