In the event that an insured person became unemployed, he/she will be entitled to the unemployment benefits under the following circumstances:

– For unemployment resulted from termination of employment or laid-off, the insured person will receive 50% of wages for not more than 180 days within 1 year calculated on the basis of maximum contributions of Baht 15,000.

– For unemployment resulted from voluntary resignation, the insured person will receive 30% of wages up to 90 days within 1 year calculated on the basis of maximum amount of contributions but not more than Baht 15,000. If in the duration of 1 year there was more than 1 application for the unemployment benefits, the counting of the unemployment benefit receiving period in total shall not exceed 180 days; hence, the compensation benefit for loss of income shall be paid on monthly installment basis by crediting to the Bank Account as notified by the Insured.

Know more about Thailand Social Security and its benefits. Contact MSNA for consultation and for submission of your social security fund contribution.

If you are a foreigner who wants to get residency in Thailand, you may be eligible to apply for a residence permit with the Immigration Bureau provided that you have the following qualifications:

1. You must hold a passport that bears a Non-Immigrant Visa and has been permitted to stay in Thailand with one-year visa extensions for the total of at least 3 consecutive years up to the application submission date.
2. If you are at least 14 years old up to the application submission date, you are subject to criminal records check.
3. You must reveal your information on income, assets, knowledge, vocational ability and family status in terms of connection with Thai national conditions on national security or others as deem appropriate for the consideration.
4. You must be able to understand and speak Thai language.

Application for a residence permit is divided into five categories:

1. For investment
2. For employment
3. For humanitarian reasons – in this category, you must have relationship with a Thai citizen or a foreigner who already was granted with a residence permit as follows:

3.1 a legal husband or wife

3.2 a legal father or mother

3.3 a child who is under 20 years of age up to the application submission date and must be single

4. For expert
5. For extra circumstances on a case by case basis

The Ministry of Interior will announce the annual quota of foreigners to be granted with residence permit (by yearly quota per nationality) and such announcement will be published in the Government Gazette. You can then submit all documents required for each category, together with your passport until the last working day of the year at Chaengwattana Immigration Division or provincial Immigration offices. All documents must be submitted in person.

Once the application have been accepted, the Immigration officer will grant you a 180-day extension of stay on the date of application submission first and the next extension will be granted for 180 days until the results of the applications come out.

The Immigration officer may require a visit to your home and have a short interview with you together with those who are involved in the application. Within 120 days later, you will get an appointment card to come for a final interview with the Immigration officers. You will have to take the test for speaking, listening for understanding of the Thai language. Most questions are about your family, career, living, donation and your intention to apply for a residence permit.

Your application is also considered based on your income, assets, knowledge, vocational ability and family status in case of relationship with Thai nationals, conditions on national security or others as deemed appropriate for current economic and social condition in order to make certain that such consideration was made thoughtfully, transparently and fairly.

Please note that timeline for the consideration process varies each year, depending on the policy of the Immigration Commission and the Ministry of Interior.

Applicable fees:

1. A non-refundable fee for each application is Baht 7,600 (whether permission is granted or not)
2. If the application is approved, the fee for the residence permit is Baht 191,400. However, the residence permit fee for spouses and children (under 20 years of age) of the foreigners who already have a residence permit or Thai citizenship is Baht 95,700.

Obtaining a residence permit in Thailand is much easier if you have an English speaking partner to guide you in the process and prepare the application requirements. Contact MSNA for further assistance in obtaining a residence permit in Thailand.

To avoid double taxation, Thailand has concluded tax treaty agreements with certain countries. As of March 2021, the countries which currently have tax treaties with the Kingdom are as follows:

1. Armenia
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Bahrain
5. Bangladesh
6. Belarus
7. Belgium
8. Bulgaria
9. Canada
10. Cambodia
11. Chile
12. China P.R.
13. Cyprus
14. Czech Republic
15. Denmark
16. Estonia
17. Finland
18. France
19. Germany
20. Great Britain and Northern Ireland
21. Hong Kong
22. Hungary
23. India
24. Indonesia
25. Ireland
26. Israel
27. Italy
28. Japan
29. Korea
30. Kuwait
31. Laos
32. Luxembourg
33. Malaysia
34. Mauritius
35. Myanmar
36. Nepal
37. The Netherlands
38. New Zealand
39. Norway
40. Oman
41. Pakistan
42. Philippines
43. Poland
44. Romania
45. Russia
46. Seychelles
47. Singapore
48. Slovenia
49. South Africa
50. Spain
51. Sri Lanka
52. Sweden
53. Switzerland
54. Chinese Taipei
55. Tajikistan
56. Turkey
57. Ukraine
58. United Arab Emirates
59. United States of America
60. Uzbekistan
61. Vietnam

Contact MSNA for your accounting, tax and other business needs.

Are foreigners allowed to bring branded cars into Thailand?

According to the Customs, foreigners are allowed to import cars to Thailand provided that applicable taxes are paid and proper clearances are obtained. For personal use, personal vehicles such as car, motorcycle, sports boat or yachts and fishing vessel, etc. can be imported into Thailand either temporarily or permanently.

In a temporary import of personal vehicles for a short visit into Thailand by owners, tax or duty allowance can be granted provided that they are to be re-exported within 1-2 months but not exceeding six months. Any persons intending to temporarily import personal vehicles have to closely observe the regulations and conditions of Customs.

For permanent import of vehicles, new vehicles of all types that are not yet registered abroad are allowed to be imported without applying for an import permit from the Ministry of Commerce. For used or secondhand vehicles, the importer needs to obtain an import permit from the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce before the arrival of the vehicles otherwise he/she will be liable to a fine equal to 10% of the price of vehicle but not less than Baht 1,000 or exceeding Baht 20,000. For new or used vehicles with the weight of less than 3500 kgs., the importer needs to obtain an import permit from the Industrial Standard Institute.

Know more about your tax obligations in Thailand. Contact MSNA for consultation.

Foreign companies carrying on business in Thailand, whether as a branch or an office must apply for tax identification number from the Revenue Department. An application form (Lor Por 10.3) together with other relevant documents such as a copy of the company’s registration license, house registration, etc., shall be submitted to the Area Revenue Office within 60 days from the date of registration or operation.

Moreover, all companies whether a Thai or foreign which carries on business in Thailand must submit the corporate income tax returns and payments twice a year:

1. The half year tax return must be submitted (Corporate Income Tax PND 51 form) within two months after the end of the first six months. The amount of tax due shall be half of the entire year projection of the company’s annual net profit.
2. The annual tax return (Corporate Income Tax PND 50 form) must be submitted within 150 days after the closing date of its accounting period.

Contact MSNA for further assistance in filing your half year corporate income tax return and annual corporate income tax return in Thailand.

Not all foreigners working in Thailand are required to obtain a work permit. Under Section 4 of Working of Alien Act B.E. 2551 (2008), exemptions from the work permit requirement are granted to foreign individuals performing certain duties and missions as follows:

1. Members of consular missions
2. Members of diplomatic corps
3. Representatives of member countries and officials of the United Nations and its specialized agencies or institutions
4. Personal servants coming from abroad to work exclusively for persons listed under items 1, 2 or 3
5. Persons who perform duties on missions in the Kingdom under an agreement between the government of Thailand and a foreign government or international organization
6. Persons who enter into the Kingdom for the performance of any duty or mission for the benefit of education, culture, arts or sports
7. Persons who are specially permitted by the Thai Government to enter into and perform any duty or mission in the Kingdom.

Foreigner working in Thailand? Contact ThaiLawyers for your Thai visa and work permit needs.

There are certain categories of taxpayers and income which are exempt from Corporate Income Tax in Thailand as follows:

1. The categories of taxpayers which are exempt from Corporate Income Tax are as follows:

– Companies which were granted exemption from tax for a period of time by the Board of Investment under the Investment Promotion Act (1977);

– Foreign organizations under mutual agreements or diplomatic organizations.

– Specific foundations or organizations; and

1. The categories of income which are exempt from Corporate Income Tax are as follows:

– A special purpose vehicle (“SPV”) for securitization is granted the tax exemption on income derived from a securitization project approved by the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Nevertheless, the operation and allocation of cash inflow for the settlement of debts and expenses must follow the plan approved by the SEC. moreover, no dividends may be paid to the shareholders of an SPV until all remaining assets and benefits have been transferred by the SPV back to the originator of the securitization project and the SPV ceases to exist.

– Interest on foreign loans paid to financial institutions organized under a specific law and wholly-owned by a foreign government;

– Interest on government bonds paid to a foreign company not carrying on business in Thailand;

– Interest on foreign currency deposits received from a commercial bank used for lending to non-Thai nationals domiciled or residing abroad, foreign companies not carrying on business in Thailand and foreign banks including those with a branch or representative office in Thailand.

– Dividends received from foreign investments are exempt from tax provided that the Thai company receiving the dividends has held at least 25% of the shares with voting rights of the company paying the dividends for a period of not less than six months before the date on which the dividends were received and the dividends were derived from net profits in the foreign country taxed at a rate of not lower than 15%. In the event that a “special law” in a particular foreign country provides a reduced tax rate or exemption for the net profits, the limited company which receives the dividends is still eligible for the tax exemption;

– Dividends or share of profits paid by an unincorporated joint venture to a Thai company or foreign company carrying on business in Thailand;

– Dividends received from a Thai company by a company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Dividends received by a non-listed company from another Thai company are also exempt from tax, provided that the company receiving the dividends holds at least 25% of the total shares with voting rights without any direct or indirect cross-shareholding. In other cases where one Thai company receives a dividend from another Thai company, one-half of the dividend is exempt from tax. However, in all cases, the listed or non-listed company receiving a dividend must have held the shares in the company paying the dividend for at least three months before and three months after the dividend was received. In the case of an amalgamation (merger) or entire business transfer (EBT), the new or surviving company can include the period of ownership of any predecessor company that was part of the amalgamation or EBT when counting the three-month period;

Contact MSNA for your Thai accounting, taxation and other business needs.

At present, the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) rate is 23% for accounting periods beginning between 1 January and 31 December 2012. For accounting periods beginning between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2014, CIT rate is 20%.

The CIT rates for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are as follows:

i. For accounting periods beginning between 1 January and 31 December 2012:

Net profit (THB) CIT rate

0 – 150,000 -0-

150,000 – 1,000,000 15%

Over 1,000,000 23%

ii. For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013:

Net profit (THB) CIT rate

0 – 150,000 -0-

150,000 – 1,000,000 15%

Over 1,000,000 20%

In order to be eligible for the reduced tax rates, the SMEs must meet the following conditions effective from the accounting period which begins on or after 1 January 2012:

(1) The paid-up capital on the last day of any accounting period must not exceed THB 5 million;

(2) The income from the sale of goods and provision of services must not exceed THB 30 million in any accounting period.

On the other hand, banks are subject to CIT at the rate of 10% in respect of profits derived from lending to non-Thai residents from foreign currency funds obtained from non-Thai sources.

Contact MSNA for your Thai accounting and taxation questions.

In Thailand, an employee is expected to follow the Employer’s disciplinary measures as follows:

1. He or she must comply with the work rules.
2. He or she must comply and follow a lawful order of a superior.
3. He or she must perform work on the time assigned and make the working time in record.
4. He or she must perform duties with integrity and must not persecute or intend to cause any damage to an employer or other employees.
5. He or she must perform work actively with utmost effort.
6. He or she must follow a regulation on occupational safety.
7. As necessary or as suitable to his/her duty, he or she must maintain machines, tools and equipment to be in a good condition and well keeping.
8. Employees must carefully carry out surveillance and prevention against the potential loss or damage made by a person or other ominous incidents to property in working place or factory compound with full of ability.
9. Employees must keep a workplace or factory compounds clean and clear.
10. He or she must not make a brawl with or an assault against any person in a workplace or factory compounds.
11. He or she must not take illegal drugs, a lethal weapon or an explosive substance into a workplace or factory compound.

In the event of an employee acts against these disciplinary measures, he or she will be warned in oral, warned in writing, suspended or dismissed according to the level of his/her offence. Whereas, an employee allegedly violate the disciplinary measures, the employer may issue a written order of the suspension stating the offence committed and the period of suspension of not exceeding 7 days and notify the employee prior to the suspension.

During the suspension, the employer must pay the employee of not less than 50% of the wages of a working day prior to his/her suspension. Upon the completion of the investigation, if it appears that the employee is not guilty, the employer must pay wages to the employee equivalent to the wages of a working day from the date of suspension. The payment must be included as part of the employee’s wages, plus interest at a rate of 15% per annum.

Know more about your duties as an employer in Thailand. Contact MSNA for Thai Labor Law consultation and related services.

Through its medical hub policy, the Thai government will serve as a facilitator for private hospitals in helping them to improve their medical services to foreign visitors seeking health care in Thailand. Thus, the Thai government ensures that the medical hub policy would not affect the availability of affordable health care for Thai people. The policy involves mainly the operations of private hospitals while government hospitals still focus on medical services for Thai nationals so it should not adversely affect Thai patients and the government would not spend national funds on private hospitals.

The government had recently organized the first workshop for hospitals under the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education to work together in an integrated manner so that they would optimize the use of existing resources. In the workshop, they discussed the road map to proceed with Thailand’s medical hub policy which also includes the creation of more qualified physicians. More workshops will be held for further discussions on the issue.

Apart from serving as the facilitator, the public sector would help boost the image of the country in terms of medical advances. The medical hub policy would encourage health establishments in Thailand to improve their health services to higher standards. This will enhance the competitiveness of Thailand as a country as well.

In developing Thailand into a regional medical hub, the Thai government will emphasize four areas. In the first area, Thailand will be promoted as a wellness hub with full cycle services. The second area is that the medical service hub will link with spa services and health tourism. The third area aims to turn Thailand into an academic hub for health care. The fourth area aims to develop Thailand into a pharmaceutical and health products center.

Since 2012, the number of medical tourists visiting Thailand is continuously rising. In facilitating their trips to Thailand, the Government has granted visa extension from 30 days to 90 days for nationals of six countries in the Middle East in the initial stage so that they can stay in Thailand for a longer period for medical services. Visa extensions will later be granted to medical tourists from other countries.

More updates on this medical hub policy will be announced later. Visiting Thailand? Obtain a proper type of Thai visa before leaving your country. Contact ThaiLawyers for Thai visa application assistance.