Phuket:

Phuket, Thailand:

Friday, June 27, 2008

Labor Office mulls 2-year work permits

PHUKET: The Ministry of Labor is considering issuing work permits valid for two years, Janya Yingyong, chief of the Work Permit Section at the Phuket Provincial Labor Office (PPLO), has confirmed.

Under the current system, work permits are valid only as long as the holder�s 'permit to stay', which is issued by Immigration.

�The visa and work permit will be based on the type of business of the applicant's employer. However, the work permit will be independent from the permit to stay.

�For example, even though you have been issued a permit to stay valid for three months, you might be issued a work permit valid for one year,� K. Janya explained.

The extended work permits would be available only to businesses approved by the Board of Industry (BoI), she added.

K. Janya said the move would help bring work permits in Thailand closer to those used in other countries. �It would be much better than it is today,� she said.

However, K. Janya explained that the concept is still in its infancy and much has to be considered before longer work permits are approved. �Even if the Ministry of Labor intends to issue longer work permits, we would not expect to see them being issued for about two years,� she said.

K. Janya added that under the current proposal a two-year work permit would cost 20,000 baht.

The current work permit renewal fees are 750 baht for periods of up to three months; 1,500 baht for periods of three months to six months; 3,000 baht for periods of six months to a year; and any combination of these for periods longer than one year.

Another officer at the PPLO told the Gazette, �We have received good feedback from hotels on this, as they hire many foreigners.�

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