Digital nomads in Thailand

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Happened at a coworking space in Chiang Mai a few years back.

Rounded everyone up and down to the police station, not sure how it ended for them.

Thats what I imagine could and would happen in my area there has been a few so called "Coworking" places have opened I was thinking one day some immigration chaps lets take a look at these places and investigate what is really going on, 

[ChipButty]

Didn't Thailand try to promote a Digital nomad visa a while ago? 

[proton]

8 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

What does your post even mean.

 

Anyone working online in Thailand for countries outside of Thailand earning income and paid into foreign bank account .

So your point??

Please address the OP question

why don't you stop playing forum policeman? you are stating to come across as a bit of a bully

[ChipButty]

15 minutes ago, proton said:

why don't you stop playing forum policeman? you are stating to come across as a bit of a bully

He's not the only one 

[save the frogs]

this is a good article.

 

https://nomadtalk.net/digital-nomad-visas-why-theyre-not-going-to-happen-and-why-most-nomads-wouldnt-want-them-to/

 

some key points:

 

 there is no grey area; unless your visa specifically allows you to work in a country (or you have another legal right to work there) then working is illegal.

It does not matter if you’re not taking work from locals. It does not matter if you’re paid overseas. There are no loopholes. If you don’t have the right to work – working is illegal.

Having said this: most countries are never going to check whether you are working and as long as you keep moving around and act sensibly (don’t boast about working illegally, for example) nobody is likely to give you any hassle as a digital nomad.

 

A lack of a digital nomad visa means no harassment at immigration and no real need to declare yourself a digital nomad and pay taxes.

 

[Ben Zioner]

9 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Most ridiculous post I have read today.

I stated ...."don't big noise it"

The OP  had  clear specific question. 

Who will complain?? 

Nonsense 

Indeed, what is the difference  between a  guy  picking his nose over the next paragraph of a business case and a guy picking his nose over his next witty post on Aseannow?

[ChipButty]

In our experience it's been mostly Russians working as digital nomads, usually they ask how good is the internet, 

[scorecard]

9 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I would say it a little different:

Likely it is no problem if not many people know about it and if you don't have anybody who wants to make trouble for you.

I am pretty sure working like that is not legal and there could be trouble - if people complain. 

There's always the possibility that a 'digital nomad' gets a bigger contract of work then the contract provider asks for copies of the credentials etc., of the people who will perform the work (and that could mean their permission to work in Thailand).

[BritManToo]

4 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

In our experience it's been mostly Russians working as digital nomads, usually they ask how good is the internet, 

I wouldn't live anywhere without good internet.

It's not for working, it's for entertainment, books, movies, tv shows, music, social media, forums.

[ChipButty]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I wouldn't live anywhere without good internet.

It's not for working, it's for entertainment, books, movies, tv shows, music, social media, forums.

Most of them are working here, they tell me

[Misty]

6 hours ago, Dan O said:

Its not income taxable in Thailand if you dont work for a Thai company and are paid in Thailand or if working online outside the country and paid outside the country and you dont bring income into the country in the same year its earned. Short answer 

No. The rule about bringing income into the country in the same year its earned only applies to passive income.  It does not apply to income generated by working, or active income.  Any income generated by work is taxable, whether or not its brought into the country, or in what year.

[Dan O]

5 minutes ago, Misty said:

No. The rule about bringing income into the country in the same year its earned only applies to passive income.  It does not apply to income generated by working, or active income.  Any income generated by work is taxable, whether or not its brought into the country, or in what year.

I believe what I wrote is correct according to the tax regs.  

[bigt3116]

10 hours ago, BritTim said:

After all, a perfectly innocent duplicate bridge club was raided in Pattaya a few years ago.

They were not "perfectly innocent", they were breaking the Playing Cards Act which states " a law in Thailand that prohibits individuals from owning more than 120 playing cards that have not been registered by the Excise Department.", that was the reason for the police raid.

[Marcous]

Have a look at 'Brett Dev' channel on Youtube. He's been doing for years on all kinds of visas and obviously made no secret of the fact.

[BritTim]

58 minutes ago, bigt3116 said:

They were not "perfectly innocent", they were breaking the Playing Cards Act which states " a law in Thailand that prohibits individuals from owning more than 120 playing cards that have not been registered by the Excise Department.", that was the reason for the police raid.

That was the only offence they were finally able to pin on these elderly bridge players. It was not the reason for the raid. The raid occurred because someone in a dispute with the owner of the establishment where the bridge club met accused the premises of being used as an illegal gambling den. The unlicensed playing card charge (widely ignored elsewhere) was just an attempt to save face after putting these innocent octogenarians through hours of unjustified stress.

[Misty]

1 hour ago, Dan O said:

I believe what I wrote is correct according to the tax regs.  

I think what you're missing is that when you are physically in Thailand working, the tax regulations consider the funds to be earned, and taxable, in Thailand.  It doesn't matter where the money is paid into, or where the customer is.

 

You may be thinking that if the funds are paid into an account somewhere else, the funds are then earned somewhere else.

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, MrNatural said:

I dont really understand the debate as I have never seen in the news any police raid on western people working on Internet or of any of them being banned from staying. Authorities wont ask you where your money comes from. The bad scenario some refer would be the following: you make friends with other farangs, they look cool and know so much about Thailand, you tell them how cool is your life. But as they are not cool they are going to send your name to the tax office and your life wont be so cool. Dont know if these stories I read sometimes are true or urban legend but the psycho expats are real.

Years ago, a coworking space in Chiang Mai was raided. Quite a few people were detained, but they were quickly released, and no one was charged. It was widely acknowledged that the raid was a mistake, and the hundreds of similar places up and down the country have operated unmolested ever since.

[mokwit]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I'm fairly confident Global warming will have destroyed the world before Thailand gets taxing digital nomads sorted out.

Global destruction is only 8 years away apparently, so you may be right.

[mokwit]

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Happened at a coworking space in Chiang Mai a few years back.

Rounded everyone up and down to the police station, not sure how it ended for them.

They were all let go and the Police said they didn't see what they were doing wrong - the info they got was that these people were all working for a company apparently - which may have been an umbrella company for WP etc.

[mokwit]

There is a very good interview with the Labour Office Chief in CM somewhere on the net where he basically says remote workers are working under the definitions of the law but they are way down the list for any action being taken. There were one or two cases where he said no breach of the law with this one.

[Eff1n2ret]

In the last few years of my retirement here I have written two novels and a couple of other works, which are sold through online platforms and the proceeds paid into my UK bank account. I wouldn't call that "working", even if my sales were 100s per month rather than the 1 or 2 I actually achieve. It's just something that gives purpose to my day and the satisfaction when someone bothers to read them.

[JeffersLos]

Illegal but condoned. 

[5ilver]

1 hour ago, mokwit said:

There is a very good interview with the Labour Office Chief in CM somewhere on the net where he basically says remote workers are working under the definitions of the law but they are way down the list for any action being taken. There were one or two cases where he said no breach of the law with this one.

Yes actually I do remember reading the article featuring that interview. Frankly, this is all really a case of income tax structures not able to catch up/align with all these new ways of "work."

As a theoretical example, say if one has built a small SAAS business which pretty much runs by itself and this small internet business owner spends some time in Thailand (say 3-5 months in a year over say 2-3 trips?), largely hanging out at beach resorts and bars but he does sometimes have to reply some customer emails over his phone, take a few Zoom calls with his tech support team, there and abouts.

 

Is he/she working really? Or just enjoying a fancy beach vacation whilst just having to fulfil a little work obligation online sometimes?

[spidermike007]

Probably not a good idea to make it widely known you are working from Thailand. Just exercise discretion. You should be fine. 

[mockingbird]

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

Years ago, a coworking space in Chiang Mai was raided. Quite a few people were detained, but they were quickly released, and no one was charged. It was widely acknowledged that the raid was a mistake, and the hundreds of similar places up and down the country have operated unmolested ever since.

Correct. And on the back of that Chiang Mai immigration issued a statement to the effect that they had no interest in digital nomads.

You won't find a single report of any digital nomad prosecuted by Thai immigration.

 

OP, you will have zero issues working remotely. Ignore all posts inferring otherwise.

[h3ith]

Starting this year, Thailand participates in the Automatic Information Exchange of bank data with almost all other countries. The foreign bank in which you receive your earnings will report your bank data to their national tax office in 2024, which will report it to the Thai tax office. At some point, TH will start to analyze these data and may ask how you generated this income while you spent 365 days in TH. If you work online from Thailand, even if all your customers are located offshore, you generate income that is taxable in TH. 

[Unify]

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Happened at a coworking space in Chiang Mai a few years back.

Rounded everyone up and down to the police station, not sure how it ended for them.

It ended up that the police apologized, let everyone go, and said that this kind of work was allowed in Thailand.

 

However, it's not 100% relevant. This was basically an internet cafe. It was mostly people answering their emails. The raid was conducted on the false idea that the internet cafe was a company, and the people working there were employees. Red faces all around.

 

Can anyone point to a single instance of a digital nomad being kicked out of the country for digital nomading? 

[khunPer]

Normal advice is: Keep it under the radar...????

[n00dle]

16 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I would say it a little different:

Likely it is no problem if not many people know about it and if you don't have anybody who wants to make trouble for you.

I am pretty sure working like that is not legal and there could be trouble - if people complain. 

its been 15 years for me and not an issue. I have even been asked at immigration what my profession is and i have told them I am a writer. 

even if they wanted to kick up a stink i maintain a buffer of at least 1 years equivalent salary in the account i transfer from so I can show that the money i am bringing in to thailand was made at least a year previous and is therefore untaxable, 

[FritsSikkink]

17 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Most ridiculous post I have read today.

I stated ...."don't big noise it"

The OP  had  clear specific question. 

Who will complain?? 

Nonsense 

Your post is more ridiculous.

 

From a legal perspective it is seen as working. You are not allowed to work on a tourist or retirement visa.

You are expected to have a work permit. 

Many people get away with it, some don't as they got ratted on by people who held a grudge.