Thailand to allow more foreign workers in business

The Thai cabinet has approved in principle increasing the number of foreign workers at businesses to deal with labour shortage, according to Thai government spokesman Jirayu Huangsab.

Under Thai laws, the number of foreign workers at a single business is limited to a ceiling of 100 individuals, and for stateless foreign workers, the limit is 50 per business. These regulations have been applied since 1979.

However, in a recent Cabinet meeting, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra emphasized that the economic situation has changed significantly over the past 45 years, making it necessary to increase the proportion of foreign workers per business. Paetongtarn tasked the Interior Ministry with studying and determining a suitable number so as not to affect national security.

Thai laws regulating the employment of foreign workers specify the types of jobs or careers that foreigners can pursue, including prohibited businesses, restricted businesses and conditionally permitted businesses.

Statistics from the Thai Labour Department showed that as of May 2024, there were 3,320,658 foreigners working in Thailand, including 3,050,840 general workers mainly from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, 179,115 skilled foreign workers and 90,703 people from minority groups or those with lifetime work permits.