Working offshore

[backtofront]

Is one permitted to work remotely for an overseas company with no connection to Thailand whilst on an twelve month O visa?

[paul18620]

Don't tell anyone your working and you will be fine.

Dont piss off any of the locals as they might grass on you and you will be in trouble if they catch you working remotely since you don't have a WP.

[backtofront]

Thought that might be case. But any idea why it is not allowed? Any idea where I can view the regulations?

[darrendsd]

17 minutes ago, backtofront said:

Thought that might be case. But any idea why it is not allowed? Any idea where I can view the regulations?

As far as I know  but others may correct me there is nothing in the regulations about working  remotely

 

As the above poster says keep it quiet, if you are working at home the chances of you being caught are pretty much zero

[backtofront]

It's not that simple. I have to establish whether it is legal or not as we are applying for a settlement visa for the UK. And the source of ones income needs to be "legal". We will have to make the application here. And although I assume the British Embassy knows the answer I doubt they will tell.   

[darrendsd]

50 minutes ago, backtofront said:

It's not that simple. I have to establish whether it is legal or not as we are applying for a settlement visa for the UK. And the source of ones income needs to be "legal". We will have to make the application here. And although I assume the British Embassy knows the answer I doubt they will tell.   

 

Are you working offshore or working online?

 

Your title says offshore but your OP says remotely?

 

 

 

[anon789561]

5 hours ago, backtofront said:

It's not that simple. I have to establish whether it is legal or not as we are applying for a settlement visa for the UK. And the source of ones income needs to be "legal". We will have to make the application here. And although I assume the British Embassy knows the answer I doubt they will tell.   

so your salary will be paid into an overseas account, where the company is located and where you will pay tax so yes, for the uk settlement visa it would surely be therefore legal. the fact you are working remotely is here say to the uk i would have thought, as far as they are concerned the income is legal. the fact you are doing it from thailand shouldn't matter to them. with regards the thais you should really have a permit but again it's a grey area and as long as you pay tax on the money you bring from overseas it shouldn't be a problem. you will have a load more responses on this once the old boys are out of bed i assure you. then you'll have to figure it out for yourself

[yellowboat]

According to Thai immigration, you are working, and you must have a work permit even if you give and not take from the country.  Thailand is the only country in SE Asia that seems to have these sorts of laws that harm its own economy.  As many have stated, keep quiet and do not try to find the logic in these laws.  You will only end up possessing a key to an empty room.    

[backtofront]

15 hours ago, darrendsd said:

 

Are you working offshore or working online?

 

Your title says offshore but your OP says remotely?

 

 

 

Badly worded. Should be to accept a job in the UK working remotely.  

[backtofront]

2 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

According to Thai immigration, you are working, and you must have a work permit even if you give and not take from the country.  Thailand is the only country in SE Asia that seems to have these sorts of laws that harm its own economy.  As many have stated, keep quiet and do not try to find the logic in these laws.  You will only end up possessing a key to an empty room.    

The problem as I see it is that the application for a settlement visa has to be made in Thailand. Acceptance of the application requires that the income shown is earned legally. And if Thai Immigration require a work permit it would be illegal if the Embassy wanted to be nasty.

 

Would it be possible to get a work permit to work remotely? Foresee fun and games with that one.

[anon789561]

20 minutes ago, backtofront said:

The problem as I see it is that the application for a settlement visa has to be made in Thailand. Acceptance of the application requires that the income shown is earned legally. And if Thai Immigration require a work permit it would be illegal if the Embassy wanted to be nasty.

 

Would it be possible to get a work permit to work remotely? Foresee fun and games with that one.

you can't get a work permit, as you have mentioned you will actually be employed as working in another country. this should not be  problem for the settlement visa as long as you are legally employed in that country and paying taxes etc. 

[anon789561]

i don't know that it will be ok for the settlement visa you understand, just saying how i would imagine it to be. reckon you will need to ask a pro on this one to be honest but can't see your remote location matering wherever that is in the world as long as you are legally employed by that employer

[pumpjack]

19 hours ago, darrendsd said:

As far as I know  but others may correct me there is nothing in the regulations about working  remotely

 

As the above poster says keep it quiet, if you are working at home the chances of you being caught are pretty much zero

 

i built my own house  in issan ...not a peep from anyone 

[ubonjoe]

A post bringing politics into the discussion and the resultant replies to it have been removed.

[elviajero]

20 hours ago, backtofront said:

It's not that simple. I have to establish whether it is legal or not as we are applying for a settlement visa for the UK. And the source of ones income needs to be "legal". We will have to make the application here. And although I assume the British Embassy knows the answer I doubt they will tell.   

I think they will be only interested in confirming that you are working and want proof of your income. If you were working in Thailand for a Thai based company without a work permit you might have something to worry about, but as it stands I don't see a problem.

 

21 hours ago, backtofront said:

Is one permitted to work remotely for an overseas company with no connection to Thailand whilst on an twelve month O visa?

The law says that you can't work in Thailand without permission. There is nothing, in law or regulation, that excludes you just because you are employed by a foreign based company or paid outside of Thailand. If you are working on Thai soil, according to the law, you need permission, which in your case you won't get.

Immigration Act.

Section 37 : An alien having received a temporary entry permit into the Kingdom must comply with the following :

1. Shall not engage in the occupation or temporary or employment unless authorized by the Director General. or competent official deputized by the Director General . If , in any case , there is a law concerning alien employment provided hereafter , the granting of work privileges must comply with the law concerned.

 

However, it is highly unlikely that the authorities will come looking for you, and even if they new about your work it is highly unlikely that they would prosecute or revoke your permission to stay. The law was written 38 years ago and was a catch all to stop foreigners setting up business in Thailand or being employed without permission. It's primary function is to protect Thai jobs/business. Remote work wasn't catered for in the law at the time and the authorities haven't formally addressed it since. As it's stands, I would say it's tolerated but not legal.

 

[khunPer]

50 minutes ago, pumpjack said:

 

i built my own house  in issan ...not a peep from anyone 

Building one's own boat or house – or rebuilding a private motorbike – inside Thailand is not work, as long as you don't sell it (i.e. build/rebuild with the intention of selling). This has been clearly stated by chief-of-Police in Phuket in a news feed here (ThaiVisa) some years ago.

 

Seem from numerous other threads and replies about "remote work" and "digital normads" that consensus is, that it's not really legal, but if keeping low profile and doing it under the radar, it normally don't cause any problems; as long as all customers, including including invoicing and payments, are remote.

 

In OP's case, will Britain check if a Thai work permit has been issued, when the income is registered, and tax paid, in Britain..?

[Satcommlee]

Its a common topic that crops up... at the end of the day it is common sense..

 

Keeping yourself to yourself and writing a few emails relating to work is not really an abuse (although technically is)

 

If you are evading tax, that could be an issue...

 

If you are in the public eye - that is an issue..

 

This is country that makes mowing your own lawn a labour law offence... so it relies highly on discretion of the labour/immigration officers and these guys are human and not as bad as people make out.

 

The most important thing is to keep your business to yourself.

 

There are many on here with Work Permits that condemn you as evil... Well I hold a work permit and I don't - Thai law never caught up with technology.

 

But you will hear so many different interpretations from different medium ranking local police being made public.. at the end of the day "work" is effort whether paid or unpaid.

 

If you are netting 500K a month then you are probably in a category for exploitation.

 

[backtofront]

15 hours ago, Happy enough said:

i don't know that it will be ok for the settlement visa you understand, just saying how i would imagine it to be. reckon you will need to ask a pro on this one to be honest but can't see your remote location matering wherever that is in the world as long as you are legally employed by that employer

Experience tells me to expect obstruction at every turn. Be it from Thai Immigration or the British Embassy. Can anyone recommend a useful immigration consultant that will dig deep enough?

[anon789561]

10 minutes ago, backtofront said:

Experience tells me to expect obstruction at every turn. Be it from Thai Immigration or the British Embassy. Can anyone recommend a useful immigration consultant that will dig deep enough?

My wife also settled in the UK years ago and got her passport, ironically we ended up back here after just a few years which was actually part of the plan (still not convinced thailand will be where we choose to retire). It has nothing to do with thai immo as far as i remember. At the time,  I didn't feel they were trying to obstruct us by the way. They were strict on everything but as long as you have all the proof and meet the requirements set out it should be fine. I think anyone asking a lot of questions about personal stuff can feel quite intrusive, still get that here so i avoid it as much as i can 555. maybe someone else may know a decent immo consultant who can answer a few questions for you. good luck anyway, sure it'll work out fine

[BritTim]

As far as the UK is concerned, I do not think they will care whether working remotely for a UK employer conforms with the fine print of Thailand's alien employment laws. At the current time (and IMHO unlikely to change soon, though it may eventually) digital nomads are tolerated in Thailand, but not strictly legal. There is no practical way for a digital nomad to acquire a work permit, and no working is according to the letter of the law permitted without one outside of some limited exceptions. The authorities (showing admirable intelligence in this case) appreciate that digital nomads do the country no harm, are economically beneficial, and the current laws do not permit them to be legal. That being the case, they have chosen to leave them alone. Indeed, there are coworking spaces that operate unhindered all over the country catering specifically to this population. There are many digital nomads here.

[elviajero]

19 hours ago, Satcommlee said:

This is country that makes mowing your own lawn a labour law offence...

No it doesn't. There is no law stopping you mowing your own lawn. The law stops people setting up as a lawn mowing business or being employed as a lawn mower without first getting permission.

 

19 hours ago, Satcommlee said:

at the end of the day "work" is effort whether paid or unpaid.

Only in the context of employment. The definition of work within the Alien Working (employment) Act is there to stop EMPLOYERS from avoiding the need to get a work permit (permission) by claiming their EMPLOYEE is unpaid, a volunteer, and or employed as, for example, an advisor only providing knowledge. The job the foreigner is doing has to be detailed, justified and not on the excluded list. Whether they get paid or not is irrelevant. This definition of 'working' does not apply to everyday life! A company director needs a work permit to sign a company cheque, he does not need a work permit to sign a personal cheque although both require effort.

 

The OP is not being EMPLOYED by an EMPLOYER operating in Thailand, therefore, the Alien Working (employment) Act does not apply. The law stopping him from working while in Thailand is Section 37 of the Immigration Act. See post 15.

 

Doing something in everyday life that involves effort can be described a work/working, but work/working requiring permission under immigration law involves employment or carrying out an occupation. Occupation meaning job, profession, line of work/business, volunteering, means of earning a living, etc. If he wants to mow his lawn he can.