Thailand plans to introduce five new measures to manage foreign workers

China News Service, Bangkok, November 6 (Wang Qi, Li Yingmin) Thailand’s Foreign Labor Management Committee held a working meeting on the 6th. After the meeting, Minister of Labor Chulawon said that the Thai government plans to launch five new measures for foreign labor management to ease employment pressure on enterprises and ensure labor supply. Relevant measures include extending work permits, relaxing the residence and working conditions of some foreign workers, and increasing the number of countries where workers come from.

According to the results of the meeting announced that day, the first measure is to adjust the foreign worker memorandum employment system. For some workers from Laos and Myanmar who have completed the prescribed work period, Thailand plans to allow them to return to their country of origin to go through immigration procedures and re-enter the country to work, and will no longer be required to wait for 60 days in accordance with the original regulations.

The second measure is that Thailand plans to extend the work permit period for some foreign workers. Work permits originally scheduled to expire in February and March 2027 are planned to be extended to February 13, 2029.

The third measure is to expand the source of foreign workers and increase channels for introducing workers from Sri Lanka through the MOU mechanism. Thailand’s Ministry of Labor plans to coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Immigration Department to improve relevant visa and labor introduction procedures.

The fourth measure involves relaxing work permit requirements for foreigners to participate in certain activities. Thailand plans to pass an announcement from the Prime Minister's Office to clarify that some short-term activities do not fall within the scope of work prescribed by law. It plans to cover international conferences, speeches, conference demonstrations, training, inspections, seminars, cultural and artistic performances, sports events and other activities, so as to reduce the work permit procedures for event organizers and participants.

The fifth measure is that Thailand agrees in principle to adjust the employment policy for conflict refugees in Myanmar. It plans to allow them to work in the counties where temporary resettlement sites are located without applying for a work permit. It will extend the work permit period from one year to two years. It will also study relaxing restrictions on renewal, employer change and employment location.

Chulawun said that the above measures are aimed at alleviating the labor shortage problem, and the relevant plans still need to be further reviewed by various competent agencies.