Working - No Work Permit

[pauljones]

2 years ago, a friend of mine applied for a work permit.

While waiting to the paperwork to go thru, she worked for 2 months.

Now, 2 years later, we are wondering if this can come back at her as somebody in the company is making trouble.

Can she be prosecuted, 2 years after the fact?

Thanks

[Mario2008]

That is a legal question about a statue of limitations.

It might very well be possible to prosecute her, but suspect it will not have priority. Unless someone thinks money can be made from it to have the problem disapear.

[Fookhaht]

At just one institution (the university where I work) this scenario is repeated hundreds of times. Foreign lecturers start working without contracts, visas and work permits. Sometimes it takes up to a semester (4-5 months) for the proper documents/permits to come together. Heck, it takes up to 4-5 months before they see their first salary check!

Yes, it's illegal. Yes, someone might use it against them. Yes, it's probably low priority in the headlights of the involved gov't. agencies.

[pauljones]

Wonder what the statute of limitations is?

[detectivethai]

in my experience whilst i was waiting for my wp to be processed, my company accountants were deducting my taxes, this kept me covered until my wp came through 3 months later. i had also been registered at the labour dept.

[Scott]

It's an interesting question, but, as has been stated, I think it's pretty low on the priority list. We had an employee who got a serious charge laid against him--forgery. He had submitted a document that forged by one of the secretaries. It took sometime (a year) to get the whole thing sorted out.

I was with him at the Immigration Detention Center. The Immigration officer said he knew the employee was working while the paper work was being processed. He said he shouldn't be working, but that it wasn't a big issue.

Needless to say his visa and work permit were seriously delayed because of this debacle. Immigration kept his passport and he had to go the passport and leave the country to renew his tourist visa, he then had to return the passport to Immigration until the secretary was charged and the charges against him were dropped.

We occasionally get people who threaten to report stuff like this to Immigration. I usually ask them how they know about the visa/work permit status of anyone.

I'm pretty sure the majority of people working in Thailand do so illegally in the beginning. I am pretty sure Immigration is aware of this. I am reasonably sure they have better things to do than to start an intensive search concerning a now legal employee as to when they started work and when the work permit was issued.

[inthepink]

At just one institution (the university where I work) this scenario is repeated hundreds of times. Foreign lecturers start working without contracts, visas and work permits. Sometimes it takes up to a semester (4-5 months) for the proper documents/permits to come together. Heck, it takes up to 4-5 months before they see their first salary check!

Yes, it's illegal. Yes, someone might use it against them. Yes, it's probably low priority in the headlights of the involved gov't. agencies.

it isn't illegal if you hold a non-immigrant 'B' visa, only if you do so on a non-imm 'O' visa (as far as I can remember).

EDIT: Strike that. You can be paid a salary while waiting but you aren't allowed to actually do any work!!

[Soutpeel]

At just one institution (the university where I work) this scenario is repeated hundreds of times. Foreign lecturers start working without contracts, visas and work permits. Sometimes it takes up to a semester (4-5 months) for the proper documents/permits to come together. Heck, it takes up to 4-5 months before they see their first salary check!

Yes, it's illegal. Yes, someone might use it against them. Yes, it's probably low priority in the headlights of the involved gov't. agencies.

it isn't illegal if you hold a non-immigrant 'B' visa, only if you do so on a non-imm 'O' visa (as far as I can remember).

EDIT: Strike that. You can be paid a salary while waiting but you aren't allowed to actually do any work!!

I think the real answer is whoever is interpreting the rules.....I have heard immigration officals saying you are not suppose to work while waiting for your WP, while officals from the labour department saying its ok while "under consideration" for the WP ie all your paperwork has been submitted and you are waiting on your blue book to be issued.

So I suppose the question is whose jurisdiction does this fall under ?....immigration or labour ??

I will admit however never heard the one of the Non-imm B vs a Non-imm O, but only holding a Non-imm B and not having applied for a WP is certainly illegal if workingas is only having a Non-imm O

[TerryLH]

"in my experience whilst i was waiting for my wp to be processed, my company accountants were deducting my taxes, this kept me covered until my wp came through 3 months later..."

Paying taxes doesn't 'cover' you for working without a WP.

As a general rule, I believe that if you have applied, and have a WP3, you usually won't be bothered.

[pauljones]

Thanks for the responses everybody.

The consensus seems to be 'maybe'.

I wonder who has the definitive answer on the statute of limitations?

[Fookhaht]

At just one institution (the university where I work) this scenario is repeated hundreds of times. Foreign lecturers start working without contracts, visas and work permits. Sometimes it takes up to a semester (4-5 months) for the proper documents/permits to come together. Heck, it takes up to 4-5 months before they see their first salary check!

Yes, it's illegal. Yes, someone might use it against them. Yes, it's probably low priority in the headlights of the involved gov't. agencies.

It isn't illegal if you hold a non-immigrant 'B' visa, only if you do so on a non-imm 'O' visa (as far as I can remember).

99% of our people start working under tourist visas.

[inthepink]

At just one institution (the university where I work) this scenario is repeated hundreds of times. Foreign lecturers start working without contracts, visas and work permits. Sometimes it takes up to a semester (4-5 months) for the proper documents/permits to come together. Heck, it takes up to 4-5 months before they see their first salary check!

Yes, it's illegal. Yes, someone might use it against them. Yes, it's probably low priority in the headlights of the involved gov't. agencies.

it isn't illegal if you hold a non-immigrant 'B' visa, only if you do so on a non-imm 'O' visa (as far as I can remember).

EDIT: Strike that. You can be paid a salary while waiting but you aren't allowed to actually do any work!!

I think the real answer is whoever is interpreting the rules.....I have heard immigration officals saying you are not suppose to work while waiting for your WP, while officals from the labour department saying its ok while "under consideration" for the WP ie all your paperwork has been submitted and you are waiting on your blue book to be issued.

So I suppose the question is whose jurisdiction does this fall under ?....immigration or labour ??

I will admit however never heard the one of the Non-imm B vs a Non-imm O, but only holding a Non-imm B and not having applied for a WP is certainly illegal if workingas is only having a Non-imm O

I definitely read it somewhere (the non-b vs non-o point) because I remember being surprised at the time. I can't find anything to substantiate it now though, so maybe it was a bad source of information.