You have taken on a migrant employee, or an employee has left — the employer must notify the registrar within 15 days. Exworker files the notification for you on both sides: form BT.52 (notification of employment of a foreign national) and form BT.53 (notification of a foreign national leaving employment), with the reason for leaving stated correctly.

The task itself is not difficult, but it is the most expensive one to forget among migrant-worker paperwork, because nothing prompts you. It usually surfaces only when you go to a government office about something else and find the register still lists an employee who left long ago.

Information as of August 2026

Which one is your case — a 30-second check

Entry notification You have just taken on a migrant employee

Notify the registrar within 15 days from the date of hiring, using form BT.52 — this applies to an employee who already holds a work permit and comes to work for you.

Exit notification An employee resigned, was dismissed, or absconded

Notify within 15 days from the date the employee left, using form BT.53, and the reason for leaving employment must be stated.

A different matter You are transferring an employee from a previous employer

That is the employer-change package, which involves more than the notification — see our employer change service

First thing to correct: there is no form called "BT.13"

The number 13 is "Section 13", not a form number Many websites tell you to "fill in form BT.13", which does not exist. Section 13 of the Royal Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers' Employment B.E. 2560 (as amended by the Second Edition, B.E. 2561) is the legal basis of the duty to notify; the actual forms are BT.52 and BT.53. If the agency you use still calls it BT.13, that is a sign they have been copying each other without opening the Department of Employment's own download page.

Who notifies what, and within how many days

Event	Who notifies	Form	Within
Taking a foreign national into employment	Employer	BT.52	15 days from the date of hiring
A foreign national leaving employment (reason required)	Employer	BT.53	15 days from the date of leaving
A foreign national starting work or changing employer	The foreign national personally (Section 64/2)	BT.55	15 days from the date of starting work
Refusing to take on the worker / the worker not consenting to work / leaving employment (imported workers under Section 50)	Employer, notifying the licensed importer and the registrar	BT.53 or BT.54	7 days

Do not wait until the 15 days are nearly up The statute says "from the date of hiring" and "from the date the foreign national left employment", but it does not state whether the first day counts or the count starts the following day. We therefore do not give clients a definitive answer on that, and we advise notifying as soon as the event occurs — which is safe on either reading, and particularly so for absconding cases where the actual leaving date is arguable.

What is the penalty for not notifying

Employer failing to notify under Section 13A fine of up to 20,000 baht (Section 103), a fine-only offence, and the Director-General or the Provincial Governor may settle it by way of a comparative fine under Section 133, so it need not go to court if payment is accepted.

Foreign national failing to notify under Section 64/2A fine of up to 20,000 baht (Section 119/1) — a separate offence from the employer's, so notifying on only one side is not enough.

The mistakes employers make most often

The employee absconds and the employer waits to see whether they come back — waiting drags past the 15 days. Our advice is to notify as soon as you know.
Assuming that a voluntary resignation means no notification is needed — the duty to notify an exit lies with the employer whatever the reason for leaving.
Taking someone on but not notifying, because they are waiting for the previous employer's exit notification — a new employer does not have to wait for documents from the previous employer in order to take a foreign national into employment. Demanding documents beyond what the law requires is an improper exercise of authority, per the letter from the Office of Foreign Workers Administration.
Notifying on the employer's side but forgetting the employee's own notification — BT.55 is the foreign national's own duty and carries a separate penalty.
Mixing it up with TM.30 or the 90-day report — different laws, different agencies. See the next section.

Do not confuse these three

Entry and exit notification (this page) Department of Employment

A duty under Section 13 of the Royal Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers' Employment. It concerns employment, and is filed with the registrar.

TM.30 Immigration Bureau

The duty of the house master or owner of the premises when a foreign national takes up residence, under Section 38 of the Immigration Act — read about TM.30

90-day reporting Immigration Bureau

The foreign national's own duty, counted from the most recent entry into the country, unrelated to employment — read about the 90-day report

Where to file

Notifications may be filed through the Department of Employment's e-WorkPermit system (eworkpermit.doe.go.th) or at the provincial or district employment office covering the workplace. Which channel supports which form and which worker group is not the same everywhere, so we check before filing in every case.

This much is enough to start with Photos of the employee's work permit and passport page, plus the date they started or left work and the reason for leaving. We will reply with which form is needed, how many days are left, and whether anything else has to be notified on the other side.

What happens when we handle it

Case check first (free) Whether it is an entry or an exit, whether it is an imported worker falling under the 7-day rule in Section 50, and how much time is left.
Preparing the information and filling in the form BT.52 or BT.53, with the reason for leaving stated to match the facts.
Filing with the registrar Through the channel that supports your worker group.
Returning proof of notification and flagging what is outstanding For instance that the employee has to file BT.55 themselves, or that accommodation reporting and 90-day reporting are still pending in this case.

Costs

The price box at the top separates entry notification and exit notification as distinct items, because most clients use only one leg rather than both at once. The figure shown is our handling fee, per employee, per notification.

Why we do not print a government fee figure here A notification under Section 13 is a "notification", not an "application", and we have not verified the fee rate directly from the ministerial regulations, so we do not print a number that could mislead. If your case does carry an additional government cost, we always show it at the case-check stage before work begins.

Why employers have us handle it

We work out whether the case falls under the 15-day rule in Section 13 or the 7-day rule in Section 50, which are different conditions
The reason for leaving employment is stated to match the facts, so it does not contradict other documents in the same case
We remind the employee's side that BT.55 has to be filed as well, so no offence is left standing on the other side
Employers with frequent turnover can have this handled as a monthly batch instead of counting days themselves
If the case is already past 15 days, we say plainly what can follow rather than promising it is nothing

Frequently asked questions

If an employee absconds, from which day are the 15 days counted?

The statute says from the date the foreign national left employment, but an absconding case has no clear resignation date. We therefore advise notifying as soon as you know the employee is no longer coming to work, rather than waiting to see.

Can it still be notified after the 15 days have passed?

It must still be notified — failing to notify does not make the duty disappear. The penalty under Section 103 is a fine of up to 20,000 baht, and it is an offence that may be settled by a comparative fine under Section 133. We handle the filing and explain the position as it stands.

After the exit notification, what happens to the employee's work permit?

That is a separate matter from the permit itself. The exit notification tells the registrar that the employment has ended; how long the employee then has to start work with a new employer is a different condition — see conditions for changing employer

Does the new employer have to wait for the previous employer's exit notification?

No. The Office of Foreign Workers Administration has stated that a new employer does not need the exit notification document in order to take a foreign national into employment, and that demanding documents beyond what the law requires is an improper exercise of authority.

Can it be filed online by ourselves?

The Department of Employment operates the e-WorkPermit system and promotes filing exit notifications yourself, but the scope for each form and each worker group is not the same everywhere. If you intend to do it yourself, confirm first with the employment office in your area or the 1694 hotline.

Is entry and exit notification the same as TM.30?

Definitely not. Entry and exit notification concerns employment under Section 13 and is filed with the Department of Employment, while TM.30 is the accommodation notification under Section 38 of the Immigration Act, filed with the Immigration Bureau.

Let us look at your case

Message us on LINE with just the date the employee started or left, the reason, and which worker group they belong to. We will reply with which form is needed, how many days remain, and whether anything else has to be notified on the other side.

Sources

Royal Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers' Employment B.E. 2560, as amended by the Second Edition B.E. 2561 — Sections 13, 50, 64/2, 103, 119/1 and 133 (Government Gazette, Volume 135, Part 19 Kor, 27 March 2018)
Department of Employment, Office of Foreign Workers Administration — download page for forms BT.52, BT.53, BT.54 and BT.55
Department of Employment — e-WorkPermit system
Office of Foreign Workers Administration — letter clarifying that a new employer need not wait for the exit notification document (20 August 2025)

Entry and Exit Notification for Migrant Workers