Govt Offers Special Visas For ICT Experts

[george]

Govt offers special visas for ICT experts

BANGKOK: -- Foreign Information and Communications Technology (ICT) experts will be eligible for a new fast-track visa scheme under plans unveiled yesterday by the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI).

The visa scheme, organized by the BOI in conjunction with the Immigration Bureau, the Department of Employment and the Software Industry Development Agency (SIPA), will allow ICT professionals to remain working in Thailand for a whole year without having to renew their visas.

SIPA Director-General Manoo Oradeedolachet said yesterday that a number of key businesses, including the software and banking sectors, were currently hampered by their inability to secure a constant workforce of foreign ICT experts.

Expressing confidence that 5,000 foreign ICT professionals would be attracted to Thailand over the next five years as a result of the new fast-track service, under which visas will be issued within five days, he stressed that the new measures would not have an impact on domestic ICT workers.

He also pointed to the fact that other countries operated similar schemes, and that 60 percent of ICT experts in America’s Silicon Valley came from abroad.

The government hopes to make up shortfalls in the number of ICT professionals in Thailand over the next five years in order to gain a greater share of the global software market, which is currently enjoying an annual growth rate of seven percent.

--TNA 2004-12-23

[ovenman]

Is it actually that difficult for such applicants to obtain a visa now, or is the problem extending that visa (entry permit) after they arrive in Thailand and their prospective employer wants to put their expertise to use?

[astral]

Anything helps, but I am not sure what they are aiming at here.

I thought there was already a one-stop shop for visas?

[Khutan]

I thought the problem particularly for multi-nationals was the work-permits.

At the end of the day, if you have a larce m/n with 5,000 + Thai employee's you will hit the limit for Foreign employees very quickly.

So easy to get the visa same-old same-old for the w/p, unless this visa allows you to work without a w/p - - - Doubt it !

[Darknight]

Expressing confidence that 5,000 foreign ICT professionals would be attracted to Thailand over the next five years as a result of the new fast-track service, under which visas will be issued within five days, he stressed that the new measures would not have an impact on domestic ICT workers

The problem is that even with a fast visa, or a non immigrant O one year in my case, is that they just don't bloody want to privide you a job.

This is just pissing in to the wind again from some governement official. It's not the visa that's preventing ICT knowledge from entering the country.

It's their "Patriotic " HR managers that only want to employ thai Bozo's because they kiss up to them and don't make them lose face.

And then they are suprised that they have low knowledge, everything is unsecure, and things just work so and so.

[Phil Conners]

As Darknight says.

Yawn.

[drden]

I thought the problem particularly for multi-nationals was the work-permits.

At the end of the day, if you have a larce m/n with 5,000 + Thai employee's you will hit  the limit for Foreign employees very quickly.

So easy to get the visa same-old same-old for the w/p, unless this visa allows you to work without a w/p - - - Doubt it !

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<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Alway treat what K.Manoo has to say with a grain of salt. He has very specific agendas.

[BlackJack]

guys they will need to sweeten the pot a lot more than this

I was the ###### of a University in Sydney Australia

we had 2200 international full fee paying students

the Australian government announced that any read ANY IT graduate could apply for and get resident status

Guess how many applied

guess how many stayed on as residents

NONE

not one

they all went back to their respective countries like India and surrounding areas - probably now IT GURU's

nuff said

[bkk_mike]

guys they will need to sweeten the pot a lot more than this

I was the ###### of a University in Sydney Australia

we had 2200 international full fee paying students

the Australian government announced that any read ANY IT graduate could apply for and get resident status

Guess how many applied

guess how many stayed on as residents

NONE

not one

they all went back to their respective countries like India and surrounding areas - probably now IT GURU's

nuff said

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's hardly surprising.

IT salaries in Oz are crap, and the taxes are bloody ridiculous.

Edited December 23, 2004 by bkk_mike

[ovenman]

Prediction: this will turn out to be the usual Thai government deal where one ministry announces some new scheme to be a fait accompli, only to be denied in the end by the other ministries that are involved and won't grant their approval.

[Shrednyneas]

Thay just want to have everything without givin anything back.

Shrednyneas

[Shrednyneas]

Was it not a beautifull slip of the the tonque: They became Thay.

[Rhys]

What do you expect from Grads of CORK SOAKER U...

[Dakhar]

So America has a lot of foreing IT specialist....

and Thailand for some reason thinks that this visa plan will draw them in just as well. Oh please, a forienger in the states has more rights than in his own home country.... That is one of the million reasons they are here, it is not just because we give them a smoother avenue of entry.

[Foggy Bottom]

Govt offers special visas for ICT experts

BANGKOK: -- Foreign Information and Communications Technology (ICT) experts will be eligible for a new fast-track visa scheme under plans unveiled yesterday by the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI).

The visa scheme, organized by the BOI in conjunction with the Immigration Bureau, the Department of Employment and the Software Industry Development Agency (SIPA), will allow ICT professionals to remain working in Thailand for a whole year without having to renew their visas.

Problem is the BOI aren't up to speed on reality - one year visa / permit to stay extension is available in 24 hours at most immigration offices .... if you turn up correctly dressed and with all the required documents, photographs etc. So, what's the thrill with it now taking 5 days - it's actually a step backwards.

SIPA Director-General Manoo Oradeedolachet said yesterday that a number of key businesses, including the software and banking sectors, were currently hampered by their inability to secure a constant workforce of foreign ICT experts.

So if his reasoning of the hampering is genuine, why not issue 2, 3, 4, 5 year visas according to the needs of the employer and employee?

Expressing confidence that 5,000 foreign ICT professionals would be attracted to Thailand over the next five years as a result of the new fast-track service, under which visas will be issued within five days, he stressed that the new measures would not have an impact on domestic ICT workers.

He also pointed to the fact that other countries operated similar schemes, and that 60 percent of ICT experts in America’s Silicon Valley came from abroad. {/quote]

However in America, foreign nationals can buy land and own their houses with a reasonable chance to not only get back what they paid, but to actually make a profit when they move on. Additionally, the employees usually have all visa, work permit, green card issues handled for them by their employers, rather than getting the run-around having to do it (and pay for it) themselves.

The government hopes to make up shortfalls in the number of ICT professionals in Thailand over the next five years in order to gain a greater share of the global software market, which is currently enjoying an annual growth rate of seven percent.

--TNA 2004-12-23

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Uh-oh - last paragraph sounds like Hub-ism to me.

Not to mention totally unrealistic - the last contract I worked in London (in 1997-98) paid (at today's FOREX rates) 3,300 Baht per hour on a basic 40-hour contracted week with up to 40 hours of overtime available (at single hourly rate - no time and a half etc) which meant some weeks I was invoicing 264,600 Baht (plus VAT) ..... for a single week - any chance a Thai employer is going to pay that (especially to a farang)?

Edited December 23, 2004 by Gaz Chiangmai

[ASIC]

And where are the jobs going to come from? I have been in the IT business in Thailand for donkey years, and there are no jobs here that require serious brain power. The R&D money is all going to China and India these days. There are jobs for IT people here, but who wants to work in a factory as a quality insurance guy?

ASIC

[singa-traz]

And where are the jobs going to come from? I have been in the IT business in Thailand for donkey years, and there are no jobs here that require serious brain power. The R&D money is all going to China and India these days. There are jobs for IT people here, but who wants to work in a factory as a quality insurance guy?

ASIC

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How much was the IT Industry growth last year in Thailand ?

[Phil Conners]

How about the ISP's hiring qualified people who can actually keep the network working for a start?

[singa-traz]

How about the ISP's hiring qualified people who can actually keep the network working for a start?

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You are right. Opportunities exist for highly skilled IT consultants to sell their services in this industry ...

Can they sell the value of their expensive services ? not all, I guess.

[Crushdepth]

Well, if you were planning to come to Thailand anyway, maybe you'd say 'thanks' to easier (?) visa arrangements, but fastrack working visa alone isn't going to *attract* people to Thailand.

I don't know why they make announcements like this. They don't actually *want* foreigners working here in any capacity, and they don't make concessions to them. At least, that's my impression from looking at what they *do* versus what they *say*.

[SpeakFrankly]

This "new" IT visa sounds like a recreated but limited version of the former BOI program to provide 1 year visa and work permits to "experts". Anyone promoted as an expert who had a job paying over 40,000 baht was able to use the "one stop shop" and get all the paperwork completed for extending the visa and work permit in less than 4 hours. Only people promoted by the BOI can use the shop. Over the past few years, that has been an advantage, but with the new emphasis on 1 year extensions to be obtained at the local immigration, some of the advantages of the one stop shop have fallen by the wayside.

If the program is like the old expert program, it is a good one, because (a) the paperwork is done quickly, and ( the work permit is not part of the quota of the company, but is granted as part of the BOI promotion. You cannot have a work permit without an employer, but once you have an employer the work permit follows easily.

For myself, I was denied a one year extension for failure to meet some unlisted criteria. I had all the paper work listed on their own requirement sheet, but they asked for more and said that my company did not meet their minimum requirements for balance sheet. News to me that there was any such requirement. Death by bureaucracy, I think. And this from one of the friendlier immigration offices (Chiangmai).

[BlackJack]

guys they will need to sweeten the pot a lot more than this

I was the ###### of a University in Sydney Australia

we had 2200 international full fee paying students

the Australian government announced that any read ANY IT graduate could apply for and get resident status

Guess how many applied

guess how many stayed on as residents

NONE

not one

they all went back to their respective countries like India and surrounding areas - probably now IT GURU's

nuff said

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's hardly surprising.

IT salaries in Oz are crap, and the taxes are bloody ridiculous.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

er

i think you missed the point

[Mali_in_CM]

I can't improve on what's been said.

I'm glad you guys can see through this BS.

ovenman said it best.

[pistonpilot]

Can anyone here elaborate on what type of IT professionals are needed in Thailand?

[Felt 35]

I don't know why they make announcements like this. They don't actually *want* foreigners working here in any capacity, and they don't make concessions to them.

Thay just want to have everything without givin anything

[jltheart]

Where is that fast track for teachers? With out us no one can understand the it workers

[farang24]

They Thais pay when they have to.

Quite a few of my colleagues ....Sap consultants were getting a 1000US a day in Thailand....mostly short term 6 month gigs or a year.

[Tango7]

The salaries paid here suck BIG time. Even embassies pay low salaries if you are hired locally.

For a position of ###### back in the UK, you could expect 35,000 - 45,000 pounds per annum which gives you a comparative salary here of ( let's say ) 240,000 Baht per month.

Here, they pay you below 70,000 ( if you are very lucky )

They want the foreigners because of their knowledge and probably, more importantly, their work ethic and attitude, and yet won't pay.

In the LOS ( I think it's time to drop this Land of Smiles crap...it's a joke ) it's how little they can pay you and not how well you can do the job.

I work with a Thai person who has been in the IT industry here for 7 years and puts down a program opening at start up as being a virus.

They also asked the difference between a 1.5 Ghz CPU and a 3.02 Ghz CPU

They didn't know how to remove a virus.

They didn't know about running spyware software

They don't know anything and yet get paid more than me even though I hold more IT qualifications than they do and have held much higher positions and worked within larger and more complicated IT networks.

SO.....if Thailand wants the IT people. PAY THE MONEY !!! Drop the "IT" Thai folk who can't do diddly squat and pay REAL professionals.

By the way, I had THREE IT firms try to install a wireless network in a hime. It took over 6 visits to get it to work HALF properly. I got so fed up I told them to rip it out and go away.

Why didn't I do it ? I could have, but my boss told me to get a Thai company so after making a few noises, I co-operated and sat back and watched the show !!!

What a farce !!

[dman]

LOS is a joke when it comes to IT. And very few large companies ever look at it with any seriousness when it comes to opening an office here not only for expats but to tap the local expertise. There isn't any. People here are stupid and have no motivation or ideas when it comes to engineering. My company is a 20 Billion US dollar semi-conductor company that is spending up to 70% of their capital expenditures ramping up huge operations in China, India, Maylasia, Singapore, Philippinees, Get the hint. These offices are not for manafacturing, they are for design engineers, people with skills to design chips. Everywhere but Thailand because there is no expertise here. Nice place to live and play golf for me, but for work I travel. If you are serious about IT and a nice place to live that is booming, visit Shanghai. It is easy to work and live as an expat, although more expensive than BKK, but the people are ambitious and actually want to learn to speak the business language of the world. Forget about IT work here, either have your money made already and come to live a nice life here or be an Englsh teacher.

[snoophound]

Hard to see Thailand being an IT center.

Just not going to compete with India or China.

Although I know of a couple of AU companies doing good mulitmedia work there.

As for the Unis In Aus and NZ,well all the overseas students are certainly not hanging around they are going home into family businesses etc.

My family owned a very large electronics manufacturer in NZ,we would not be in business without asian labour in our factory.

This years akld uni graduate course of electricalEngineers has about 40 people coming out and more than two thirds are asian students and they arent hanging round in NZ.

They are all going back to asia.

Thailand is pretty average at both IT and electronics manufacturing and I cant see them catching up without a dramatic cultural change,with part of that definitely being letting some Talent in from overseas for knowledge transfer.

Thai companies are probably the worst in asia for being too paternalistic.

No1 son even if he is a complete moron still gets the business.

The chinese are finally learning to get over this ,because they are much more pragmatic.

LOS is a joke when it comes to IT. And very few large companies ever look at it with any seriousness when it comes to opening an office here not only for expats but to tap the local expertise. There isn't any. People here are stupid and have no motivation or ideas when it comes to engineering. My company is a 20 Billion US dollar semi-conductor company that is spending up to 70% of their capital expenditures ramping up huge operations in China, India, Maylasia, Singapore, Philippinees, Get the hint. These offices are not for manafacturing, they are for design engineers, people with skills to design chips. Everywhere but Thailand because there is no expertise here. Nice place to live and play golf for me, but for work I travel. If you are serious about IT and a nice place to live that is booming, visit Shanghai. It is easy to work and live as an expat, although more expensive than BKK, but the people are ambitious and actually want to learn to speak the business language of the world. Forget about IT work here, either have your money made already and come to live a nice life here or be an Englsh teacher.

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