Non-B Work Visa Extension: The Complete Guide
Working legally in Thailand starts long before you ever fill out a form yourself. Unlike the retirement or marriage routes, the Non-B work visa depends first and foremost on your employer's own company meeting specific legal thresholds, before your personal paperwork even comes into play. Here is the complete picture, from what your employer needs to provide to what happens once you are ready to extend your stay.
Who Qualifies
The Non-B visa applies to any foreigner intending to work, take up employment, or conduct business activities inside Thailand. It is not optional: without it, a work permit cannot legally be issued, and no employer can put a foreign national on payroll for paid work in Thailand, regardless of how informal the arrangement might seem.
Two Documents, Not One
Working legally in Thailand requires two separate documents that function together: the Non-Immigrant B visa, which authorizes your entry into the country for professional purposes, and the Work Permit, issued separately by the Ministry of Labour, which actually authorizes you to perform the job itself. One cannot function without the other. The Work Permit is tied to a specific employer and a specific position; if you change jobs, a new Work Permit has to be obtained, not simply updated.
What Your Employer Needs to Provide
This is where most Non-B applications succeed or fail, and it happens before you are even involved. To sponsor a foreign employee, a Thai company generally needs to show:
2,000,000 THB in fully paid-up registered capital for each foreign employee it sponsors, if the company is Thai-majority owned (foreign ownership capped at 49%, the most common structure)
1,000,000 THB instead, if the foreign employee is legally married to a Thai national
No registered capital requirement at all for that employee, if they hold Thai permanent residency (the blue house book)
3,000,000 THB per foreign employee, if the company is foreign-majority owned instead, typically one operating under a Foreign Business License
At least 4 Thai employees for every 1 foreign employee, genuinely employed and paid at least the legal minimum wage, not simply listed on paper
A real, physical office address that can be inspected, not a virtual office
A position-specific employment contract, with a defined job title and a salary stated in Thai baht, matching the position actually approved
A salary that meets the minimum threshold set for your nationality. Nationals of most European countries, along with Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and Japan, need at least 50,000 THB per month. Other nationalities fall into lower bands, down to 25,000 THB, so it is worth confirming the exact figure for your specific nationality with the Department of Employment rather than assuming.
Companies promoted by the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) are exempt from the capital and ratio requirements above, and go through a faster, streamlined process instead.
The Application Sequence
The process is sequential, and each step depends on the one before it:
While you are still outside Thailand, your employer applies to the Labour Department for a WP.32 pre-approval letter. This is what confirms the company meets the capital and ratio requirements above.
Once approved, this letter is valid for 90 days and allows you to apply for the Non-Immigrant B visa at a Thai embassy or consulate.
You enter Thailand using this visa.
Once in Thailand, you apply for the actual Work Permit at the Ministry of Labour. This is the document that legally allows you to start working, not the visa itself.
With a valid Work Permit in hand, your employer applies for a one year extension of stay at your local immigration office.
If any step in this chain is delayed or rejected, everything after it stalls as well, which is why problems with the employer's own paperwork tend to surface long before you ever reach an immigration counter.
Documents for Your First Application at the Embassy
What each embassy asks for can vary, but the core of the initial application generally includes:
Your WP.32 pre-approval letter, obtained by your employer
Passport, valid for at least 6 months, with blank pages for the visa
Completed visa application form
Recent passport style photograph
Your educational certificates or qualifications relevant to the position
Since this step happens outside Thailand and is largely driven by your employer's own paperwork, it falls outside what our service covers. The list below, for the annual extension once you are settled in Thailand, is where our involvement actually begins.
What You Need to Provide Yourself
Alongside everything your employer prepares, you will need to provide your own documents to support the application:
Your educational certificates or qualifications relevant to the position, since Thai authorities check that the role genuinely matches your background
Proof of your address in Thailand, once you are applying for the annual extension
Documents You Will Need
Once you are in Thailand with a valid Work Permit, here is what is needed for the annual extension of stay. Prepare two copies of everything on this list, both to be submitted to immigration.
Passport, valid for at least 12 months with at least two blank pages, with a signed copy of the photo page and every page that has a visa or an entry, exit, or extension stamp on it
Completed TM.7 application form. Immigration may also ask you to sign the STM.2, STM.9 and STM.11 acknowledgement forms, which are usually handed out at the office
Recent passport style photographs, 4 x 6 cm, taken within the last six months
Your current Work Permit book, with signed copies of the relevant pages
Employment contract, stating your specific position and your salary in Thai baht
Your employer's company registration documents (Certificate of Incorporation, list of shareholders)
Your employer's most recent financial statements and tax filings, showing registered capital that meets the threshold for the number of foreign employees sponsored
List of the company's Thai employees, showing the required 4 to 1 ratio
Your TM30 notification of residence
Proof of your residence, which depends on how the property is owned:
If the owner is a Thai individual: the rental contract, with revenue stamps affixed (calculated at 0.1% of the total rent for the lease period, purchased from the Revenue Department), a copy of the owner's blue book (tabien baan), and a signed copy of the owner's ID
If you own the home yourself: your title deed, and your yellow house book (Tor Ror 13) if you have registered for one. The yellow book is optional, so many foreign owners do not have one, in which case the title deed alone is generally what's presented
If the owner is a company: the rental contract, with revenue stamps affixed at the same 0.1% rate, the property's title deed, the house's blue book, the company certificate showing who can act on the company's behalf, and a signed copy of that person's ID
For some nationalities, a police clearance certificate, which should be requested well ahead of your application
Timing and Fees
The one year extension is filed once your Work Permit is valid, generally within 45 days of your current visa sticker's expiration. The government fee for the extension is 1,900 THB, paid directly to Thai Immigration.
Re-Entry Permits
Leaving Thailand at any point during your extension, even for a short trip, cancels your permission to stay unless you hold a re-entry permit. A single re-entry permit costs 1,000 THB and covers one trip out and back, while a multiple re-entry permit costs 3,800 THB and covers as many trips as needed within your current period of stay.
Why This Trips People Up
Most Non-B rejections happen before the employee is even involved: an employer's registered capital that falls just short of the threshold, a Thai staff count that dips below the 4 to 1 ratio after someone leaves, a salary offered below the minimum set for your nationality, or a generic employment contract that does not specify a position and salary the way immigration expects. On the personal side, the most common issue is starting work, even informally, before the Work Permit is actually issued, which can jeopardize the entire application.
This is exactly why we check all of this before you ever set foot in an immigration office.
How We Help
Our role focuses on the immigration side of this process: the annual extension of stay itself, once your Work Permit is valid, along with your ongoing 90-Day Reports and TM30 notifications. The Work Permit application and your employer's compliance with the capital, ratio, and salary requirements are handled separately through the Ministry of Labour, generally by your employer or their own advisor, before our part of the process begins.
With our Standard service, we come to you, review your documents ahead of your extension appointment, and help you complete the required forms, so you know exactly what is missing before you submit anything yourself.
With our Premium service, we go further: we assemble your complete file, accompany you to the immigration office, and handle everything through to the final pickup of your passport.
If you are approaching a work visa extension in Hua Hin, Cha-am, or Pranburi, contact us for free guidance on your situation before your appointment.