Medical Certificate Officially No Longer Required for Some Work Permit Applications

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At a Glance

• The Employment Department in Thailand has officially announced that Work Permit applications filed under the Board of Investment, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and the Petroleum Act no longer require a medical certificate.
• This action reverses a policy implemented in August 2019 and is based on feedback from the business community, which urged the government to review this requirement to streamline the Work Permit process.

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The situation

The Employment Department in Thailand has officially announced that Work Permit applications filed under the Board of Investment, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and the Petroleum Act no longer require a medical certificate, reversing a policy that has existed since August 2019.

Impact

Affected applicants should benefit from the elimination of the administrative hurdles of scheduling a medical appointment with a Thai hospital or clinic and awaiting the issuance of the certificate, which could take up to a day.

Background

• Previous rule. Previously, affected applicants had to obtain a medical certificate from a licensed medical doctor in Thailand that confirmed that the applicant is free from leprosy, tuberculosis, drug addiction, alcoholism, elephantiasis and stage 3 syphilis. Applicants filing applications under other categories, such as non-Board of Investments/non- Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and the Petroleum Act/non-Department of Mineral Fuels, are still required to obtain a medical certificate.
• Global trends. The reversal stems from feedback from investors and executives who urged the Thai government to review this requirement to streamline the Work Permit process. This action is in line with the global trend of governments consulting and taking into consideration public opinion, especially from the business community, in policy building in order to stimulate the local economy by way of streamlining immigration processes for foreign workers.

 

Looking ahead

The government of Thailand is likely to continue to issue other administrative rules to continue to standardize immigration and to improve its tracking of foreign workers. Fragomen will report on further developments.

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].