Visa / Work Permit for Foreigners with Thai Spouse

If a foreign employee is married to a Thai citizen, the foreigner may apply for a non-immigrant-O-visa (dependent visa) in Thailand. For the one-year extension of such visa, issued by the Immigration Office, in particular the following will be required:

• Marriage certificate;
• Evidence of income of not less than 400K/year, e.g. bank statement;
• ID card of the spouse; and
• Physical presence of the spouse.

The foreigner is then entitled to apply for a work permit under privileged conditions from the Department of Employment. For such work permit, in particular the following will be required with regards to the employer:

• Capital of 1 Million THB for this foreigner and
• 2 Thai staff employed for this foreigner.

There is no requirement for a non-immigrant-B-visa in connection with such work permit, the non-immigrant-O-visa is sufficient. However, if a non-immigrant-B-visa is preferred and applied for, please note that 2 Million THB capital are still required for such visa application.