For employers who open a business or establish a new business in Thailand and are looking for workers to join the business but are stuck with the problem of not being able to find enough workers, the problem can be resolved by contacting the Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour, in order to apply for the importation of legal foreign workers, with the following steps:

1. Ask for a quota and submit a request form for importing foreign workers at the Provincial Employment Office or the Bangkok Employment Office in areas 1-10 with the Nor.Jor.1 form, which is the notification of wanting to hire foreigners; they must also show evidence of necessity or show that they have given opportunities to Thai people. When the employer is permitted, the Department of Employment will issue a letter confirming the quota for hiring foreign workers. 

2. When the employer submits the request and goes through the process of filing documents with the Department of Employment and the country of origin, the employer will receive a document with the worker's name list.

3. When the employer receives the name list, the employer must submit an application for permission to work on behalf of the foreign worker at the provincial office, where the work place of the foreign worker is located.  The application fee is 100 baht per copy. 

4. When the foreign worker receives a visa from the country of origin and travels through the immigration checkpoint, the employer must take the foreign worker for a health check within three days, along with applying for a work permit, for which a work permit fee must be paid according to the number of years. 

       Employers may operate by themselves or operate through licensees to import workers, only if the licensees have been registered and licensed with the Department of Employment, Ministry of Labor only. The point to notice is “The company to bring foreigners to work in the country.” Employers may check the information at  www.doe.go.th/prd/ipd.

       Taking these steps will ensure that there is no risk of breaking the law and spending time and money in vain.

Source : Central Employment Registration and Workers Protection Division
Tel : +66 2248 7289