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coworking spaces asking for passport?


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I'm a full-time student from the USA. I took fall semester off for a little break. I'm here on a tourist visa, and doing my share of touristing (and medical tourism with all my annual check-ups). I've also been working on some projects at a local co-working space,  exploring what business and academic opportunities I want to jumpstart when I get back to the U.S.--vacation time is a good for ideation. I don't work here nor will I collect any revenue on anything I'm working on. I leave in another month to go back home and start spring semester. The co-working space is now asking everyone for a copy of their passport as part of a new policy. Is this okay / normal?

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Work is not legal without a work permit and work does not require payment to be considered work.  You seem to be running in a gray area and the fact you are calling it a co-working space does not bode well for not working claims.  As to how normal this passport request may or may not be have no knowledge.

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12 minutes ago, jacobjm1 said:

The co-working space is now asking everyone for a copy of their passport as part of a new policy. Is this okay / normal?

They may want that for their records if you are using their internet connection. I have not heard of it being enforced recently but there is or was a rule that they had to do that.

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16 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Work is not legal without a work permit and work does not require payment to be considered work.  You seem to be running in a gray area and the fact you are calling it a co-working space does not bode well for not working claims.  As to how normal this passport request may or may not be have no knowledge.

I would ask them to clarify exactly the reason behind asking for it. 

If you don't feel happy with the answer then don't hand it over and walk.

Relax for the last month.

Edited by overherebc
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As @ubonjoe posted, they almost certainly want your passport data to meet the requirements of Thailand's computer crime legislation. This requires anyone providing a shared Internet service to keep a log of the computers used by each individual. The law is not aggressively enforced, but many businesses, understandably, want to ensure they are compliant.

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14 hours ago, elviajero said:

Yes. They probably want it for ID.

 

As long as you're not working for a business or being employed by a Thai based company you aren't doing anything wrong and have no reason to stay off the radar.

If you build a boat in your back yard, you are considered working under Thai law, or even painting your fence at your home.  All are illegal without a work permit.  It is a totally illogical, knuckled headed mindset from Thai officialdom, but it is the law.  Is it enforced ?   Sometimes it is depending on the mood of those in charge.   I

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2 minutes ago, stevenl said:

You know those guys building the boat were doing it to sell, hence they got arrested.

Ever hear of anybody getting arrested for painting their fence?

 

You're scaremongering.

No, have done business in Thailand for years.  Prior to the coup, you could do almost anything and nobody cared.  Today, you just don't know.  Chances are he will be fine, but Thailand defines work much differently than China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and just about every other Asian country.  I bought samples to sell overseas and was told I was working illegally.  And I do believe some have been hassled for doing their own home improvements as well.   

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1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

If you build a boat in your back yard, you are considered working under Thai law, or even painting your fence at your home.  All are illegal without a work permit.  It is a totally illogical, knuckled headed mindset from Thai officialdom, but it is the law.  Is it enforced ?   Sometimes it is depending on the mood of those in charge.   I

That is utter nonsense. Building a boat is a hobby, and painting your house is a domestic task. If on the other hand your wife sells noodles on the street and you help her carrying buckets of water or other things, then that has been known to be considered working.

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1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

If you build a boat in your back yard, you are considered working under Thai law, or even painting your fence at your home.  All are illegal without a work permit.  It is a totally illogical, knuckled headed mindset from Thai officialdom, but it is the law.  Is it enforced ?   Sometimes it is depending on the mood of those in charge.   I

I have personally installed and repaired plumbing in my condo. have also painted and repaired other things in condo. have built and repaired computers and fixed ding on surfboards. no work permit. Do I need a lawyer?

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1 minute ago, atyclb said:

I have personally installed and repaired plumbing in my condo. have also painted and repaired other things in condo. have built and repaired computers and fixed ding on surfboards. no work permit. Do I need a lawyer?

Only if you are charged - and just as most drunk drivers/speeders are never charged most people doing such things are not going to have problems.  But a few will:  so best to be aware of that possibility and try to avoid.

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19 hours ago, allane said:

One of the big differences between Thailand and my country (Canada) is that Thai's have to formally identify themselves, by presenting their national ID card, to do almost anything, whether applying for a job, renting an apartment, or checking into a hotel.

I obtained my Canadian social insurance number when I was fifteen years old. In the 25 years or so before I moved to Thailand, I never showed that card to anyone; not even once. On rare occasions, I had to write the number on a form, or state it verbally to someone.

I realized after I had moved here what an amazing society we have in Canada, one can get almost anything done by simply stating your name, and everyone trusts everyone else. I don't know if Canada is still like that, though I hope it is.

In Thailand, no one trusts anyone else, whether Thai, or foreigner. And having lived here 22 years, I can see why.  This country has a long way to go. 

 

Perfectly stated. I'm only surprised that I don't need to show my passport to get a haircut or to order dinner. I do for just about everything else.

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1 hour ago, meinphuket said:

That is utter nonsense. Building a boat is a hobby, and painting your house is a domestic task. If on the other hand your wife sells noodles on the street and you help her carrying buckets of water or other things, then that has been known to be considered working.

It is utter nonsense but it is the mindset of Thailand.  Does the government enforce its illogical laws ?  Sometimes or it doesn't. It depends on the mood. 

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The definition of work under the Alien Working Act (2008) in Thailand is:

 

Section 5. "Work" means engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefits;

 

The reason the definition is so vague is so that, maybe, if they want to charge someone with working illegally, it would really be impossible for that person to claim that what they were doing could not be considered 'work' under the Act because just about anything could be considered 'work' under the Act.

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20 hours ago, allane said:

I realized after I had moved here what an amazing society we have in Canada

You really think being able to do trivial things without presenting ID makes Canada an amazing society? 

 

According to the Canadian Post Office:

Quote

When you pick up an item at the post office, you’ll need to show acceptable identification. It must be original, valid, government-issued photo ID. If the photo identification does not contain the address (such as in the case of a passport), proof of residency is also required. 

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/kb/details.page?article=id_required_to_pick_&cattype=kb&cat=receiving&subcat=maildel

 

And then there's the Catch 22. If you lose your Canadian ID evidence, you can't get replacements without ID.

 

"What it means to be living as a Canadian without ID"

Quote

For 15 years, McLaughlin had been trying tirelessly to prove to the Canadian government that he exists. He’d taken trips to Service Canada and ServiceOntario offices to get a social insurance document, a health card, a citizenship certificate. Even though he once owned those pieces of ID, nobody would give him any replacements. Each one of the receptionists, clerks, and officers McLaughlin spoke to told him he needed to show supplementary identification—a birth certificate, a social insurance card, a driver’s licence, a passport—before they could issue him new ID.

https://this.org/2017/03/31/what-it-means-to-be-a-canadian-living-without-id/

 

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2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Perfectly stated. I'm only surprised that I don't need to show my passport to get a haircut or to order dinner. I do for just about everything else.

 

The last time I was asked for my passport was at the post office. I showed my Thai driving licence and they were happy with that. The time before was at Telewiz when I bought a new sim card and the time before that was at immigration 3 months ago.

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On 11/14/2017 at 1:36 PM, lopburi3 said:

Work is not legal without a work permit and work does not require payment to be considered work.  You seem to be running in a gray area and the fact you are calling it a co-working space does not bode well for not working claims.  As to how normal this passport request may or may not be have no knowledge.

"Work is not legal without a work permit". If you make such a broad statement, surely a good definition of the word "work" would be necessary.

 

We all work, every day. Would I need a work permit to clean my house or work in the garden?

 

Checking up on work opportunities back at home as the OP is doing can hardly be classified as illegal work on a tourist visa. His use of a workspace is the same as using an internet cafe.

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23 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

The last time I was asked for my passport was at the post office. I showed my Thai driving licence and they were happy with that. The time before was at Telewiz when I bought a new sim card and the time before that was at immigration 3 months ago.

My bank needs to see passports for a variety of reasons. They don't accept copies.

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10 minutes ago, tropo said:

Checking up on work opportunities back at home as the OP is doing can hardly be classified as illegal work on a tourist visa. His use of a workspace is the same as using an internet cafe.

I totally agree with this definition, however, checking out opportunities down the road in the US in a workspace does potentially carry more risk than doing it in an internet cafe, or better still on Wifi at wherever the OP is staying, purely because there is more likelihood for there to be illegal workers at this workspace, so the percentages of a pull increase. Personally I do not understand why you would do this in a location like that, the office floor I work in have office spaces provided by Regus and there are lots of what i would imagine are illegal workers using this area.

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18 minutes ago, tropo said:

"Work is not legal without a work permit". If you make such a broad statement, surely a good definition of the word "work" would be necessary.

 

We all work, every day. Would I need a work permit to clean my house or work in the garden?

 

Checking up on work opportunities back at home as the OP is doing can hardly be classified as illegal work on a tourist visa. His use of a workspace is the same as using an internet cafe.

The definition was provided by JLCrab a few posts above -

 

Quote

 

The definition of work under the Alien Working Act (2008) in Thailand is:

 

Section 5. "Work" means engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefits;

 

Which mean is can be open to judgement - your cleaning house (which is likely not your house but in name of Thai) could be considered depriving a Thai of employment.  As said this seldom happens in such cases but it is always available to someone with a grudge, even if in the end a judge throws it out.

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My friend run a co-working space & cafe and he has to register all users of their free internet. Must register national ID or passport for foreigners. Technically a barber shop should record your passport info if they give you their wifi password while waiting for haircut. Of course enforcement depends on how active are local BiB.

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4 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Only if you are charged - and just as most drunk drivers/speeders are never charged most people doing such things are not going to have problems.  But a few will:  so best to be aware of that possibility and try to avoid.

There is no law that would allow someone to be charged/prosecuted for painting or doing repairs to their condo. The law only stops people being employed without permission, or carrying out any type of "occupation" without permission.

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