Labor Ministry Proposes Extending Work Permits for Lao, Myanmar Migrants
Thailand extends work permits for 2.3 million Lao and Myanmar migrants until 2029 and approves new MOU pipelines for Sri Lankan workers and conflict-displaced Myanmar refugees.
Labor Minister Juthipan Amornvivat revealed the outcomes of the Foreign Workers Administration Policy Committee meeting held on November 6, 2026. The committee endorsed three key measures: first, a "MOU U-TURN" arrangement letting Lao and Myanmar nationals who finished their four-year contracts (2026–2027) stay employed without leaving Thailand for 30 days, reducing time, steps, and costs. Second, extending work permits for over 2.3 million migrant workers — previously set to expire in February and March 2027 — until February 13, 2029, while also regularizing undocumented workers for one year. Third, preparing a Ministry of Interior announcement to recruit Sri Lankan workers under an MOU system, granting an initial two-year stay (L-A code) renewable for another two years, with arrivals expected in early 2027.
Juthipan said border tensions with Cambodia and instability in Myanmar have disrupted labor flows, prompting these measures alongside the Sri Lankan pipeline to sustain Thailand's workforce and ease business-sector shortages.
The ministry is also pushing a Prime Minister's Office announcement to exempt certain short-term activities — meetings, lectures, training, cultural performances, sports events — from the legal definition of "work" for visiting foreigners, aiming to boost MICE tourism and investment.
Additionally, the committee approved in principle improved work rights for Myanmar refugees fleeing conflict, allowing them to work in temporary shelter districts without a permit, extending validity from one to two years, permitting renewals and employer changes, and eventually expanding rights nationwide — a policy praised by the ILO and UNHCR as aligned with international standards.
