Companies that win promotion from Thailand’s Board of Investment often assume the hiring problem is solved. The tax holidays arrive, foreign experts no longer count against the usual staffing ratio, and the work permit route is faster.
All of that is true. But promotion moves the hard part rather than removing it. Under the standard rules the test is your company’s capital and Thai headcount. Under BOI rules the test is whether each foreign position is justified, and whether the person and their pay meet the criteria for it. That second test now has more detail than it used to, and it catches companies that planned their hiring around the old picture.
This article is for companies that already hold BOI promotion. It is not advice on applying for promotion.
What promotion actually changes
The standard ratio and capital tests do not apply. A company without promotion needs four Thai employees and two million baht of registered capital for each foreign worker. A promoted company does not apply those tests to its approved foreign positions.
Approvals run through one online system. The Single Window for Visa and Work Permit brings the BOI, the Immigration Bureau and the Department of Employment into a single application, in place of three separate trips through three separate offices.
The BOI decides positions case by case. It sets the job, the number of people and the duration according to what each project genuinely needs, and it can allow more than the general rules would.
The sequence, and where the time goes
The order matters, because each step depends on the one before it.
- Position approval. The company explains each foreign position to the BOI in detail: its scope, how many people, for how long, and why it is necessary. The title has to describe the work and its level in the organisation. The case for necessity is what the BOI weighs most heavily, so a vague justification is the most common source of delay.
- Placement of the individual. Once the position is approved, the company applies to place a named person in it. That person must already hold a Non-Immigrant B visa and have entered Thailand, and their qualifications and experience must fit the approved position.
- Visa extension and work permit. With placement approved, the person’s stay is extended for the approved period and the work permit is issued for that position.
Two practical points sit underneath this. The person needs the right visa before placement can be approved, so a candidate who arrives on a tourist entry adds a step. And the work permit is tied to the approved position, so a promotion or a change of duties may need a fresh approval rather than a quiet title change.
What changed for promoted companies in 2025 and 2026
In June 2025 the BOI revised its criteria for approving and renewing foreign positions. The new rules applied to newly promoted companies from late 2025 and took full effect for all promoted companies from 1 January 2026, whenever their promotion was granted.
Three changes matter for hiring.
Qualification criteria by position level. Executive, management, operational, engineering and research positions each have their own requirements for age, education and years of relevant experience. A relevant degree generally shortens the experience required; an unrelated degree or none lengthens it.
Minimum salaries by position level. Each level now carries a minimum monthly salary. For an operational or engineering role filled by someone with a relevant degree and the required experience, the floor starts at around 50,000 baht a month. It is higher for executive positions, and for some roles where the person does not hold a relevant degree.
A staffing ratio for promoted manufacturers. Promoted manufacturing companies now have a Thai to foreign staff ratio of their own. It is not the standard four to one, but it means promotion is no longer a blanket exemption from headcount questions in manufacturing.
The payroll point most companies miss
The salary requirement is not satisfied by an offer letter. The minimum salary has to be paid from the promoted company’s own payroll in Thailand, and it is evidenced by the employment contract and the company’s withholding tax filings.
That has consequences that are easy to overlook:
- Split payroll arrangements need checking. If part of an expatriate’s package is paid offshore by a parent company, the Thai payroll figure may fall below the minimum for the position, even though the total package is well above it.
- Renewals look backwards. When a position comes up for extension, the BOI can look at what was actually paid, not what was promised. A payroll that drifted below the minimum during the year becomes a renewal problem.
- The filings have to match. Salary shown in the work permit file, the employment contract and the monthly withholding returns should tell the same story.
What to check before your next hire or renewal
Write the necessity case first. Before you recruit, set out why the position needs a foreign national and what Thai capability it builds. It is the part of the application that decides the outcome.
Check the person against the criteria for that level. Age, degree relevance and years of experience, before you make an offer.
Check the salary as it will appear on the Thai payroll, not as a total package figure.
If you manufacture, check your ratio position before adding foreign headcount.
Diarise renewals well ahead, and review a year of payroll records against the salary floor before you file.
Keep the Single Window access current. Promoted companies had to re-register their users in 2025, and a lapsed login delays everything behind it.
Where this sits in our work
People Profilers Thailand supports BOI-promoted employers on the employment side: running Thai payroll and withholding filings so the record matches what the BOI expects, and supporting employers through the work permit process. We do not advise on applications for BOI promotion itself.
If the payroll record is the part that worries you, our payroll outsourcing service in Thailand covers it. For the work permit side, see our work permit services in Thailand. If your company does not hold promotion, the standard rules apply instead, and our article on the ratio, the capital and what gets missed at renewal explains them.
Sources
Verified October 2026. BOI criteria change, so confirm the current requirements for your position before relying on any of this.
- The position approval and placement sequence, the requirement for a Non-Immigrant B visa and entry before placement, the case by case determination of positions, numbers and duration, and the Single Window linking the BOI, the Immigration Bureau and the Department of Employment: Board of Investment, procedure for foreign experts, and Board of Investment, Single Window for Visas and Work Permits
- Exemption of promoted companies from the standard four to one ratio: Board of Investment, Working in Thailand
- The June 2025 revision of criteria, full effect for all promoted companies from 1 January 2026, the manufacturing staffing ratio and minimum salaries by position level: Rajah & Tann Thailand, cross-checked against Envoy Global
- Qualification criteria by position level, and the 50,000 baht floor for operational roles with a relevant degree: Forvis Mazars Thailand, cross-checked against HLB Thailand
- Minimum salary paid from the promoted company’s Thai payroll and evidenced by employment contracts or withholding returns: One Asia Lawyers
- Re-registration of Single Window users by promoted companies in 2025: ATA Outsourcing Thailand, cross-checked against Erickson Immigration Group
