The Ministry of Labour together with the BOI and Immigration Bureau prepares to extend work permit application and issuance services through the Single Window for visa and work permit system, for foreigners working in organizations promoted by the BOI, facilitating and shortening the process, documentation, staff and increasing transparency. The service will be available on smartphones within the EEC area, supporting investment and economic growth. Preparation is also being made for the expansion of services in all provinces nationwide, with the target for 45,000 people within 2019.
On November 21, 2018, at 09.30 hours, Labour Minister H.E. Police General Adul Sangsingkeo chaired the meeting to explain the management foreigner workers to employers/organizations promoted by the BOI, which took place at the at the Jompol P. Pibulsongkram Conference Room on the 5th floor, Ministry of Labour. He said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, has formed a 20-year national strategy (2017-2036) which is a long-term national plan under the Thailand 4.0 policy which aims to transform the country’s economic and social structure towards stability, prosperity and sustainability using technology, innovation and creative thinking. It also includes upgrading public services to link and exchange information between agencies, reduce duplicate documents and become a Smart Thailand using information technology and communications to provide an immediate one-stop service nationwide, globally and at all times.
The Ministry of Labour is a government agency responsible for the workforce and has prepared the future workforce to support and align with the needs of the workers and the direction of the nation. At present, the workforce is key to national development and economic drive, mainly foreign workers who exist in many groups such as skilled workers, experts, specialists and investors, and foreigners who can work in the Kingdom under special laws such as the laws on investment promotion, petroleum and industrial estates for example. The work of foreigners in Thailand is currently managed under the Royal Decree on Managing the Work of Aliens B.E. 2560 and amended decrees (version 2) B.E. 2561, which are guidelines for the work permit application process to be appropriate and current. The. Ministry of Labour by the Department of Employment responsible for approving work permits, must publicize and clarify the law and practices among employers, organizations and stakeholders to understand and comply with regulations. It also considers the government’s policy to bring innovative and modern technologies to service and integrate with relevant agencies by centralizing users. The Department of Employment is currently joined with the Board of Investment and Immigration Bureau to form a process for the application and issuance of work permits through the Single Window for visa and work permit system for foreigners working in organizations promoted by the BOI, facilitating and shortening the process, documentation, staff and increasing standardization and transparency. Work permits will no longer be a hard copy but will become a digital work permit on smartphones, easily transportable, verified using computer systems and difficult to forge and lose. The goal is to facilitate speed, transparency and verifiability, supporting the BOI and Thailand 4.0. The process will be that when a foreigner submits a work permit application through the Single Window, the Department of Employment and the BOI will consider approval in the system and notify the result via e-mail. Once approved, the foreigner must present themselves and pay the fee, take photos and provide a digital signature to obtain a username and password to register in the application called Thailand Digital Work Permit, available on both IOS and Android. Once registered, the digital work permit will be on the foreigner’s smartphone.
There are visa and work permit service centers for BOI foreign workers in 3 areas which are Bangkok (Chamchuri Square), Chiang Mai and Phuket, with plans to extend the Single Window services to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) which includes Rayong, Chon Buri and Chachoengsao. This is in line with government policy is to accelerate development of all dimensions to support investment and economic growth in the area including public utilities, transportation systems and logistics, human resource development and facilitation in the form of a One Stop Service center to provide convenience, speed and comprehensive services nationwide. In 2019 it aims to support BOI foreign workers, consisting of around 22,753 organizations and 83,000 workers, comprising 45,000 experts and 38,000 unskilled workers from the 3 nationalities.
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Division of Public Relations/
November 21, 2018/
Photos by Sompob Silbut/
