Popular Post webfact Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 Phuket Law: Royal Decree blows work permits wide open By Jerrold Kippen Under the old rules, foreigners who needed a work permit were prohibited from doing any work, for any employer, anywhere, under any such conditions if such were not detailed and, therefore, permitted in the work permit itself. That is no longer the case. Photo: The Phuket News PHUKET: Last month in part one on our series on Thailand’s new foreign labour law we explained that the new law allows foreigners to work without a work permit in some limited but significant circumstances. Also noted in our first report was how the very definition of work had been revised and that applications for work permits can now be made electronically from within and from outside Thailand. What most people have failed to notice so far is that the new law is also very good news for foreigners who are still required to obtain a work permit. Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-law-royal-decree-blows-work-permits-wide-open-68051.php#e3UQHkR7y0KozR8a.99 -- © Copyright Phuket News 2018-07-30 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post thaibeachlovers Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 Only 18 years too late for me. 3 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eligius Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 This does seem to be surprisingly good news. One gets used to such a stream of negative news (especially for foreigners) in Thailand that some apparently good news for a change comes almost as a shock - but a pleasant one! 26 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post robblok Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 12 minutes ago, Eligius said: This does seem to be surprisingly good news. One gets used to such a stream of negative news (especially for foreigners) in Thailand that some apparently good news for a change comes almost as a shock - but a pleasant one! Yes it seems that this government at least makes things better for foreigners. Hard to imagine but have to credit where credit is due. Now if they could only do away with the 90 day reporting that was activated under a previous government and the reporting of address things would really be looking up. 26 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post overherebc Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 Could be good news for many. How long will it take for the awareness?? and knowledge to filter down to people who will be in charge of WP's etc at local levels. 12 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Eligius Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 1 minute ago, robblok said: Yes it seems that this government at least makes things better for foreigners. Hard to imagine but have to credit where credit is due. Now if they could only do away with the 90 day reporting that was activated under a previous government and the reporting of address things would really be looking up. I think this is a Royal Decree - straight from the King. But yes - wouldn't it be wonderful if the 90-Day Reporting were done away with. But I dream too much - ha ha! 11 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ChiangMaiLightning2143 Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 (edited) I don’t get this will Farang English teachers now be moonlighting as Grab drivers? No more hauling off to the monkey house the guitarist for sitting in at a jam session in a bar, payed by a few beers? Chiang Mai police won’t like that. Can a foreign guy with a work permit pick a potato off the floor in his Thai wife’s restaurant without risking a grassing by jealous competitors? Edited July 30, 2018 by ChiangMaiLightning2143 10 1 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post darksidedog Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 On the face of it, this seems like very good news and a step in the right direction for common sense. I am keen to see under what circumstances a foreigner may work without a permit. Been too scared to paint the house, just in case. 8 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post robblok Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 10 minutes ago, Eligius said: I think this is a Royal Decree - straight from the King. But yes - wouldn't it be wonderful if the 90-Day Reporting were done away with. But I dream too much - ha ha! I know but arent all laws here made by the government and then endorsed by a Royal Decree from the king. Yes I am dreaming too but this really is a good change. Lets be happy about it. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post robblok Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 7 minutes ago, darksidedog said: On the face of it, this seems like very good news and a step in the right direction for common sense. I am keen to see under what circumstances a foreigner may work without a permit. Been too scared to paint the house, just in case. I don't believe you for one minute.. its just something you tell your wife / GF so you don't have to do the job. ? I have actually done some painting outside in the past and had my dad (im not that good with my hands) over to do quite a bit of work in the house. Kitchen, bathroom upstairs and downstairs. But last time there was painting to do I just hired Thais, not because i was afraid but because the price was not too high and I really don't like painting. Plus they did a better job than I could. 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Quote As a consequence, any foreigner who has a work permit in Thailand may now, work anywhere, for anyone (including themselves), under any conditions, and do any type of work, that is not excluded by the Official List. To get a work permit, do we still have to create company and hire 4 Thais, if we just want to do work by ourselves? I'm thinking of digital-nomad style of work, where a person would do tasks over the internet. What is the best / correct procedure for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post onoff Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 "work permits can now be made electronically from within and from outside Thailand." Anyone has more information on this? 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ZeVonderBearz Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 8 minutes ago, oilinki said: To get a work permit, do we still have to create company and hire 4 Thais, if we just want to do work by ourselves? I'm thinking of digital-nomad style of work, where a person would do tasks over the internet. What is the best / correct procedure for that? Education visa? 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorecard Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Can renewal of WPs now be done electronically? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 10 minutes ago, ZeVonderBearz said: Education visa? I already have a visa, but would like to do some remote work for an while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeybik Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, oilinki said: To get a work permit, do we still have to create company and hire 4 Thais, if we just want to do work by ourselves? I'm thinking of digital-nomad style of work, where a person would do tasks over the internet. What is the best / correct procedure for that? It's not just digital-nomad's. Consultant work, sales representatives, sourcing agents and a number of other "jobs" can be done by single person companies or one plus an assistant. How do you do this kind of work legally? What type of visa? Do you need a company entity? Can you work with only a visa? ... to Oilniki's question do you still need a company with 4 Thai's etc., etc., ...? There was rumor a while back about creating a sole-proprietor category business for foreigners but that seems to be either dead or back burnered. There are still quite a few unanswered questions about working legally long term in Thailand. Edited July 30, 2018 by Hockeybik 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post PoorSucker Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 Don't get to excited, this applies to conducting business meetings, sale exhibitions and such. You can now attend a conference without a WP. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post scorecard Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 28 minutes ago, Hockeybik said: It's not just digital-nomad's. Consultant work, sales representatives, sourcing agents and a number of other "jobs" can be done by single person companies or one plus an assistant. How do you do this kind of work legally? What type of visa? Do you need a company entity? Can you work with only a visa? ... to Oilniki's question do you still need a company with 4 Thai's etc., etc., ...? There was rumor a while back about creating a sole-proprietor category business for foreigners but that seems to be either dead or back burnered. There are still quite a few unanswered questions about working legally long term in Thailand. IMHO a very 'open' working scenario for foreigners in Thailand is a long way off. Just one reason is that Thailand is not and possibly never will be a multi-cultural society as we know in the west, I suspect this point pushes away the need (in the Thai psychi) for any really open picture for farang (all foreigners) to work in Thailand. Another angle / twist, more than 2 decades back I attended a seminar at which the Thai Minister of Education spoke at length, in English, and even took questions. The first question, from a western guy was asking for better conditions / opportunities / much less complication with visas and wp's etc, for English language teachers. The ministers' response was 'No need for that, we have many good teachers in Thailand. Next question please'. 3 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmitch Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 I thought that this was only to apply to businesses operating in the new Eastern Economic Corridor. Maybe they couldn't amend the law just for a single area. However the ease of access for temporary workers, such as musicians and conference attendees is welcome. Maybe we'll get a few more decent acts coming to Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NCC1701A Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 "As a consequence, any foreigner who has a work permit in Thailand may now, work anywhere, for anyone (including themselves), under any conditions, and do any type of work, that is not excluded by the Official List. This is a very significant and welcome change to the Thai foreign labour law regime." bottom line of the article. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overherebc Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 3 hours ago, oilinki said: To get a work permit, do we still have to create company and hire 4 Thais, if we just want to do work by ourselves? I'm thinking of digital-nomad style of work, where a person would do tasks over the internet. What is the best / correct procedure for that? Try Spain??????? ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 1 minute ago, overherebc said: Try Spain??????? ???? That's actually one of the places I might move to. Along with other EU countries, Portugal and Croatia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overherebc Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 8 minutes ago, oilinki said: That's actually one of the places I might move to. Along with other EU countries, Portugal and Croatia. Might not be far behind you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Hockeybik Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 1 hour ago, NCC1701A said: "As a consequence, any foreigner who has a work permit in Thailand may now, work anywhere, for anyone (including themselves), under any conditions, and do any type of work, that is not excluded by the Official List. This is a very significant and welcome change to the Thai foreign labour law regime." bottom line of the article. So, if I have a work permit from my job at a school teaching, I can work on the side for a company doing anything not restricted to Thai's? Bottom line to me is you still have to have the work permit if it is a long term job. If I'm understanding the whole article and on the lawyer's website correctly this also helps people who come to Thailand for short term work such as consulting or machinery installations or trade shows but does little to help freelancers or solo workers looking for a legal longer term solution. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duanebigsby Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 4 hours ago, robblok said: Yes it seems that this government at least makes things better for foreigners. Hard to imagine but have to credit where credit is due. Now if they could only do away with the 90 day reporting that was activated under a previous government and the reporting of address things would really be looking up. Both issues you mention are a pain in the butt for Immigration and our landlords every bit as much as for ourselves. I agree completely. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overherebc Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, PoorSucker said: Don't get to excited, this applies to conducting business meetings, sale exhibitions and such. You can now attend a conference without a WP. For sure this will not be a WP Fest. My take is that those already holding a WP will not be stricly limited to the area of issue. Eg a contract that has offices, yards in different provinces might mean the WP you have for Chonburi might cover you to do a bit of your work in a subcontractors fab' yard in Saraburi without having to apply for a WP there or have it added to your existing WP. All the work would have to do with the contract itself, not a different job on a different contract. Edited July 30, 2018 by overherebc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajarnmarc Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 Any news on this subject is welcome and progress, though slow coming; still progress. Happy day... As now the G/F can't try to trip up their man, so easily. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post MekkOne Posted July 30, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2018 4 hours ago, robblok said: But last time there was painting to do I just hired Thais, not because i was afraid but because the price was not too high and I really don't like painting. Plus they did a better job than I could. Man you must really suck at painting... 2 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car720 Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said: Only 18 years too late for me. and me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit69 Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 5 hours ago, Eligius said: One gets used to such a stream of negative news (especially for foreigners) in Thailand Or more accurately "from foreigners in Thailand." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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