Non-Immigrant B Visa for Business Owners
The Non-Immigrant B visa is the standard entry point for a foreign owner or employee taking an active role in a Thai company. DeeMED manages the visa application and the separate work permit it depends on.
Last reviewed: July 2026
The visa and the work permit are two separate steps
The Non-B visa itself does not authorize work in Thailand. It's the entry visa a foreign business owner or employee needs before applying for a separate work permit through the Department of Employment. Many first-time applicants treat the visa as the finish line; it's the starting point. A foreign national holding a Non-B visa who works in Thailand before a work permit is issued is working illegally, regardless of what the visa itself allows for entry and stay.
Eligibility and the sponsoring company
Under Immigration Bureau Order No. 327/2557 (dated June 30, 2014, effective August 29, 2014), which repealed and replaced the earlier Police Order No. 777/2551 on the same criteria, the sponsoring Thai company generally needs to show 2 million THB in registered capital per foreign employee it sponsors, and demonstrate that no qualified Thai national is available for the role once the work permit stage begins. A company that hasn't planned its registered capital around how many foreign staff it intends to sponsor will hit this requirement at the visa stage, not before, which is why the visa route needs to be planned alongside company registration, not after it.
Fees and timeline
The visa fee itself is 2,000 THB for a single-entry visa (3-month validity) or 5,000 THB for a multiple-entry visa (1-year validity). Embassy processing typically takes 5 to 10 business days. The work permit application through the Department of Employment runs separately, typically 7 to 14 business days. Once in Thailand, the annual extension of stay carries its own fee, 1,900 THB, confirmed directly against a Royal Thai Police provincial immigration office's own published fee schedule.
Two clocks running at once: visa and work permit renewal
Once you're in Thailand on a Non-B visa, two separate obligations run in parallel and both need to stay current: the annual extension of stay through Immigration, and the work permit renewal through the Department of Employment, tied to the same employment that justified the original visa. On top of both, every holder must file a 90-day address report with Immigration under Section 37(5) of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979) for as long as the visa remains active, and any international travel requires a re-entry permit first, leaving without one voids the visa regardless of how much validity is left on it. Letting either the work permit or the 90-day report lapse creates a compliance gap even if the underlying visa itself is still technically valid.
When Non-B isn't your fastest route
If your company holds or is pursuing BOI promotion, the BOI-endorsed visa and fast-track work permit route is faster and exempts the company from the standard 4:1 Thai-to-foreign-employee ratio that a standard Non-B sponsorship has to satisfy. If you're an investor or executive rather than an active operator, the LTR visa may fit your situation better, with a 10-year term instead of an annual renewal cycle.
DeeMED handles the Non-B visa and work permit process end to end: confirming your sponsoring company's registered capital and Thai-employee ratio meet the requirement before you apply, preparing the embassy application, and managing the Department of Employment work permit filing that has to follow it, plus the ongoing 90-day reporting and annual renewal cycle once you're in Thailand. Talk to us before your company structure is finalized, so the visa route and the entity structure are planned together.
