Thailand: Tax Payment Rule Change Impacts Long-Stay Visa Extension Applicants

Effective immediately, the Immigration Bureau at the One Stop Service Center only accepts Long-Stay Visa extension applications if the sponsoring company has paid the withholding tax (PND1) covering the first month of the foreign national’s Work Permit in full. Previously, it accepted a pro-rated withholding tax payment for the first month of the Work Permit.  Foreign employees of employers who fail to pay the full withholding tax and provide the required tax documents (that show that it meets the minimum salary level according to the applicant’s nationality) in time to extend the Long-Stay Visa may need to exit Thailand and obtain a new Non Immigrant B visa at a Thai consular post overseas to re-enter Thailand, after which they would need to obtain a Long-Stay Visa to be able to extend their stay in Thailand before the expiry of their 90-day stay period. Employers whose pro-rated withholding tax payment for the first month of the Work Permit meets the entire minimum salary level for the applicant, do not need to wait for the full withholding tax payment to be ready in order to submit a Long-Stay Visa application. Employers should inform their immigration professional of the applicable payroll cutoff date to allow the provider to plan for the Work Permit issuance date to avoid impacting Long-Stay Visa extension process.