After arrival: the 90-day report, re-entry permit and extension

01Three independent lines, one table

Getting the visa and work permit issued is not the end of the process — it is only a change of form: from "a one-time task" to "three lines that need permanent upkeep". Each line has its own deadline and filing channel, and they interlock — miss the re-entry permit, and the 90-day reporting line degrades along with it.

• The 90-day report: triggered by continuous length of stay, a recurring action, independent of visa category.
• The visa extension: triggered by the visa's expiry date, conditional on holding a valid work permit.
• The re-entry permit: triggered by every planned departure — not needed if you do not leave, but required before you do.

The three have different due dates; track them separately and the least conspicuous one is the one that gets missed.

02The 90-day report: how to file online, and where

A foreign national who stays in Thailand continuously for more than 90 days must report their current address to Immigration (TM.47) on a rolling 90-day cycle. This is an obligation triggered by length of residence — even under a special-law one-stop channel such as BOI, this requirement still applies.

The full online process:

• ① Register: fill in an email address, name and phone number on the Immigration website to request an account; the system emails a password.
• ② Log in: enter the account, password and captcha; first-time users must accept the terms once.
• ③ File a new report: click NEW APPLICATION (TM 47) and complete the residence report in English; fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory.
• ④ Submit: the system displays the filed form, which is then reviewed by an immigration officer, taking about 3 days.
• ⑤ Check status and download the receipt: view the result under status inquiry and download the confirmation receipt, which should be kept on file.

Three rules that will get a filing rejected:

• It can only be filed within 15 days of the next due date. Filing a month early on the assumption that earlier is safer is simply not accepted by the system.
• Re-submitting on the same account within 3 days while a prior filing is still under review will be rejected. Re-filing repeatedly without seeing a result only locks the account.
• If review fails, an email requires the person to attend the nearest Immigration office in person as soon as possible — the online route is closed for that cycle.

03The re-entry permit: it protects the visa, not your convenience

The re-entry permit is a permission issued by an immigration officer that allows the holder to re-enter Thailand on the same visa, provided that visa is still valid. It comes in single-entry and multiple-entry versions.

The reverse is the point that matters: leaving the country without a re-entry permit voids the current visa. Among the circumstances the authorities list as voiding a visa, it sits alongside resignation, a change of position, a change of visa category, breaking the law, and the company being deregistered — not a minor inconvenience, but the same category of consequence.

One quick trip home can knock over the whole line. A same-day flight back for an urgent family matter, with nobody thinking about the re-entry permit — the cost is not a fine. It is that everything already completed on the visa and work permit line has to be redone, while the person sits outside the country waiting.

04How the two lines interlock

Leaving with a re-entry permit and coming back: the residence period keeps running, and the online reporting system can still be used — provided a 90-day report was already on file before this particular departure.

• Leaving without a re-entry permit: the current residence permit ends there. On return, the person's entry status has to be processed afresh, and the next TM.47 must be filed in person at the provincial Immigration office, or the one covering the place of residence — it cannot be done online.

05The extension: conditions, window, and duration

A visa extension for occupational or work purposes follows clear rules:

• A valid work permit is required — if the work permit lapses, the extension lapses with it.
• Each grant is for no more than 1 year.
• Must be filed at least 15 days before the current visa expires, with the result issued within 15 days. Note this runs the opposite direction from the 90-day report's "only within 15 days": the extension must be filed at least 15 days ahead, while the report can only be filed within the last 15 days.

Special-law regimes (investment promotion, industrial estates, petroleum) have their own arrangement: the work permit is processed through a single-window digital system, with an allowed stay range different from the standard process. But the 90-day report is still required under these channels — there is no exemption.

06Taking this off human memory

Build a rolling due-date table, one row per person, with at least four columns: visa expiry date, work permit expiry date, next 90-day report date, and whether a re-entry permit was obtained for the most recent departure.

• Fold the re-entry permit into the travel-booking process: make "was a re-entry permit obtained for this trip" a standing question in travel approval, rather than something someone remembers to check.
• Assign ownership: write down who files, who checks the receipt, and who goes to the office in person if a filing is rejected. Posted staff themselves are often the last to learn the rules.
• Re-run the check on any resignation or role change: once the employment relationship changes, the basis for the visa changes with it — this is not something to leave until the expiry date.

It should also be noted that office arrangements, appointment procedures and required documents vary by provincial Immigration office, and extension, re-entry and overstay fine amounts follow Immigration's rules currently in force and are not listed here. If your company has multiple posted staff who travel frequently, we recommend the advisory team build a rolling due-date table covering each person's visa, work permit and reporting milestones and track it on your behalf — problems on this line are almost never because it is hard, but because nobody is assigned to watch it. See also the four-stage process for sending staff to work in Thailand.