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ResourcesCorporate and Tax AdvisoryThailand Corporate LawFirst Time Thai Work Permit Applicants Get Shorter Permit Duration

First Time Thai Work Permit Applicants Get Shorter Permit Duration

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests we are going to be discussing Thai work permits specifically the duration of validity associated with first time Thai work permit applicants. This is in the specific context of small businesses here in the Kingdom. In another video on this channel I discussed specifically the issue of the sort of overall tightening or the overall stricter scrutiny associated with Thai Immigration Officials in a Thai immigration context. This is kind of similar to that but it has to do with Thai work permits.

 

In the past, it was often possible and it was often frequently done, that we would see an initial Thai work permit applicant receive a 1-year work permit at the time they applied for their first work permit. This made things kind of simpler for the applicant for a couple of reasons. One, it gave them certain options. In certain jurisdictions outside of the Kingdom, there were Embassies or Consulates that would issue one-year multi-entry visas to those who had a long-term work permit.  Generally speaking it was over 6, 8, 9 or just an initially issued 12 month work permit, would get them a one-year multi-entry Business Visa. That has subsequently changed a lot. I did some videos specifically on that topic, but the thing to take away from this video is, here recently in the past 3 or 4 months, we have started seeing Thai Labor Department not necessarily immediately issuing particularly long-term work permits. In fact they seem to have taken a policy of first-time work permit applicants are now only going to be issued a work permit with an expiry coming at the end of an initial 90-day Visa or whatever visa they have got. Presumably I think if we were to see a multi-entry applicant seek a work permit for the first time, someone with a multi entry long-term  visa, a Thai work permit might be issued  in order to coincide with the validity of that visa but with respect to single entry visa holders, these are folks that have come into the Kingdom are stamped in for 90-day status in the initial work permit application, the initial duration of the work permit is only going to be up to the expiration of that individual’s lawful status meaning that individual or individuals are only going to get their work permit up to the end of their 90-day single-entry visa; they are no longer going to be issued their work permit out into a year, 6 months, even 3 months but then at the end of that three months falls out after the duration of the single entry status, that initial 90-day status. We are just simply not seeing that anymore. What is that resulting in? It is almost resulting in applicants being compelled to seek a visa extension here in the country and the result of that is they are falling under the increased scrutiny of Thai Immigration Officials, which I have gone into at length in other videos on this channel most recently another video that was done rather contemporaneously with this video, but most notably what is this resulting in? It is resulting in further and higher scrutiny for the initial applicant for a Thai B visa extension as well as a Thai work permit as effectively these folks are going to be having to seek two applications, an initial one then a visa extension and then presumably another Thai work permit extension whereas in the past it was only required that that initial Thai work permit application be lodged and an initial 1- year work permit would be issued.