Visa and work permit: why are they two documents from two agencies?
The visa comes from a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate-General under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the extension of stay comes from the Immigration Bureau under the Royal Thai Police, and the work permit comes from the Department of Employment under the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states the relationship in one sentence: a holder of a Non-Immigrant B visa wishing to work in Thailand must be granted a work permit before starting work.
Last reviewed 21 September 2026
Almost every problem foreigners have with this system comes from treating it as one thing. It is three, they are issued by three different ministries under two different laws, and they fail independently of each other.
| Document | Issued by | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Visa (Non-Immigrant B) | Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Immigration Act B.E. 2522 |
| Extension of stay | Immigration Bureau, Royal Thai Police | Immigration Act B.E. 2522, section 35, currently applied through Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568 |
| Work permit | Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour | Royal Ordinance concerning the Management of Employment of Foreign Workers B.E. 2560, as amended in B.E. 2561 |
The order things happen in
- Your prospective employer submits Form WP3 to the Office of Foreign Workers Administration and obtains a letter of approval from the Ministry of Labour.
- You apply for the Non-Immigrant B visa at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate-General. The MFA lists the fee as 2,000 baht single entry with three months validity, or 5,000 baht multiple entry with one year validity.
- You enter Thailand. The initial permitted stay is up to 90 days.
- The work permit is issued by the Department of Employment. The decree sets a service standard of not more than fifteen working days from application to issue, and the permit may run for up to two years.
- You apply to the Immigration Bureau for the extension of stay, which is where the company capital, the four Thai employees and your nationality’s minimum salary are examined.
What happens when one of them fails
The immigration order is specific about the two cases people actually hit. While your extension application is pending, you are allowed to stay, stamped as often as necessary, for a total of not more than thirty days from the day after your permitted stay lapsed. If the extension is refused, you must depart within seven days of the date the permitted period lapsed.
The permit is no longer locked to one job title
e-Work Permit
The Department of Employment launched a nationwide online system, e-Work Permit, on 13 October 2025, covering submission, status, approval and issue. Transitional relief allowing manual filing where the system could not be reached was extended to 28 July 2026. We could not verify what happened at that date, so if someone is proposing a paper route, ask them to confirm it still exists before you plan around it.
What to do with this
- When something goes wrong, work out which of the three documents is the problem before you do anything. The agency that can fix it is different in each case.
- Never let the work permit be cancelled before you know what is happening to your stay. They are separate permissions and one does not protect the other.
- Get any quote to separate the government fees from the professional fee, per document. The DOE work permit fees are published: 100 baht application, then 750, 1,500 or 3,000 baht depending on whether the permit runs to three, six or twelve months.
- If you travel, the 90 day report runs on a clock of its own that neither the visa nor the permit affects.
What agents charge to run all three, and what is government fee rather than their fee, is on the visa and work permit cost page. Three firms will quote in writing.
Related questions
- The four Thai employees rule: when does it actually apply?
- What is the minimum salary for a Thai work permit, by nationality?
- Changing employer: what happens to your work permit?
- Can you file the Thai 90 day report (TM47) online?
Sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Non-Immigrant Visa B (for business and work)
- Royal Ordinance concerning the Management of Employment of Foreign Workers B.E. 2560, as amended (ILO NATLEX, English)
- Immigration Act B.E. 2522, sections 34 to 39 (Siam Legal, Thailand law library)
- Immigration Bureau Order 327/2557, clauses 3 and 4 on pending and refused applications (English translation)
- Official Thai government service catalogue: work permit procedure and fees
- Ministry of Labour: e-Work Permit online system launch, 13 October 2025
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.