A 43-year-old Chinese woman has been arrested in Chon Buri after allegedly using a tourist visa to illegally work as a property agent in Pattaya. Immigration police said the suspect was promoting land sales and rental deals to Chinese investors through the WeChat application.
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The arrest was carried out on 19 May by officers from Chon Buri Immigration under the direction of Pol Col Napasphong Khositsuriyamanee, superintendent of Chon Buri Immigration, and Pol Lt Col Kawinwat Aryasuriwong, deputy superintendent. Investigators from Pattaya and Si Racha immigration units had been monitoring reports of foreign nationals illegally working in restricted occupations in the area.
Authorities said the woman entered Thailand on a tourist visa but was allegedly acting as an agent for land sales and rentals, an occupation prohibited to foreign nationals under Thai labour regulations. Investigators found she had been filming review clips and promotional content for land plots before posting them on WeChat to attract industrial and property investors.
Police later received information from an informant that foreign investors would attend a property contract signing at a house in Pattaya, Chon Buri province. Officers then raided the property and found the Chinese woman meeting with seven other Chinese investors to discuss land lease and purchase agreements.
Documents found on the table included draft sale and purchase contracts and copies of land title deeds, which officers seized as evidence. Immigration officers checked the passports and visas of the seven investors and confirmed they had entered Thailand legally.
The woman was taken to Chon Buri Immigration Office for further questioning. Investigators concluded that although she had entered Thailand legally on a tourist visa, she had allegedly been working without authorisation in a restricted profession.
She was charged with “working without permission or working beyond entitled rights” before being handed over to investigators at Bo Win Police Station for legal proceedings. Authorities did not release her name.
The case forms part of an ongoing immigration crackdown targeting foreign nationals suspected of illegally working in Thailand under tourist visas. Officials have increased inspections in Chon Buri and Pattaya following concerns about unauthorised business activity linked to foreign investors and property transactions.
Picture courtesy of Daily News
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Adapted by ASEAN Now Dailynews 20 May 2026
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