Why BOI companies need a different guide
A general work permit guide always starts with the same formula: how much paid-up registered capital, and how many Thai employees, per foreign work permit. That formula is correct for an ordinary Thai limited company, and it does not apply to a business promoted for investment.
The reason is that the channel for promoted businesses does not limit foreign staff by an employee ratio. It limits them by the positions approved in the project. A promoted company that is counting its Thai employees to work out how many more foreigners it can hire is answering the wrong question.
This guide is written for the HR staff and project managers of companies that already hold a promotion certificate or are about to receive one. If your company is not promoted, read the HR guide to applying for and extending a work permit instead. And if your factory is in an industrial estate, there is another channel that works differently, explained in the guide to visas and work permits in industrial estates.
Disclaimer: This document is general information for planning purposes and is not legal advice. The conditions, procedures and privileges of each project differ depending on the type of business and the promotion certificate held. Please confirm against the conditions in your company's promotion certificate before taking any action.
How it differs from the ordinary channel
These three points explain almost all of the difference.
One: the privileges are tied to the project, not the company. A promotion certificate is issued for specified activities, not for the juristic person as a whole. One company may have both a promoted production line and a non-promoted one. Each foreign employee therefore has to be classified as being on one side or the other, and a wrong classification is a problem that surfaces at audit, not at filing.
Two: the position comes before the person. The sequence is to first apply for approval of the number and positions of foreign skilled workers or experts in the project, and then to place individuals in the approved positions. Companies used to the ordinary channel often think the other way round, finding the person first and then filing. That leaves them waiting for the position approval step that should have been completed beforehand.
Three: problems arrive as a group, not one at a time. When a project has conditions not yet fully met, or reports not yet submitted, the effect is not on any one employee but on everyone in that project at once. This is the risk that differs most from an ordinary company, and it is the reason the project's compliance status should be checked on a regular cycle, not only when one employee is due to renew.
What the Visa and Work Permit Service Center really does
A common misunderstanding is to think that a one-stop service center means less paperwork. In practice the paperwork does not shrink much. What you get is not having to go to two agencies separately, and having the immigration side and the work permit side run together rather than one after the other.
What the service center does not do for you is the approval of positions in the project. That is work on the BOI side that has to be finished first. A company that takes an employee to the service center without an approved position will be sent back to start at the first step.
The real benefit therefore goes to companies that already have their sequence of work right, and is wasted on companies that treat it as a shortcut around a step.
A company with both promoted and non-promoted operations
This is the most complicated case, and the one most often seen in factories that have operated for many years.
The first project was promoted, and then the company expanded into other activities that it did not apply to have promoted, or took on contract manufacturing for other customers on top of the original production line. At that point, foreign employees in the same company end up in different channels.
What must be made clear before filing any application:
- Which activity each employee works on, in writing, not just an understanding within the team
- Whether the position stated in the documents really matches that activity
- How employees who work across both parts will be classified, and what supports that
- Whether the non-promoted part has enough registered capital and employee ratio to support its foreign employees
The last point is the one companies forget most often. After becoming used to the fact that the promoted project does not use the ratio, they forget that the non-promoted part still needs it.
SMART Visa and LTR: different routes, not a better option
Promoted companies often ask whether they should put employees on a SMART Visa instead. The answer depends more on the employee than on the company.
The SMART Visa is aimed at experts, executives, investors and start-up entrepreneurs in targeted industries. Its strengths are that the holder does not need a separate work permit for the certified activity and has more relaxed reporting conditions. But the applicant must pass a qualification endorsement, which is a separate step of its own.
The LTR visa is another route for long-term residents, and it includes the group of highly skilled professionals. An LTR holder who works for a juristic person in Thailand still needs permission to work, but through the LTR system's own process.
In practice, a mid-sized or larger promoted company often has employees on several routes at the same time. The hard part is not choosing a route but knowing who is on which route, what must be done when, and who in the company looks after that calendar.
Sequence of work for a company that has just received its promotion certificate
- Read the conditions in the promotion certificate in full, especially the parts on foreign personnel and the deadlines for complying with conditions.
- Apply for approval of positions. The number and positions of skilled workers or experts the project needs. Do this before you start recruiting.
- Place people in the positions, with qualification and experience documents certified as required. Certifying documents from abroad takes its own time and should be started as early as possible.
- Arrange the visa and work permit to match, through the channel the company is entitled to use.
- Set up a two-layer calendar. The first layer is each employee's own expiry dates. The second is the deadlines under the project's conditions, which is the layer that affects everyone at once if missed.
When to bring in a lawyer
- The company has both promoted and non-promoted activities and has not yet clearly divided its employees
- You are about to restructure, merge, or move a production line between affiliated juristic persons
- The project has conditions not yet fully met, and employees must renew in the near term
- You have been refused an application, or asked to explain the qualifications of a position
- You want a system your HR team can run continuously, rather than relying on one person in the company
For the scope of our work for companies, see the visa and work permit service for employers. And if you are considering the investment structure from the beginning, read the guide for foreign investors in Thailand alongside this one.
If you would like an assessment of which channel your company should use for which employee, call 092-254-2045
