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Can I get a work permit before my company is trading?

The work permit itself rests on the company’s documents, but the one-year extension of stay that comes with it does not: under Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568 the company must show audited financial statements for its last accounting year proving it really and continuously operates. A company that has not traded or closed a year cannot show that, and the order contains no first-year concession in its general track.

Last reviewed 2 November 2026

This is the chicken and egg every founder hits. You need the company to get the permit, and immigration wants proof the company is real before it gives you a year. Plan the first twelve months around that, not around the registration date.

What the extension of stay asks of the company

Clause 2.1 A of Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568 (in force from 23 January 2025, replacing Order 242/2566) sets the criteria for a stay based on working for a Thai company. Four of them are about the company:

Annex B of the order lists how "real and continuous operation" is tested: the business operates according to its registered objectives; the audit opinion does not question going concern; cash, receivables, inventory and payables move; depreciation is booked; the notes do not say the company is not operating; and PND 1 is filed every month. A company that registered and waited has none of that to show.

Is there a route for a new company?

Clause 2.1 B is softer, but narrow: it covers the government’s targeted industries and certified startups, with capital of at least 1 million baht (at least 25% paid in the first year, the rest by the fourth) and an income for you of at least 50,000 baht a month. For a certified startup the one to one Thai staff ratio applies only once five years from incorporation have passed. The audited statements requirement still applies.

Outside those, clause 5 lets an officer of Inspector rank or above refer a case that does not meet the criteria to the Commissioner. That is discretion, not a right, and nobody can promise you how it will be used.

We could not verify from any official source how immigration offices currently treat a company that has not yet closed its first accounting year: whether a shorter first stay is granted, or what is accepted in place of audited statements. Ask any agent quoting you to state, in writing, what they expect your office to grant in year one and on what documents.

The embassy stage has the same gap

The government’s own guide to the Non-B work visa lists a copy of the company’s latest financial statements, its PND 50 and its VAT registration certificate among the documents. A company in its first year has no PND 50 yet. Embassies differ in what they accept instead, so this is a question to ask the embassy before you book.

What to do in the meantime

  1. Pay up the capital the criteria need, and keep the bank evidence.
  2. Start trading for real, and get the monthly filings running from the first month, including PND 1.
  3. Hire and register your Thai staff with social security early; the ratio is counted from the filings, not from a contract.
  4. Register for VAT when the business needs it; firms commonly expect a sponsoring company to be VAT registered. When it is mandatory.
  5. Ask your accountant whether a shorter first accounting period would bring your first audited statements forward, and ask the agent whether your immigration office would accept them.

Since 13 October 2025 work permits are applied for and issued digitally through the Department of Employment’s e-WorkPermit system, which changes the channel but not the criteria above. Government fees are small; the cost page separates them from agent fees. For a firm to look at your actual company and timeline, request three quotes.

Every filing, and when it is due. A Thai company owes about a dozen of them a year. They are all on the Thailand tax & compliance calendar, monthly and annual, paper and e-filing dates side by side.

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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.

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