About 5 years ago I went to an accountant and said I want to get a visa for my Filipino nanny for my kids.  He said easy.  Just let us create a company and the company can sponsor her for the visa.  He did and it did.  Part of the whole process was the work permit. I always viewed that as a necessary evil.  Now the work permit requires too many hours of my time to waste to renew it so I'm probably just not going to do it.  All I really care about is that she has a visa to allow to her to stay in Thailand.  She's about 5-7 months per year in Thailand with my kids and the rest of the year in Hong Kong where I also employ her and sponsor her for a visa and pay her a salary or on summer holidays usually 3 months in Europe and America. So, the ultimate question is this: if I left the work permit lapse, would I have trouble getting her a new visa in 6 months or so when the visa will expire?  Or can I let it lapse for several months and then renew it again a month or two before the visa is to expire?  I just want a way that she can legally be in Thailand for 6+ months per year other than a tourist without all the paperwork and other BS. And, yes, I know about the elite visa, but we're probably going to move to europe in the next year or two and take her with us.

No clue. My wife use to take care for our Myanmar maid, but the maid said she could manage it better.  She does everything all by herself now. Been with us about 6 yrs now.