Increased Red Tape for Visa Extension

Keywords: Mazars, Thailand, Legal, OSSC, PND.50, PND.1, PP.30, SPS.1-10, Ministry of Commerce

19 January 2015

Previously, a photocopy of the return showing the original government receipts were acceptable. As this new rule was only communicated to us verbally and there has been no form announcement, it is clearly subject to further change but in its present form creates unnecessary additional red tape.

The new policy does not change the process of applying for work permit or visa extensions at the OSSC, but increases the burden when preparing supporting documentation on applicants. Original certified documents will be required for each application.

The following is the list of documents that will need to be officially certified by the relevant government agency prior to submission:

1. Copy of the Financial Statements (in Thai), containing the balance sheet and profit and loss statement for the previous year, audited and signed by a CPA (officially certified either by the Revenue Department or Ministry of Commerce).

2. Copy of the return and receipt of the previous year’s corporate income tax return (PND.50) (officially certified by the Revenue Department).

3. Copy of the withholding tax return and receipt for the most recent month for all Thai and foreign employees (PND.1) (officially certified by the Revenue Department).

4. Copy of the VAT return and receipt (PP.30) for the most recent month (officially certified by the Revenue Department).

5. Copy of the Social Security Fund return and receipt (SPS.1-10) for the most recent month for all Thai and foreign employees (officially certified by the Social Security Office).

6. Copy of the form for the submission of the audited financial statements for the previous accounting year, acknowledged by the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce (SBC 3 form) (officially certified by the Ministry of Commerce).

7. Copy of the personal income tax return and receipt (PND.91) of the employee for the most recent year (officially certified by the Revenue Department).

This will clearly entail yet more paperwork to be prepared when applying for a staying permit extension. Employers will need to consider that it will take an additional three to ten working days to obtain all the certified documents, depending on the government agency. Additionally, in our experience some Social Security Offices may not certify the SPS.1-10.

Employers may be able to apply for work permits with photocopies and then subsequently submit the certified documents once they are available. However, this would involve two trips to the OSSC instead of one.