The four Thai employees rule: when does it actually apply?
It is a condition of the one year extension of stay granted by the Immigration Bureau, not a condition of the work permit, and it currently sits at clause 2.1 A (5) of Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568 of 23 January 2025: one foreigner to four permanent Thai employees. Several routes escape it, including representative, regional and branch offices at one to one, BOI and other ministry approved investment, which has no ratio at all, and LTR visa holders, who are exempted by name.
Last reviewed 21 September 2026
What the order actually says
Clause 2.1 A (5): ธุรกิจนั้นต้องมีอัตราส่วนระหว่างจำนวนคนต่างด้าวกับพนักงานคนไทยประจำในอัตราส่วนคนต่างด้าว ๑ คน ต่อพนักงานคนไทยประจำ ๔ คน. That business must have a ratio between the number of foreigners and permanent Thai employees of one foreigner to four permanent Thai employees. The wording is identical to the predecessor order, 327/2557, which ran from 2014 until the current one replaced the framework in January 2025.
Clause 2.1 A (3) carries the capital figure: ต้องเป็นธุรกิจซึ่งมีทุนจดทะเบียนที่ชำระแล้วไม่ต่ำกว่า ๒ ล้านบาท, paid-up registered capital of not less than 2 million baht.
Who escapes it
| Route | What applies instead |
|---|---|
| Representative office, regional office, branch of a multinational | Ratio relaxed to 1:1, and the capital and financial statement criteria are waived entirely. Clause 2.1 A (6). |
| The 18 targeted industries, and startups | New in the 2025 order. Capital of 1 million baht with at least 25% paid in year one and fully paid by year four, income of 50,000 baht a month regardless of nationality, and a 1:1 ratio. For a startup the 1:1 only bites once five years have passed since incorporation. Clause 2.1 B. |
| BOI, IEAT and other ministry approved investment | Extends under clause 2.2, whose only criteria are a non-immigrant visa and certification from the relevant ministry or department. No ratio, no capital figure. |
| LTR visa holders | The BOI states the exemption by name: "Exemption from 4 Thais to 1 foreigner employment requirement ratio." |
| Teachers and academic staff | Separate heads at clauses 2.6 and 2.7. The 10% cap that appears there applies to non-teaching educational personnel, not to teachers. |
If you are BOI promoted, this is not your rule
BOI replaced its own employment conditions with Announcement Por. 8/2568 of 5 June 2025, effective 1 October 2025 for newly certified projects and 1 January 2026 for existing ones. It sets minimum salaries by position rather than by nationality, and on the employment side requires manufacturing projects with more than 100 total employees to be at least 70% Thai. Manufacturing below 100 employees, and service businesses, have no prescribed ratio at all.
What counts as one of the four
The order says permanent (พนักงานคนไทยประจำ). It does not mention social security anywhere: we searched the text for ประกันสังคม and สปส and found neither. What the order does require in the supporting documents is three months of withholding tax returns naming the employees and the applicant, with receipts, so in practice the four Thai employees are proved on PND 1.
Two honest caveats
The practical read
- If you are a small Thai company with one foreign director, the four employees are a real constraint and they are checked on your PND 1.
- If you are a representative, regional or branch office, you are on 1:1 and the capital test does not apply to you.
- If you are in one of the targeted industries or you are a startup under five years old, the 2025 order gives you 1:1 and a 1 million baht capital route that did not exist under the old framework. This is the most under-known change of the last two years.
- If you are BOI or LTR, stop reading about four employees. Different regime.
The minimum salary that goes with the extension is a separate table, and it is wrong on most sites that publish it. What firms charge to run a Non-B and work permit is on the visa and work permit cost page, and three of them will quote on your actual structure through the request form.
Related questions
- What is the minimum salary for a Thai work permit, by nationality?
- Visa and work permit: why are they two documents from two agencies?
- Changing employer: what happens to your work permit?
Sources
- Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568 of 23 January 2025, criteria and documents annex (Thai)
- Immigration Bureau Order 327/2557, English translation (Royal Thai Embassy, Prague)
- BOI Announcement Por. 8/2568 on employment conditions for promoted projects (Thai)
- BOI: LTR visa privileges, including exemption from the 4:1 ratio
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, section 14 minimum capital (BOI, English translation)
- Official Thai government service catalogue: work permit procedure under section 59
This is general information about how a filing works, not accounting or tax advice for your company. Confirm anything that matters against the official notice or with your accountant. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.