Workers process durian at a fruit products company in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand. (Source: Xinhua)

Bangkok – Thailand's Ministry of Labour has issued a ministerial order setting new fees for inspections and work permits for foreign workers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Accordingly, the visa fee was reduced from 2,000 baht (55.56 USD) to 500 baht and the fee for applying for a temporary stay, from 1,900 baht to 500 baht.

The order will take effect for four years starting from 10 November 2023. It is applied to foreign workers from the four countries who enter Thailand to work based on an employment contract or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in connection with the recruitment of workers.

This measure aims to ensure that foreign workers are legally employed and contribute to the country’s economy by addressing problems related to illegal immigration and labour market stability.

The ministry emphasised that the regulation is in line with the government’s approach to regulating the employment of foreign workers to strengthen the country’s competitiveness and support economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. Reducing fees is a means to ease the financial burden on both workers and employers.

According to the information of Thailand’s Office of Foreign Labour Administration Department, in September Thailand had a total of 2,593,439 foreign workers and there are still approximately 1 million workers in the process of submitting work permit applications according to the cabinet resolution on October 3, 2023.