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I was about to hire a Filipina maid, but I talked to my lawyer and he said people from the Philippines were not allowed to work as maids in Thailand. They can only be teachers, managers... same job list as for the farangs I guess. So I phoned the person to tell her the bad news but she was very surprised, she said she's been working for an American in Bangkok (Nonthaburi) and she has a proper work permit, like many of her friends. I told her maybe the rules are different in Phetchaburi province where I live. I found different rules from Bangkok in so many occasions that I wouldn't be surprised.

Anyway tomorrow she will fax me her work permit and I'll show it to my lawyer. He's usually well informed, but I would like to hear your advice, as I would love to hire this person. Is it a case of different province/different rules?

Thank you!

OC

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I was about to hire a Filipina maid, but I talked to my lawyer and he said people from the Philippines were not allowed to work as maids in Thailand. They can only be teachers, managers... same job list as for the farangs I guess. So I phoned the person to tell her the bad news but she was very surprised, she said she's been working for an American in Bangkok (Nonthaburi) and she has a proper work permit, like many of her friends. I told her maybe the rules are different in Phetchaburi province where I live. I found different rules from Bangkok in so many occasions that I wouldn't be surprised.

Anyway tomorrow she will fax me her work permit and I'll show it to my lawyer. He's usually well informed, but I would like to hear your advice, as I would love to hire this person. Is it a case of different province/different rules?

Thank you!

OC

It might be sort of against the rules to put a great big giant picture of yourself, your name - your address - your house - and the girl on a 30 foot billboard

out there on the 4 say somewhere between Cha Am and the 35. And say "THIS IS MY MAID" in 20 foot letters. but I don't think it's illegal for

one foreigner to hand another foreigner money while they're standing in the middle of Thailand - anywhere.

They just have to have valid passports with valid entry stamps.

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I was about to hire a Filipina maid, but I talked to my lawyer and he said people from the Philippines were not allowed to work as maids in Thailand. They can only be teachers, managers... same job list as for the farangs I guess. So I phoned the person to tell her the bad news but she was very surprised, she said she's been working for an American in Bangkok (Nonthaburi) and she has a proper work permit, like many of her friends. I told her maybe the rules are different in Phetchaburi province where I live. I found different rules from Bangkok in so many occasions that I wouldn't be surprised.

Anyway tomorrow she will fax me her work permit and I'll show it to my lawyer. He's usually well informed, but I would like to hear your advice, as I would love to hire this person. Is it a case of different province/different rules?

Thank you!

OC

:) If you like here why not move to the Phil? if you are over 50 ..... bank deposit 10'000 $ (Thailand 23'000) montly min. income 800 $ (Thailand 1950 $) and visa a life !!! Follow google SRRV Program .....!!! I kidding but I hear same, work permit for teacher and specialists. And even some Filipina teachers in Prachuap Khiri Khan and other provinces get a paper, "Filipina teacher no more employed only English native speaking teachers!!!

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Thanks everyone for your input. I certainly want to do things legally, that's why I consulted my lawyer in the first place. He said I should look for a Burmese maid instead, so that's probably what I will do. I would be more than happy with a Thai, of course, but they just don't stay and we've had our share of bad experiences, so now it's over.

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Might be pushing it a little... :D But ok, that's an idea. Or I could tell them I'm already preparing my retirement and I want to be bilingual when I move to the Philippines... :)

:D my we meet there? I follow the similar idea. Why not care your friend as in holiday here? if you gift her from time to time is something between you and her? I love Thailand but I think in PH the visa matters are since longtime clear and "stable"

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:) If you like here why not move to the Phil? if you are over 50 ..... bank deposit 10'000 $ (Thailand 23'000) montly min. income 800 $ (Thailand 1950 $) and visa a life !!! Follow google SRRV Program .....!!! I kidding but I hear same, work permit for teacher and specialists. And even some Filipina teachers in Prachuap Khiri Khan and other provinces get a paper, "Filipina teacher no more employed only English native speaking teachers!!!

I'll give you a clue about "why not move to the Phil" from my own personal experience.

I live in Thailand with my Filipino Gf (4 years). I lived in the Philippines with my Filipino Gf before I came here (2 years with her and many years before). How come for 4 years I've put up with the struggle and paid a lot of money for visas for the both of us here in Thailand when it would be a breeze and cheap in the Philippines...and certain (as compared to the constant uncertainty of visas in Thailand)?

The short answer is that you take a huge drop in your standard of living when you go there. Most people find Thailand fairly livable and they can set up a lifestyle fairly close to what they've been accustomed to back in their home countries. It's very hard to do that in the Philippines. It's definitely an acquired taste and can take quite a while to get used to. It suits people who don't mind roughing it.

Going to Philippines for a holiday is one thing. Retiring there is a whole different matter.

Edited by tropo
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:D If you like here why not move to the Phil? if you are over 50 ..... bank deposit 10'000 $ (Thailand 23'000) montly min. income 800 $ (Thailand 1950 $) and visa a life !!! Follow google SRRV Program .....!!! I kidding but I hear same, work permit for teacher and specialists. And even some Filipina teachers in Prachuap Khiri Khan and other provinces get a paper, "Filipina teacher no more employed only English native speaking teachers!!!

I'll give you a clue about "why not move to the Phil" from my own personal experience.

I live in Thailand with my Filipino Gf (4 years). I lived in the Philippines with my Filipino Gf before I came here (2 years with her and many years before). How come for 4 years I've put up with the struggle and paid a lot of money for visas for the both of us here in Thailand when it would be a breeze and cheap in the Philippines...and certain (as compared to the constant uncertainty of visas in Thailand)?

The short answer is that you take a huge drop in your standard of living when you go there. Most people find Thailand fairly livable and they can set up a lifestyle fairly close to what they've been accustomed to back in their home countries. It's very hard to do that in the Philippines. It's definitely an acquired taste and can take quite a while to get used to. It suits people who don't mind roughing it.

Going to Philippines for a holiday is one thing. Retiring there is a whole different matter.

:D Thanks for your comments and agrguments. I guess we have similar reason to care a Filipina gf?

Isn't it we shall here consult by facts? Each of us have different life style and targets? Also the level of standard of living have many definitions etc. Cheap can be really chep too :D !!! I want avoid write down a book here.

As I guess you live at the right side of the golf from Bangkok where I never could go live, especialy not if I care a Filipina. I prefer rather the left side Phetchaburi - Chumphon.

I have few friends in the area Pattaya where I never would go live and few friend which live in the Visayan Islands and are more then happy. For me count (I live 4 years here):

- visa safety and stability, only by this make sense to invest and plan a real future.

- the Filipinos are us European and Americans closer concerning mentality and traditions

- I believe in the Philippines I can make me easy understod in English, Spanish, in Thailand if I don't live in a Farang village my chance is near 5%. The little boy come out from the Bamboo house can probably talk with you.

- I no need whole country for life, I need a small nice area with few citizens of origin as neighbourhood.

- I gave up my home country and so logicaly I try live in the home country of my partner. Depend on age, one day we need a small family clan?

I know also Americans living here with Filipina 12 years but behind is the truth, they can't life in the Philippines because she wait for the annulement :) !!!

For now I let it be as it is. Thanks

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tropo

thx so very much for sharing your personal experiences with so many of us....

i have had many gf from there in my younger yrs.... lol

:) why you give up in the age? as I mentioned I guess Filipinos are closer to our mentality and life of Europeans and Amercians. Maybe we get in the age more sincere care then with to much eyes on the wallet? Whatever, each of us have different needs and ambitions :D

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The work permit is only for her current employer. not any other employers. It is tied to the job.

The chance that she will get a work permit is small. After all, there are enough Thai persons who can do the same job.

Really??? I've had a few maids/nannys over the last 6 years and I can honestly say that the Filipinos are, by a very large margin, better than the Thais at doing the job.

They speak much better English, they clean better, are able to organise their way out of a paper bag (this is more of a negative on the thais, rather than positive on filipinos), are more reliable, and have less 'personal issues' i.e. not always on the bl***y phone.

However, the Thais were better cooks, if that's a big consideration. For me it isn't.

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The work permit is only for her current employer. not any other employers. It is tied to the job.

The chance that she will get a work permit is small. After all, there are enough Thai persons who can do the same job.

Really??? I've had a few maids/nannys over the last 6 years and I can honestly say that the Filipinos are, by a very large margin, better than the Thais at doing the job.

They speak much better English, they clean better, are able to organise their way out of a paper bag (this is more of a negative on the thais, rather than positive on filipinos), are more reliable, and have less 'personal issues' i.e. not always on the bl***y phone.

However, the Thais were better cooks, if that's a big consideration. For me it isn't.

But did they have work permits? Thai labour laws are designed to protect Thai nationals. As said, unless someone has skills that Thai’s don’t have, the chances of getting WP are small unless there is a shortage of labour in the marketplace. And there are plenty of Thai maids about. Whether they are good at doing their job is a different matter.

Edited by thaiphoon
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The work permit is only for her current employer. not any other employers. It is tied to the job.

The chance that she will get a work permit is small. After all, there are enough Thai persons who can do the same job.

Really??? I've had a few maids/nannys over the last 6 years and I can honestly say that the Filipinos are, by a very large margin, better than the Thais at doing the job.

They speak much better English, they clean better, are able to organise their way out of a paper bag (this is more of a negative on the thais, rather than positive on filipinos), are more reliable, and have less 'personal issues' i.e. not always on the bl***y phone.

However, the Thais were better cooks, if that's a big consideration. For me it isn't.

:) fully agree with you ...... who want cook each day at the price we get here good food for reasonable price? Since bad experience with Thai gardener, housekeeper etc.; in Asia I like say too, Filipinas are top and give a feeling of trust.

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- I believe in the Philippines I can make me easy understod in English, Spanish, in Thailand if I don't live in a Farang village my chance is near 5%. The little boy come out from the Bamboo house can probably talk with you.

We each prefer our own particular lifestyles and the Philippines does suit people who can rough it and don't crave after decent food. In my girlfriend's province I cannot buy wholegrain bread...even if I travel 25 km to the nearest city.

I just want to set you straight on the "little boy come out from the Bamboo house can probably talk with you" comment.

No way in the world can uneducated "bamboo house" kids speak English. None of my girlfriend's family can speak English and they all come from "bamboo houses".

You won't be conversing in English unless the person has graduated from high school and even then it's not easy unless the person has had lots of practice with English speakers. With 40 - 50% living below the poverty line the general level of education is woeful. People who can't eat properly don't usually go to school.

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not always on the bl***y phone.

Funny you should say that. It's proabably because voice calls in the Philippines are expensive so most people send SMS which only cost 1 peso over there. Texting must be a real bitch in Thai and the call rates are cheap, therefore they spend all day on the phone.

Edited by tropo
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- I believe in the Philippines I can make me easy understod in English, Spanish, in Thailand if I don't live in a Farang village my chance is near 5%. The little boy come out from the Bamboo house can probably talk with you.

We each prefer our own particular lifestyles and the Philippines does suit people who can rough it and don't crave after decent food. In my girlfriend's province I cannot buy wholegrain bread...even if I travel 25 km to the nearest city.

I just want to set you straight on the "little boy come out from the Bamboo house can probably talk with you" comment.

No way in the world can uneducated "bamboo house" kids speak English. None of my girlfriend's family can speak English and they all come from "bamboo houses".

You won't be conversing in English unless the person has graduated from high school and even then it's not easy unless the person has had lots of practice with English speakers. With 40 - 50% living below the poverty line the general level of education is woeful. People who can't eat properly don't usually go to school.

:) Tropo, I don't know which Mosquito bite you in the Philippines that you are such eager to make negative most of the Philippines. Beside we are far from the point of matter which open OnlyCHaam. If I need Wholegrain bread and can't get it near 25 km I stay at home and don't go to any Asian country. Pattaya is rather Germany and Europe then Thailand, not to compare. So many place here far from wholegrain bread.

YES it happen to me in a 4 class province near Tabaco the motorcycle strike. Around no house except the bamboo house, many kids and few womans, 80% spoke English and I get help. try this here on countryside! My fiancé come from poverty and had stop the school missing money but by self study she learn English, speak now better then myself. The difference is Filipino are willing to learn and here they are much to lazy. I propose you go to the Isan or other country side and you will change many of your ideas. NOW I CLOSE THIS DISCUSSION.

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:) Tropo, I don't know which Mosquito bite you in the Philippines that you are such eager to make negative most of the Philippines. Beside we are far from the point of matter which open OnlyCHaam. If I need Wholegrain bread and can't get it near 25 km I stay at home and don't go to any Asian country. Pattaya is rather Germany and Europe then Thailand, not to compare. So many place here far from wholegrain bread.

Please don't confuse factual information with being negative. If you think 80% of the provincial poor can speak English, you're deluded. I choose to live somewhere that everything I need is available. I can find that in Thailand. The wholegrain bread was just an example and an important example for people who are concerned about eating healthily.

Basically I'm saying that anyone who wants to make the move to the Philippines must be prepared to rough it. I've done my time in the jungle. If that's where you want to live, then thats your choice.

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If you have children, then you could reason that they need to learn to speak tagalog which of course a thai maid cannot speak. This worked for a friend of mine

Both Thai and Tagalog being such sought after 2nd languages, no reason why the government wouldn't buy it, though a foreigner cannot hire another foreigner under any circumstances without having some business license or entity (with justification) allowing him or her to do so. Still worth a try if you are hel_l bent on hiring a foreigner. We have had maybe 5 Burmese nannies (legal ones with work papers)...all but one was unreliable. Better off hiring locals, and if you pay them well and are good to them, they will reciprocate with good work and care for your family.

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Hallo Chaam,

I think the problem is the work permit. As it was said before, any foreigner, Philippinos included, need a work permit to do any sort of job over here. So your Philippina maid would need a work permit. And problem is that one foreigner can not issue a work permit to another one. Work permits can only applied for companies.

And the exception with your friends is not the province here in Thailand he lives in but rather his nationality. As far as I know Thailand and the US have special agreements (visa etc.). That is maybe why he can employ a foreign housemaid and other nationalities can not.

BTW I am married to a Philippina and we live here in Patong with our daughter (retirement visa with dependent for spouse).

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Foreigners are allowed to work as maids in Thailand under, I think, temporary regulations but these only cover Burmese, Lao and Cambodian maids. If the woman has a work permit, it is probably because her employer got her a work permit as a office worker. Many of the Filipina maids overseas have degrees, so this is not improbable. Many people have brought foreign maids with them from Hong Kong or Singapore but all the ones I have known did it with tourist visas. Nowadays, this is it possible for prolonged periods but enrolling the maid at a language school, as suggested above, would probably do the trick. Usually the foreign maids were not very happy in Thailand, away from their friends in Hong Kong or Singapore and didn't stay very long.

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Perhaps she has OCD and just likes to clean the house a lot.

All maids I've had so far were immune to OCD... :D

Anyway I have now given up on the Philippines, and I'm about to give up on Burma too, as all Burmese maids I've had on the phone are asking for a salary of more than 10,000 baht. I understand it might be the standard rate in Bangkok when working for an expat family, but I'm not on an expat contract and I don't live in Bangkok, so 10,000 is way too much for a live-in position.

That's all for now, gotta go cleaning the bathroom... :)

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I was about to hire a Filipina maid, but I talked to my lawyer and he said people from the Philippines were not allowed to work as maids in Thailand. They can only be teachers, managers... same job list as for the farangs I guess. So I phoned the person to tell her the bad news but she was very surprised, she said she's been working for an American in Bangkok (Nonthaburi) and she has a proper work permit, like many of her friends. I told her maybe the rules are different in Phetchaburi province where I live. I found different rules from Bangkok in so many occasions that I wouldn't be surprised.

Anyway tomorrow she will fax me her work permit and I'll show it to my lawyer. He's usually well informed, but I would like to hear your advice, as I would love to hire this person. Is it a case of different province/different rules?

Thank you!

OC

The info from your lawyer is wrong.

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And problem is that one foreigner can not issue a work permit to another one. Work permits can only applied for companies.

Sorry, this is wrong info.

A Thai or foreign natural person can employ up to three foreigners. You must have paid 50,000 Baht in personal tax in the previous year. For every 50,000 Baht in tax you have paid, you can hire a foreign employee to work for you. If you are a foreigner you yourself must have a work permit. This work permit will have your personal home address which must match the lease of your home or condo. This residential address will be the address in the work permit where your employee will be employed.

Bangkok changed its interpretation of the Labor laws a several years ago where they no longer allow a new application for a nanny to get a work permit. After this change in their interpretation, they allow nannies to continue to renew work permits who were granted it before.

Other provinces have different interpretations. Some allow new applications for work permits on nannies, some don't. We had over hundred clients that submitted applications in the past that were accepted in Bangkok. Many which we continue to handle on an annual basis as they are “grand father applications” Most of our clients are employees of multi-national firms where their foreign employees applied to sponsor the nanny. These nannies in many cases are considered part of the family and why the foreigner will go thru the red tape. We have never applied for maids. However in the work permit its stamped they hold the position." maeban" which means maid, as the Labor dept does not have the category for nanny and “maeban” in their opinion is the closest to that category.

A Thai natural person that has a sole proprietorship can hire up to three foreigners. The requirement is four Thai employees employed by the Thai employer for every foreigner.

Under the Amity treaty, an American natural person that has a sole proprietorship can hire up to two foreigners. The requirement is four Thai employees employed by the American employer for every foreigner.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

Edited by Sunbelt Asia
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Yes you do rough it in the PI. Stayed at my daughter-in-laws family home south of Manila (they are well off) few spoke very good english just enough we all got by. The food was very poor, we ate a lot of loosers from the cock fights. For a culture that is rice based it was the worse rice I have ever ate.The Thais have a lot more respect for their food.

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  • 1 month later...
- I believe in the Philippines I can make me easy understod in English, Spanish, in Thailand if I don't live in a Farang village my chance is near 5%. The little boy come out from the Bamboo house can probably talk with you.

We each prefer our own particular lifestyles and the Philippines does suit people who can rough it and don't crave after decent food. In my girlfriend's province I cannot buy wholegrain bread...even if I travel 25 km to the nearest city.

I just want to set you straight on the "little boy come out from the Bamboo house can probably talk with you" comment.

No way in the world can uneducated "bamboo house" kids speak English. None of my girlfriend's family can speak English and they all come from "bamboo houses".

You won't be conversing in English unless the person has graduated from high school and even then it's not easy unless the person has had lots of practice with English speakers. With 40 - 50% living below the poverty line the general level of education is woeful. People who can't eat properly don't usually go to school.

:D Tropo, I don't know which Mosquito bite you in the Philippines that you are such eager to make negative most of the Philippines. Beside we are far from the point of matter which open OnlyCHaam. If I need Wholegrain bread and can't get it near 25 km I stay at home and don't go to any Asian country. Pattaya is rather Germany and Europe then Thailand, not to compare. So many place here far from wholegrain bread.

YES it happen to me in a 4 class province near Tabaco the motorcycle strike. Around no house except the bamboo house, many kids and few womans, 80% spoke English and I get help. try this here on countryside! My fiancé come from poverty and had stop the school missing money but by self study she learn English, speak now better then myself. The difference is Filipino are willing to learn and here they are much to lazy. I propose you go to the Isan or other country side and you will change many of your ideas. NOW I CLOSE THIS DISCUSSION.

Wahay!!! Thaibear1 your the guy! Filipina lass here from the smallest island of the Philippine Archipelago (Balut Island) is blessed with a happy home in our small bamboo house :D And yes! you need to travel 8 hours journey to be able to get a healthy wholegrain bread but mosquitoes from my village would love to bite Tropo for a propah conversation, some will use passe and almost biblical English but, I guess it's good enough to help and answer some questions :) ...should I say being close minded is more woeful than a boy from a bamboo house living below poverty line???

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