Retirement visa and working outside of Thailand

[Nathan N]

I am 51, and still working for a US company, based in the US. I have no business in Thailand at all, but I work from home...meaning I am on the computer, conference calls, etc....but all back to the US. 

 

The retirement visa says no work allowed.....does this just mean in Thailand? Would this pass the test of no work for the retirement visa? 

 

I do service work on heavy industrial work in the US, Europe, Taiwan, and Mexico. So when I work I travel to the plants I service. 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2018 by Nathan N

[elviajero]

22 minutes ago, Nathan N said:

The retirement visa says no work allowed.....does this just mean in Thailand?

Yes. 

 

23 minutes ago, Nathan N said:

Would this pass the test of no work for the retirement visa? 

No. You are physically located in Thailand when carrying out your work, so you are working in Thailand. The location of your employer is irrelevant.

 

That said, the authorities will almost certainly not come looking for you or prosecute you if they knew what you were doing.

 

Many people work remotely and don’t disclose their work.

[elviajero]

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.

[duanebigsby]

You are going to get a lot of response from those who insist cutting your grass is work and therefore online work is work. You are going to get a lot of response from those who say remote work is perfectly fine if done for an overseas company and money to overseas account.

Don't let the neighbours know and don't shout it from the rooftops and you will be fine.

[onera1961]

Not to worry. I think the actual work by being physically present you do is outside Thailand. But better not to shout also. 

[Timwin]

Thai Elite Superiority Extension, 20 years, 1 mil Baht. Could be a good deal, only about 1350 euros per year, even for retirees. No more seasoning of the money.

[NoshowJones]

5 hours ago, elviajero said:

Yes. 

 

No. You are physically located in Thailand when carrying out your work, so you are working in Thailand. The location of your employer is irrelevant.

 

That said, the authorities will almost certainly not come looking for you or prosecute you if they knew what you were doing.

 

Many people work remotely and don’t disclose their work.

That's the best way, just do what you want, and always keep your mouth shut.

Edited June 23, 2018 by possum1931

[khunPer]

There have been some threads recently about "digital nomads", and the conclusion seem to be that as long as the work is done for foreign companies, and foreign clients, and accounted for in foreign accounts, it's not against the Thai regulations.

 

One of the threads is this one, with a link in the opening post to another thread with further comments...

 

[Jingthing]

Make sure the payments for the work doesn't go directly into your Thai bank account. 

Otherwise, just shut up.

They won't ask, you won't tell, have a nice stay. 

[LivinLOS]

2 hours ago, khunPer said:

There have been some threads recently about "digital nomads", and the conclusion seem to be that as long as the work is done for foreign companies, and foreign clients, and accounted for in foreign accounts, it's not against the Thai regulations.

 

One of the threads is this one, with a link in the opening post to another thread with further comments...

 

The conclusion reached by those doing it who dont want to pay the price of being legal.. 

The labour department and employment office have been consistently clear, every time asked.. over and over.. The only 'confusion' is enforcement and those wishing to not pay the cost.

[elviajero]

2 hours ago, khunPer said:

There have been some threads recently about "digital nomads", and the conclusion seem to be that as long as the work is done for foreign companies, and foreign clients, and accounted for in foreign accounts, it's not against the Thai regulations.

 

One of the threads is this one, with a link in the opening post to another thread with further comments...

 

That may be your conclusion, but it’s wrong. Any work in Thailand requires permission. There is currently no way for the authorities to give formal permission for this kind of remote work, so the authorities currently unofficially allow it.

 

The OP doesn’t seem to be a “Digital Nomad”, as they have a proper job. So any comments referencing “Digital Nomads”, that are expected to be passing through, aren’t relevant.

[Jingthing]

I do see one issue with this. I think in general this sort of thing does not interest immigration but if on retirement extensions using an income method rather than the full 800k bank account method its possible that they may ask about the income source. Especially as it will likely vary year to year. So if it varies much they'll be able to tell its not a standard pension. So I would be somewhat concerned about that. It's not as if they are actively trying to smoke out cases like this but it's possible if they do ask that question and it's answered honestly then they would have to think about what to do. You never want that.

 

That concern could be avoided by using the 800k bank account method.

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[duanebigsby]

43 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

The conclusion reached by those doing it who dont want to pay the price of being legal.. 

The labour department and employment office have been consistently clear, every time asked.. over and over.. The only 'confusion' is enforcement and those wishing to not pay the cost.

He's paying the price of being legal. He is seasoning money in the bank and applying for retirement extension.

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

That may be your conclusion, but it’s wrong. Any work in Thailand requires permission. There is currently no way for the authorities to give formal permission for this kind of remote work, so the authorities currently unofficially allow it.

 

The OP doesn’t seem to be a “Digital Nomad”, as they have a proper job. So any comments referencing “Digital Nomads”, that are expected to be passing through, aren’t relevant.

Not my conclusion – I have had the same view as you – but if you look through the posts and links, you'll find the conclusion I mention; especially in this news-story from May 11th (the OP's links in the thread I referred to)...

»...

The tourists were in Thailand legally and despite it being known that each was paid for their online work there was nothing the Thais could do to arrest them or have them deported.

They will leave when their visas expire.

Thaivisa notes that Labor Department officials were in the raiding party on Wednesday and the case is likely to be much discussed as it centers on the right of foreign nationals to work online in Thailand without a work permit...«

A link to Asian Correspondent says it more directly...

»...

Foreigners working for a Thai firm must hold a valid non-immigrant (Type B) visa, but so-called ‘digital nomads’ – who are often self-employed – can sidestep that requirement.

Chiang Mai Immigration Superintendent Pol. Col. Rutphong Sanwanangkun assured business leaders and foreign consular officials last month that ‘digital nomads’ are permitted to use tourists visas...«

Thailand: Immigration officials raid Chiang Mai co-working space

?

[timendres]

On 6/23/2018 at 4:16 PM, Timwin said:

Thai Elite Superiority Extension, 20 years, 1 mil Baht. Could be a good deal, only about 1350 euros per year, even for retirees. No more seasoning of the money.

But not an answer to the working without a work permit question. And if over 50, I would prefer to get my 800,000 baht back. For those under 50, with the means, an option worth considering.

[Nathan N]

On 6/23/2018 at 6:02 AM, Jingthing said:

I do see one issue with this. I think in general this sort of thing does not interest immigration but if on retirement extensions using an income method rather than the full 800k bank account method its possible that they may ask about the income source. Especially as it will likely vary year to year. So if it varies much they'll be able to tell its not a standard pension. So I would be somewhat concerned about that. It's not as if they are actively trying to smoke out cases like this but it's possible if they do ask that question and it's answered honestly then they would have to think about what to do. You never want that.

 

That concern could be avoided by using the 800k bank account method.

 

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That pretty much sums up my question....could I use that income for the retirement visa. Consensus here says do not make it complicated, shut up, keep moving. 

[Jingthing]

Well there are a lot of grey areas living in Thailand. You want to avoid presenting an application that will provoke them to ask questions. People can say lots of things about what the "official" policy is or is not, but what really matters is the response of your specific immigration officer at the time of application.

I guess if it was me I would use the bank method. It's not that bad. You spend down from it every year, just replenish with your income annually.