Integrity Legal - Law Firm in Bangkok | Bangkok Lawyer | Legal Services Thailand Back to
Integrity Legal

Legal Services & Resources 

Up to date legal information pertaining to Thai, American, & International Law.

Contact us: +66 2-266 3698

info@integrity-legal.com

ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawThailand Immigration LawCan I Change My Thai Tourist Visa to a Business Visa?

Can I Change My Thai Tourist Visa to a Business Visa?

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests we are discussing Thai Tourist and Business Visas. A question that has come up a lot in the last few months has been "Can I change my Thai Tourist Visa to a Business Visa? 

Let's start off by noting this: under routine circumstances, under normal circumstances for lack of better term, No, that is not a possibility. Generally speaking or at least as a routine matter, Thai Immigration, especially those in Non-immigrant status, want to see those folks leave the country to get a new Non-immigrant Visa. They are not particularly amenable to converting if you will from one Visa category to another Visa category. 

That stated, the COVID response has placed the Immigration Authorities in something of a precarious position. They have people in Thailand, in some cases they don't have anywhere to go, it has been an unprecedented state of affairs. We have seen Thai Immigration use their adjudicatory discretion to do things that they don't routinely do and in this case, we have seen this happen. We have seen folks on a Tourist Visa be able to change over, be able to change status, convert their visa from Tourist to Business Visa. Now this is going to be very circumstantially dependent. Keep in mind a Thai Work Permit is going to come into play here because you have to have a Work Permit in order to maintain Business Visa status and vice versa in Thailand in order to maintain extended Business Visa status or a permit to stay in business status. It may not necessarily be the case with a Thai Embassy or Consulate, but with respect to those in Thailand, yes a Work Permit is going to be required. 

Again, this is a complex issue. There are a lot of ins and outs and there are issues. If one does not address the details of this correctly one can find oneself in a very negative position. That stated, it is probably a good idea depending on your circumstances to go ahead and contact a legal professional in order to gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed in dealing with a change from Tourist to Business Visa status here in the Kingdom of Thailand.