working online - grey area - retirement visa/elite visa

[midnightrambler]

Hi guys

First post in awhile.

Before the onslaught/pile on of folks telling me THIS IS AGAINST THE LAW/RULES to work with a retirement/elite visa

yes i know and am am fully aware of this and thanks.

That said it seems like as of today there is no available work permit for someone like myself who can generate income online and be paid via paypal and not get any money transfers to a thai bank account.

I am throwing this out there for general musings and opinions.

Has anyone  been known to have been caught or deported for making income online with a Retirement or Elite visa?

Does having the elite visa grease the wheels a bit and shield one from immigration scrutiny?

If someone was to expressly work from home only on either visa and not derive ANY income from Thailand proper would this raise any flags?

Thanks for your input.

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2018 by midnightrambler

[elviajero]

16 minutes ago, midnightrambler said:

Has anyone  been known to have been caught or deported for making income online with a Retirement or Elite visa?

Caught, yes. Deported, highly unlikely unless they were doing something illegal online.

 

17 minutes ago, midnightrambler said:

Does having the elite visa grease the wheels a bit and shield one from immigration scrutiny?

You have little contact with immigration so it probably helps, but they could come (unlikely) calling anytime. Especially if you’re living in Nakhon Nowhere.

 

20 minutes ago, midnightrambler said:

If someone was to expressly work from home only on either visa and not derive ANY income from Thailand proper would this raise any flags?

No. The authorities would have no way of knowing you were working.

 

If you were discovered working online it’s unlikely they would take action against you, but it’s best not to disclose the fact. 

[midnightrambler]

this confirms my thoughts, thanks so much for the speedy answer elviajero 

[JayBird]

If the nature of the work has nothing to do with Thailand or being in Thailand, and you do not bring the money in to Thailand in the year it was made, then I believe you are not doing anything wrong.

 

That being said, tell no one, because the government or police may cause problems out of spite or if someone does not like you.

[pearciderman]

31 minutes ago, JayBird said:

If the nature of the work has nothing to do with Thailand or being in Thailand, and you do not bring the money in to Thailand in the year it was made, then I believe you are not doing anything wrong.

 

That being said, tell no one, because the government or police may cause problems out of spite or if someone does not like you.

 

Wrong, all that matters is where YOU are, nothing else. But, as has been said, chances of getting caught are small.

[balo]

If anyone were caught you would hear it in the news. More then 100k people aee working online from Thailand from time to time, we are digital nomads.

As long as you work from your home , and the income and tax are registered in your home country, it will not involve Thailand. Just avoid public places .

[cacahootie]

A few anecdotes on the matter.  I have told immigration on 3 separate occasions that I have a job in America and that I work online with a tourist visa.  Rather than provoking suspicion, it was like a magic pass every time.  Also consider the plethora of coworking spaces in Bangkok and Chiang Mai where falang pay money to a place specifically for the purposes of having a workplace.  I heard anecdotally about one instance where one was raided, and it turned out to be a fluke and nobody was punished as a result.  In theory, technically, it's not allowed.  In practice, Immigration at Swampy seems to accept working remotely while in Thailand on a visa exemption is valid... they seem like the ones most likely to raise an objection if there was an issue.

[jackdd]

I've never heard of anybody having problems because of working online, it's just tolerated.

[midnightrambler]

1 hour ago, cacahootie said:

A few anecdotes on the matter.  I have told immigration on 3 separate occasions that I have a job in America and that I work online with a tourist visa.  Rather than provoking suspicion, it was like a magic pass every time.  Also consider the plethora of coworking spaces in Bangkok and Chiang Mai where falang pay money to a place specifically for the purposes of having a workplace.  I heard anecdotally about one instance where one was raided, and it turned out to be a fluke and nobody was punished as a result.  In theory, technically, it's not allowed.  In practice, Immigration at Swampy seems to accept working remotely while in Thailand on a visa exemption is valid... they seem like the ones most likely to raise an objection if there was an issue.

honesty is the best policy?

you crazy man!

props either way!

how long you been in the LOS for?

 

my GF's Roommate is an English teacher from the Phills  and for whatever reason hasn't had a work perrnit for 7 long ass years and does a visa run every 90 with no issues.

she's nonchalant about it and it's like what me worry?

she just got a new gig and they are getting her a permit .......yay

but i was kind of shocked by this!

 

[cacahootie]

Well, the first time I did it I didn't really think it through - I had run to Vietnam for 6 hours to do a visa exempt run.  The fact that I was out & back the same day on VE flagged me and I was taken aside.  There was another chap there who had some convoluted story about an ED visa with 1 day validity left.  The IO tabled him briefly to ask me why I was out & back, was I working, etc...  I explained I had a thai GF (now my wife) who was waiting to get a passport so I wanted to go quickly, and that I worked in USA and had an internet job and he basically lost his scowl and said next time do a tourist visa.  The next time was just chatting with an IO during an extension, and she didn't even bat an eye.  The third time was trying (unsuccessfully) to convert my tourist to Non-O Marriage visa and my wife without thinking blurted out I had a US job and worked online to the very unfriendly IO who still didn't bat an eye (but also gave us a whole bucket of obstacles).  Given those experiences, I don't volunteer the info but I think it's a good defense to the working illegally in Thailand issue.  Who knows - you may encounter an IO who wants to be very literal about the rules.

 

I've been in Thailand now about 1 year, but I'd been visiting frequently for 2 years before that.  After my experience at Swampy I've done all my visa runs via land borders, and only returned to Thailand by air from a vacation in Japan with a reentry permit in place.  The IO gave my mother and I a hard time, but because he couldn't understand the address on the TM8, not for any other reasons.

[elviajero]

4 hours ago, JayBird said:

If the nature of the work has nothing to do with Thailand or being in Thailand, and you do not bring the money in to Thailand in the year it was made, then I believe you are not doing anything wrong.

If you are in Thailand when carrying out your online work then you are working in Thailand. Working in Thailand requires permission.

 

There is nothing wrong with bringing money in to the country in the year it's earned as long as you declare/pay any tax due.

[balo]

On 2/12/2018 at 4:42 PM, elviajero said:

If you are in Thailand when carrying out your online work then you are working in Thailand. Working in Thailand requires permission.

Only in theory . If you write a book to be published in Europe, call it work but it got nothing to do with Thailand if you sit under a palm tree and type on your computer 100 pages.   

In this digital age and time nobody cares .  

 

 

[Khun Robert]

It is not a grey area, only made a grey area by people who love to give themselves other job prescriptions.

For Example: a Web designer stays a web designer even living abroad, calling himself a nomad does not change the job.

 

It is illegal as others already pointed out. 

Problem to catch you is this: Thai Police and Immigration Police are looking around for people working illegal in the country, BUT

they can only arrest you if you really are doing the job.

Sitting behind a computer screen at home or with a laptop on the beach it is very difficult for them to make evidence like pictures that you

are actually working at that moment. So the chance of getting caught is slim.

 

I can sit in a restaurant/bar every night with a beer talking to other customers about different foods, day tours and even recommend the best one. I can sell it to these customers and Police can do nothing, because I just have a conversation while drinking a beer.

As soon as I write details on a voucher and/or collect money from the other customers they have their prove that I work.

 

[elviajero]

11 hours ago, balo said:

Only in theory . If you write a book to be published in Europe, call it work but it got nothing to do with Thailand if you sit under a palm tree and type on your computer 100 pages.   

In this digital age and time nobody cares .  

In this digital age only people that believe they are entitled to work anywhere believe nobody cares!

 

The reality is that Thai authorities cannot practically enforce the law, and as yet haven’t come up with a way to deal with or legitimise remote workers.

 

Thailand, like other countries, doesn’t seem to have a problem with short term visitors keeping up with their work while on holiday.

[garyk]

I just left a police border station and when I was their, there was a foreigner guiding about 10 tourists threw the area.  They stopped and ate lunch at the police station.. LOL . Police don't care what so ever unless pressed to do something about it. 

Internet business should be no problem what so ever here.