Board of Investment Online System Deadline Moved up to July 31

The situation

According to a government announcement, Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI)’s Single Window for Visa and Work Permits will now be mandatory starting July 31, 2018 instead of the originally-announced date of October 2018.

Background

The Single Window system will replace the previous E-Expert System used by BOI-registered companies to apply for their employees’ Work Permits and Long-Term Visas.

Foreign nationals will be able to use a smartphone to register and download their Digital Work Permit if applying at the Bangkok One-Stop Service Center (OSSC), Changmai and Phuket. Any changes to their status, such as cancellation or amendments, will automatically be reflected in their Digital Work Permit.

Impact

• Mandatory training. Employers must register for the mandatory training workshop immediately. Training sessions are available on a weekly basis. A manual (in Thai language) will be available for employers who are unable to participate in the in-person training before July 31, 2018.
• Manual filing. Employers filing in provincial offices (e.g. Rayong) still need to file their applications in hard copy and in such cases, employees will be issued a hard copy Work Permit booklet.
• Current hard copy permit holders. Hard copy Work Permit holders do not need to take any action until they need to renew their permit, at which point they will need to use the Single Window system and download the Thailand Digital Work Permit (D-WP) application on their smartphones for issuance.
• Effect on processing times and procedures. The overall work authorization processing time is expected to stay the same, but the online system should reduce the administrative burden of preparing paper applications.
• Delays during transition. Processing on the new system will likely be slower during the transition period as compared to the manual application process. Service interruptions and technical issues should be expected during the early phases of implementation.
   

We worked closely with Dej-Udom & Associates Ltd. to prepare this alert. It is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].