Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the Thai Business Visa process in the year 2026. I usually like to use the end of a calendar year and the beginning of a new one, to make these kind of videos where we note the year but one of the reasons for doing it is to do roundups on these topics because look a lot of folks watch this channel, far more than I ever thought in a million years when I started it would ultimately be watching this channel. I still find it fascinating that people say I have an audience and we have subscribers of almost 40,000 people. I thank you; I really do. It's humbling in many ways. 

That being said, I forget I've been doing this, this will be going on our 10th year making these videos. I forget that stuff that I make, and in my head it's sort of like "well I've discussed that". Well new people come in and we are sitting here in high season 2025 going into 2026, we are seeing new people coming into Thailand and some of these topics are just, they're not aware of them to the level that I might think people might ought to be aware of them because I have made so much content over time, I have to kind of do a redux if you will, sort of put this information back out there because people haven't seen it, so this is kind of one of those videos. 

For those who watch this channel frequently, a lot of this will be sort of review, but yeah Thai Business Visas. It is possible for a foreign national here in Thailand to obtain a visa to do business in Thailand and to obtain work authorization status in Thailand pursuant to Thai Law; it's covered under the Immigration Act of 1979; Business Visas are specifically mentioned. In the '80s the Work Permit was created and that was sort of added on and made part and parcel of the process of obtaining Business Visa extension. Largely, or generally speaking I guess I should say, largely the immigration process as it pertains to Business Visas has not changed greatly this past year. That being said, everything associated with Immigration in the past couple of months has been clamping down significantly. We are noticing heightened scrutiny associated with Business Visa applications; we are noticing heightened scrutiny associated with Work Permits and Work Permit applications recently and these are integral to the Business Visa renewal process, so they are important for those who are looking to come to Thailand and maintain long term status. 

The thing to take away from this video however, if you are looking for a standard Business Visa and a standard Work Permit, generally speaking if you're starting from scratch and you are not going to be working for someone else, the best way to go about setting up a vehicle to apply for a Business Visa and a Work Permit is via the setup of a Thai Corporation and then using that as a vehicle to go ahead and apply for a Business Visa and Work Permit. Again, the overall application process has not changed per se, but the scrutiny is heightened and I would say while it's not necessarily more difficult to get a Business Visa as at the time of this video, there were times in the past where it was far more straightforward and far more relaxed when going through that process, whereas these days, I would say again there is heightened scrutiny. That's not to say that it's impossible; we assist a number of clients every day with Business Visa and Work Permit related matters. But that being said, for those who feel a bit overwhelmed with dealing with the process, it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight into how best to proceed.