ThaiPaperWork is a private reference site. It is not a Thai government agency and has no connection to any Thai government body.
We do not process applications, submit documents on your behalf, or charge you anything. If a site is asking you for money or for your passport details to handle Thai paperwork, it is not us and it is probably not the government either.
What we do
We read the Thai laws, notifications and regulations that foreigners in Thailand actually have to deal with, and we write them up in English from the text itself — not by summarising what other websites say.
That covers visas and permission to stay, work permits, and the government paperwork that sits around both.
Why this site exists
Pattanapol Sittichockchichana, who runs this site, already publishes a Thai-language reference site on Thai law and government procedure at ruangratchakan.com. The same problem turned out to be worse in English: the information foreigners find when they search is often years out of date, and there is usually no way to tell.
Here is the clearest example we have found so far. Working in Thailand without a work permit used to carry a prison term of up to five years. That penalty was repealed in 2018 and replaced with a fine. As of August 2026, a large number of English-language sources still publish the five-year figure as current law, including at least one international law firm — which also cites a statute repealed in 2017 as its authority.
Someone deciding whether to leave the country, hire a lawyer, or walk into an immigration office is reading that number and making a serious decision on it. That is the gap this site was built to close.
We work to three rules.
1. Always cite the source
Every article gives the section number, the Royal Gazette volume, part and page, and the date of publication, so that you can open the document and check us. Where we quote a provision, we give the Thai text alongside our English rendering.
2. Always give the date
Every page shows when it was last updated, because the rules change, and information with no date on it is information you cannot rely on. When we change something that matters, we write down what the page used to say.
3. Say so when we do not know
Where we have not been able to find a document that settles a question, we say that plainly and mark where the edge of our knowledge is, instead of guessing in a way that reads as though we know.
Who writes this
This site is written and maintained by Pattanapol Sittichockchichana (พัฒนพล สิทธิโชคชัยชนะ). You can reach him at webmaster@thaipaperwork.com.
English is not his first language. Every provision quoted here is rendered into English by us, and the Thai is printed beside it so that anyone who reads Thai can check the rendering. We would rather you catch an error than trust a smooth translation.
Nothing here is an official statement or an official interpretation by any authority.
Where the official sites are
There are convincing fake sites in this area, particularly around arrival cards and visa applications. These are the real ones:
- ratchakitcha.soc.go.th — the Royal Gazette. The only place a Thai law becomes law.
- immigration.go.th — Immigration Bureau.
- doe.go.th — Department of Employment, which issues work permits.
- thaievisa.go.th — the official Thai e-Visa system.
- tdac.immigration.go.th — the official Thailand Digital Arrival Card. It is free.
Limits
What you read here is background for your own decision. It is not legal, accounting or tax advice. Rules, fees and the way individual offices apply them can change after the date on a page. Check with the relevant authority before you act.
There is more on our disclaimer page.
Tell us when we are wrong
If you find something here that is wrong or out of date, write to webmaster@thaipaperwork.com. We check it, correct it, and record the date of the correction on the page itself.
If your situation does not match what an article describes, send that too. Questions that come up repeatedly become new articles.