Thai Visa & Work Permit Lawyers
Your right to be here and your right to work here are two separate permissions — and they have to stay aligned
Your right to be here and your right to work here are two separate permissions — and they have to stay aligned
The single most common misunderstanding among foreigners working in Thailand is that a visa allows them to work. It does not. Permission to stay and permission to work are issued separately, by different authorities, and a work permit is valid only for the employer, position, type of work and location written on it. Alongside them sit extensions, re-entry permits and 90-day reporting — none individually difficult, but each capable of undoing the others if missed. We handle the whole set together for individuals and for companies employing foreign staff, so the pieces do not drift out of alignment between renewals.
Service Scope
A visa is not permission to work
The visa or extension of stay is your right to be in Thailand. The work permit, issued separately by the Ministry of Labour, is your right to work — and only for the employer, position, type of work and location it names. It is not transferable. Changing any of those may require the permit to be amended or reissued first. Even unpaid assistance can create exposure if it amounts to performing work for a business, which is a distinction people discover too late rather than in advance.
The employer has to qualify, not only the employee
A Thai company cannot simply decide to hire a foreign national. For an ordinary Thai limited company the authorities typically look at paid-up registered capital and the ratio of Thai employees to each foreign work permit. Different or relaxed criteria can apply — where the foreigner is married to a Thai national, for a branch or representative office, or for a BOI-promoted business. If you are relying on a job offer, it is worth confirming the employer actually qualifies before you commit to the move.
The three deadlines that quietly cause the most trouble
First, the extension of stay: the long-term right to remain comes from an extension applied for inside Thailand, not from the short-validity visa stamped abroad, and it has to be renewed before it lapses. Second, the re-entry permit: leaving the country without one can void an extension with months still to run. Third, 90-day reporting: an address notification rather than a renewal, but missing it brings a fine and creates friction with later applications. For corporate clients we keep a calendar of every foreign employee's dates and file on their behalf.
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Frequently asked questions about Visa & Work Permit
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Further reading
How Thai visas, work permits, 90-day reporting, extensions, re-entry permits, and overstay rules fit together in 2026 — with the key routes: Non-B, Non-O retirement and marriage, BOI, SMART, LTR, and DTV. By a Thai law firm with 40 years of experience.
17 min readInvestmentEverything foreign investors need to know about doing business in Thailand — entity types, BOI, FBA, work permits, taxes, and pitfalls. 4,000+ words from a 39-year Thai law firm.
22 min readFamilyEverything foreign spouses need to know about ending a Thai marriage — jurisdiction, mutual-consent vs court divorce, matrimonial property, child custody, and recognition back home. Written by a 40-year Khon Kaen law firm.
14 min readCriminal Law GuideYou were defrauded by a Thai-based counterparty and you are overseas or in Thailand only briefly. Which station takes the complaint, whether a lawyer can lodge it for you under a power of attorney, the evidence pack to build first, and how you follow it from abroad.
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