Working in Thailand: do you need a Non-B visa and a work permit?

Do you need a Non-B visa and a work permit to work in Thailand?

Yes — to work lawfully in Thailand a foreigner needs two separate documents issued by two separate authorities: a visa that permits employment, which for most people is the Non-Immigrant B visa, and a work permit issued by the Department of Employment. Neither one is enough on its own. A visa lets you enter and remain in the country; a work permit lets you work. Holding the visa without the permit, or the permit without the right visa, does not make the work lawful.

This catches people out, because in some countries a work visa carries the right to work with it. In Thailand the two are decided under different laws, and you assemble both.

What is the difference between the Non-B visa and the work permit?

The Non-B visa governs your presence in the country; the work permit governs your activity. The Non-Immigrant B ("B" for business) visa is issued under the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), normally by a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate abroad, for the purpose of employment or business, and is commonly issued first as a single-entry visa valid for 90 days. The work permit is issued under the Royal Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers' Employment B.E. 2560 (2017), as amended by Emergency Decree (No. 2) B.E. 2561 (2018), administered by the Department of Employment within the Ministry of Labour. Under that decree a foreigner may not work in Thailand without a permit from the Director-General of the Department of Employment, and the permit ties you to a named employer, position and workplace.

What must the employer or company provide?

The work permit is employer-sponsored, so the company behind it has to qualify. The employer must be a business registered in Thailand (for a company, registered with the Department of Business Development). As a matter of the Department of Employment's administrative practice, a private Thai limited company is generally expected to hold paid-up registered capital of at least THB 2 million for each foreign work permit it sponsors — reduced to THB 1 million where the foreigner is married to a Thai national — and to employ at least four Thai nationals for each foreigner it employs. The role itself must not fall within the occupations reserved for Thai nationals. These figures are administrative criteria applied in practice, not a fixed statutory formula, and they change — confirm the current requirements before you rely on them.

What is the sequence, step by step?

The order matters, because each step depends on the one before it:

• Secure the employer and the paperwork. The company assembles its registration, financial statements and the supporting letters, and confirms the position is not a reserved occupation.
• Apply for the Non-B visa. You apply at a Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate, usually from outside Thailand, with the employer's documents. It is commonly issued as a 90-day single-entry visa.
• Enter Thailand on the Non-B.
• Apply for the work permit. The employer files the work-permit application with the Department of Employment. The permit is issued for the named employer, position and location.
• Extend your stay for one year. With the work permit and the employer's documents, you apply to the Immigration Bureau to extend your stay, typically for one year at a time, on the basis of employment.
• Maintain it. You keep the 90-day address reporting, obtain a re-entry permit before you travel so the extension survives, and renew the work permit and the extension each year.

What happens if you work without a permit?

Working without the required permit is an offence for both the worker and the employer. Under the 2018 amendment, a foreigner who works without a permit faces a fine of THB 5,000 to THB 50,000, then repatriation, and may be barred from applying for a new work permit for two years. An employer who takes on a foreigner without a permit, or outside the permitted scope, faces a fine of THB 10,000 to THB 100,000 for each foreigner, rising to THB 50,000–200,000 per foreigner and a three-year ban on employing foreigners for a repeat offence. Because the permit is tied to a specific employer and role, working outside that scope — a different employer, a different job — needs the permit changed first.

Does owning or managing your rental condominium require a work permit?

Simply receiving rent from a condominium you own does not, by itself, require a work permit — that is passive income from your property, not work. This is the honest complication foreign owners should understand: the line moves once you stop being a passive owner. Actively running a letting operation as an occupation — advertising units, showing them, handling tenants and bookings as a business — can amount to "work" under the decree, and a foreigner cannot simply hold a work permit in a personal capacity: a permit needs a qualifying employer, which for your own activity means a properly constituted company. So managing your own rentals at scale raises both a work-permit question and a company question at once. Where the line falls depends on the facts of what you actually do. We set out the practical position on the residency essentials page, and the lawful company route — never a nominee arrangement — on the company formation page.

What should you plan for?

Plan the visa and the work permit together, and before you rely on any income from working, because the two documents and the company behind them take time to line up. Remember that owning a unit is a separate matter from the right to work or stay: a title deed gives you neither, as we explain in Can foreigners buy a condominium in Thailand?. If your plan is a long stay rather than employment, the Long-Term Resident visa carries its own digital work-permit route for those who qualify. Whichever path fits, get the structure right before you start — unwinding it afterwards is harder than building it correctly.

Sources

• Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979); Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Royal Thai Embassies (mfa.go.th) and Thai Immigration Bureau (immigration.go.th) — the Non-Immigrant B visa for employment and business, and extension of stay based on work. Checked 25 July 2026.
• Royal Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers' Employment B.E. 2560 (2017), s.5 (permit required to work), as amended by Emergency Decree (No. 2) B.E. 2561 (2018), effective 28 March 2018; Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour (doe.go.th) — work-permit requirement and administration. Checked 25 July 2026.
• Emergency Decree (No. 2) B.E. 2561 (2018) — revised penalties: a foreigner working without a permit is fined THB 5,000–50,000 and repatriated; an employer employing a foreigner without a permit is fined THB 10,000–100,000 per foreigner (THB 50,000–200,000 per foreigner and a three-year employment ban for a repeat offence). Checked 25 July 2026.
• Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour (doe.go.th) — administrative criteria applied in practice for a private Thai limited company sponsoring a work permit: registered/paid-up capital of THB 2 million per foreign permit (THB 1 million if married to a Thai national) and four Thai employees per foreigner; occupations reserved for Thai nationals. Administrative practice, not a statutory formula. Checked 25 July 2026.

This is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice on your situation; a matter is taken under a separate engagement with Suwanvara Law Firm, and you remain free to appoint another adviser. Immigration and labour rules, thresholds, capital and Thai-employee requirements, fees and processing times change, and every approval is discretionary to the Thai authorities — confirm the current requirements with us. No visa or work-permit outcome is guaranteed.

This article is published in multiple languages. Where the versions differ, the English version prevails.