Thailand Visa Law
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Thai Visas (Visas to enter Thailand)

The list below is not exhaustive (one example, the 3 year non-immigrant B, is difficult to obtain and relatively rare), but simply a list of visas that most Expats in Thailand tend to get and information about how to obtain them.

Non-Immigrant Visa Category “B” (Business Visa) is issued to applicants wishing to enter Thailand to work or to conduct business. A Thai Business Visa is the most popular Thai Immigration document.

Necessary Documents:   
-Passport or travel document (must be valid for 6 months or more)
- Completed visa application form
- Recent passport-sized photograph (4 x 6 cm) [watch out this is a different size photo than that demanded by the US Embassy and most US agencies] of the applicant taken within the past 6 months.                 
- Evidence of adequate finance (20,000 Baht per person and 40,000 Baht per family).
- Letter of approval from the Ministry of Labor.  In order to obtain this letter, the applicant’s prospective employer in Thailand is required to submit Form WP3 at the Office of Foreign Workers Administration, Department of Employment, Ministry of Labor Tel. 02-2452745, or at the Provincial Employment Office in his or her respective province.  For more information is available at contact the Thai Embassy. 
- Copy of Work Permit issued by the Ministry of Labor and alien income tax or Por Ngor Dor 91 (only in the case where applicant has previously worked in Thailand). 
              
- Corporate documents of employer in Thailand such as:
                1) business registration and business license
                2) list of shareholders
                3) company profile
                4) details of business operation
                5) list of foreign workers stating names, nationalities and positions
                6) map indicating location of the company
                7) balance sheet, statement of Income Tax and Business Tax (Por  Ngor Dor 50 and Por Ngor Dor 30 of the latest year)
               8) value-added tax registration (Por Por 20)
-  Document indicating the number of foreign tourists (for tourism business only), or document indicating export transactions issued by banks (for export business only).

- The Thai Foreign Ministry recommends that applicants should apply for a visa at the Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in their country of residence. 

A foreigner holding a Non-Immigrant visa can work in Thailand once they are granted a work permit. A foreigner is in violation of the law if they take up employment without a work permit and could be prosecuted, imprisoned, fined, or all of the above.
It usually takes some time (usually a couple of weeks) to obtain a work permit, so it is not uncommon for foreigners to actually take up employment before they receive a work permit. However, if you do this be careful as the Thais treat foreigners working without a permit just as seriously as the American authorities treat aliens working without a green card.

*Note-- the rules for obtaining a Non-Immigrant “B” are different and somewhat less stringent for someone not wishing to work, but instead “conduct business” in Thailand.

Non-Immigrant Visa Category “B” (Teaching)

Foreigners taking up employment as school teachers below the university level in Thailand must submit the following documents:
- Passport or travel document (must be valid for 6 months or more)
- Completed visa application form
- Recent passport-sized photograph (4 x 6 cm) [watch out this is a different size photo than that demanded by the US Embassy and most US agencies] of the applicant taken within the past 6 months.
- Letter of acceptance from the school employing you in Thailand.
- Letter of approval from government agencies such as the Office of the Private Education Commission, the Office of the Basic Education Commission.
- Evidence of educational qualification such as diplomas, degrees, or teaching certificates.
- School license or business registration, list of shareholders and school profile.
- Applicant’s resume.        
- Effective May 2007 Police certificate verifying that applicant has no criminal record or an equivalent letter issued by authorized agencies in applicant’s country.

Thailand “O-A” (Retirement) Visa

-Must be 50 or over (on the day of submitting application).
-Have no criminal record in Thailand and the country of the applicant’s nationality or residence. (Must submit documentation from home country confirming this)
-Having the nationality or residence in the country where the application is submitted.
-No prohibited diseases, basically major communicable diseases.
-Must meet a financial requirement as stated below

Required Documents
    -Passport with validity of not less than 18 months.
    -visa application forms (3 copies).
    -3 passport-sized photos (4 x 6 cm) [*see warning above] of the applicant taken within the past six months.
    -A personal data form.
    -A copy of bank statement showing a deposit of the amount equal to and not less than 800,000 Baht or an income certificate (an original copy) with a monthly income of not less than 65,000 Baht, or a deposit account and a monthly income totaling not less than 800,000 Baht. In the case of submitting a bank statement, an original letter of guarantee from the bank is required.
     The fee for the retirement visa is 2,000 baht for single entry and 5,000 for multiple re-entry.

Tourist Visa 
Upon arrival in Thailand your passport will be stamped with a 30 day visa stamp. This entitles the holder to remain in the country for 30 days without the right to work. After 30 days the holder must leave Thailand. There was a time (which all of the “good-ole-days-when-beer-cost-a-baht” expats can tell you about) when you could continuously make “visa runs” (day trips over the nearest border and back for the sole purpose of obtaining a new 30-day visa) in order to stay in the country. This is no longer possible. The new regulations state that a foreigner may obtain only 3 tourist visas every 180 days.

ED (Education) Visa
One can obtain an ED visa fairly easily in Thailand. A school must have the ability to give them out (i.e. bona fide credentials) and you must meet the requirements (a relatively easy task the biggest requirement is paying the tuition to the school). This has become the preferred method for people to stay in Thailand since the death of the infinite tourist visa.

Adjustment of Status      Child Immigrants       Income Requirements

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