Foreigner vendors - update of the legislation

From 20 June 2020, foreigners in Thailand are allowed to work as vendors in shops with the special requirements of the Ministry of Labor.

Requirements to employees:

1. An alien must have a valid work permit or permission to enter Thailand to obtain a work permit upon arrival.

In the first case, the work permit must be amended accordingly: employer, place of work, position before start working. In the second case, a work permit must be obtained with full procedure from the beginning. In any case, the foreigner may start working after the work permit specifying the position of the vendor.

2. The foreigner must be able to communicate in Thai. It is not yet explained how advanced this skill should be.

Requirements to employers:

1. The employer must be registered with the DBD and be able to operate in Thailand.

2. The maximum number of foreigners for sales positions will depend on the amount of income tax paid by the company in the last reporting year:

- No profit (or income tax exemption) - 1 foreigner;

- Income tax less than 50,000 Baht - 3 foreigners can be hired;

- Income tax 50,000 -100,000 baht - 4 foreigners, plus 1 foreigner for every next 50,000 baht (but not more than 10 people in total);

- If the previous point is met, the company employs 30 Thais and already has 10 foreigners, you can employ 1 more foreigner;

- If the previous paragraph is met, then 1 foreigner can be employed when 10 Thais are employed additionally (but not more than 20 foreigners in total).

This regulation opens up a new profession for foreigners, which was strictly prohibited earlier. We will inform you later how this document will be applied in practice if there are any precedents of issuing work permits for foreign vendors.