Thailand reduces visa and accommodation fees for Vietnamese workers

The Thai Ministry of Labor has just issued a ministerial decree stipulating new fees for examining and granting work permits to foreign workers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Specifically, visa fees for workers from the four countries mentioned above will be reduced from the current 2,000 baht to 500 baht and temporary residence fees (yearly visa extension fees) will also be reduced from the current 1,900 baht to 500 baht.

The decree is effective for four years, starting from November 10, 2023, and applies to foreign workers from these four countries entering Thailand to work on the basis of a labor contract or memorandum of understanding (MoU) related to labor recruitment.

The Thai Ministry of Labor stressed that this decree is in line with the government's approach to managing foreign labor recruitment to enhance the country's competitiveness and support economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fee reduction helps to ease the financial burden on both workers and employers, promote legal employment and address the issue of foreign workers entering Thailand for work purposes.

According to the Office of the Foreign Labor Management Department, in September, Thailand had a total of 2,593,439 foreign workers and there are still about 1 million workers in the process of applying for work permits according to the Cabinet resolution on October 3, 2023.