Work permits for Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam extended to March 31
Thailand’s Labour Ministry has extended the deadline for Lao, Myanmar and Vietnamese workers to complete work-permit renewal requirements until March 31, 2026.
Treenuch Thienthong, Minister of Labour, chaired the 2/2026 meeting of the Foreign Workers’ Management Policy Committee, attended by a deputy permanent secretary of labour, the director-general of the Department of Employment, and senior Labour Ministry officials.
Also present were representatives from relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Public Health, the Internal Security Operations Command, the National Security Council, and the Thai Chamber of Commerce.
The meeting approved an extension to address obstacles in the work-permit application process under the Cabinet resolution dated November 11, 2025, in matters related to the submission of health-insurance documents, medical checks, and payment of the 900-baht work-permit fee.
The deadline—previously set for completion by February 24, 2026, for Lao, Myanmar and Vietnamese workers—has been extended to March 31, 2026, to prevent these workers from falling out of the system and becoming undocumented.
“Today’s meeting set measures to resolve pending issues in work-permit applications for foreign workers of the three nationalities. A total of 375,038 people out of 890,786 have still been unable to complete the process,” Treenuch said.
“This could cause foreign nationals to become unlawfully employed, meaning employers and workplaces would be unable to hire legally, leading to labour shortages in the business sector and affecting production and national labour stability.”
Treenuch added that the committee had carefully considered the reasons, necessity and potential impacts. The Labour Ministry will submit the meeting’s outcome to the Cabinet for further consideration and approval.
She also instructed the Department of Employment to urgently draft a Labour Ministry notification on granting special permission for Lao, Myanmar and Vietnamese nationals to work in Thailand, in line with the November 11, 2025 Cabinet resolution, as quickly as possible.
