BOI and the One Stop Service Centre

A permit is not issued for longer than the period the foreigner is permitted to stay in the Kingdom. Non-B holders are typically granted up to one year at a time and renew annually, while BOI cases follow the period approved for the position.

The commonly applied benchmark is THB 2 million paid-up capital per foreign employee for a Thai company, and THB 3 million per foreign employee for a company holding a Foreign Business Licence. BOI-promoted companies and operators inside industrial estates follow their own criteria instead. Confirm the current benchmark with the provincial employment office before filing.

The general practice is four permanent Thai employees per foreign employee, evidenced by the insured-persons list filed with the Social Security Office. BOI-promoted businesses, representative offices and certain treaty-based companies operate under different conditions.

At the employment office covering the workplace address — the responsible Bangkok employment office in the capital, or the provincial employment office elsewhere. BOI-promoted companies and industrial-estate operators file at the One Stop Service Centre for Visa and Work Permit instead.

Promoted companies apply for approval of skilled-worker or specialist positions through BOI systems, then complete the work permit and extension of stay at the One Stop Service Centre, without the general paid-up-capital and Thai-staff ratio benchmarks.

It is the online system promoted companies use to request approval of foreign specialist positions and to appoint individuals to approved positions, before completing visa and work permit formalities at the One Stop Service Centre. Guides are published on the BOI website.

BOI-promoted companies, operators inside IEAT industrial estates, certain representative and regional offices, and holders of special visas such as SMART Visa and LTR — combining immigration and work-permit formalities at one location.

Operators licensed by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand may request approval for numbers of foreign skilled workers and specialists under the industrial estate legislation, using their own criteria separate from general companies. Confirm details directly with IEAT.

SMART Visa holders approved under BOI criteria are exempt from holding a work permit for the endorsed activity, but must still comply with reporting conditions and stay within the approved scope of activity. Eligibility details are published at smart-visa.boi.go.th.

LTR holders in categories with work rights receive their work authorization through the One Stop Service Centre according to the conditions of the approved category, such as highly skilled professionals. Benefits follow BOI announcements.

The general rule is THB 2 million paid-up capital and four insured Thai employees per foreign worker, but there are significant exceptions: BOI-promoted companies, businesses under the Thai-US Treaty of Amity, SMART Visa holders, representative offices, and teachers at licensed institutions. Check the requirements for your specific business category with the Department of Employment before designing your hiring structure.

OSOS puts BOI, Immigration and Department of Employment officers under one roof, so position approval, visa and work permit issuance can complete in a single working day once documents are in order and the position is approved in e-Expert. The bottleneck is usually not the service centre but the e-Expert position approval, which requires degrees and experience letters matching the job title. Have those legalised and translated before you file.

Both relieve holders of the standard work permit process in defined ways. SMART Visa allows work in an endorsed targeted industry without a separate permit, while LTR highly skilled and work-from-Thailand categories receive a BOI digital work permit with annual reporting and fast-track airport access. Both require the responsible agency to qualify you first.

The general rule is THB 2 million paid-up registered capital and four full-time Thai employees per foreign worker. If the foreigner is legally married to a Thai national the requirement drops to THB 1 million and two Thai employees. BOI-promoted companies and firms inside industrial estates follow their promotion certificate instead. Expect to show the shareholder list (BorOrJor.5), company affidavit, latest financial statements, and three months of PND.1 and SorPorSor.1-10 filings.

BOI-promoted companies use the e-Expert system to obtain position approval and assign individuals online. They are exempt from the four-Thai-employees ratio and commonly receive two-year approvals per approved position, with lighter financial documentation and faster processing. The trade-off is that you need a promotion certificate and the role must sit within the approved organisation chart.

No. LTR categories with working rights come with a digital work permit attached to the status, and SMART Visa holders are exempt from the ordinary work permit process. Both still report on the prescribed cycle and must notify BOI of a change of employer or scope. Working for an entity outside the approved conditions is still working beyond what was authorised.