Stricter Documentary Requirements Implemented for Indian Nationals

The situation

The Immigration Department at the One Stop Service Center (OSSC) in Thailand has announced additional documentary requirements for visa renewal applications for Indian nationals. Companies registered with the Board of Investments are exempt from this requirement.

A closer look

Starting November 1, 2018, employers will need to provide the last three months of the following documents to the OSSC when submitting visa renewal applications for Indian nationals:

• Copy of form and receipt of monthly salary withholding tax for the last three months of all Thai and foreign employees (P.N.D. 1), officially certified by the Revenue Department;

• Copy of form and receipt of monthly Value Added Tax (VAT) return (Phor Por 30 form) for the last three months, officially certified by the Revenue Department; and

• Copy of form and original receipt of monthly social security contribution for the last three months of all Thai and foreign employees.

Impact

Employers should plan to prepare these documents ahead of time when submitting visa renewal applications for Indian nationals at the OSSC. Document gathering times may increase, particularly for those documents that require official certification by the relevant government authority.

Background

Currently, employers only need to provide copies of their latest monthly salary withholding tax return, VAT return, and social security contribution to support their Indian employees’ visa renewal applications.

This change follows the Immigration Department’s discovery of falsified documents by Indian nationals over the past 12 months and a series of recent immigration inspections led by the recently-promoted Immigration Bureau chief. Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister has also informed the Immigration Bureau to strictly enforce the law and to penalize illegal activities by both foreign nationals and Thai immigration officials.

Looking ahead

The Thai authorities will likely continue to implement stricter regulations for foreign nationals from other countries, as the authorities have published a list of countries they consider risky, including Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ghana, Guinea, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda and others.

Fragomen will closely monitor the situation and provide updates as needed.

This alert 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].