Illegal Work ?

[bentje60]

Have a question after reading about what has happend to the american guy Willard Underburg.

Going to Thailand this autumn to stay with my Thai GF and family. Intend to be part of daily life which will also include helping them with the rice harvest. Will or can this be considered as illegal work with risk of getting fined, jailed or deported.

Bentje

[mallyrd]

Yes, it will be considered as being illegal to carry out manual labour. Yes you face the risk of being both fined and jailed, deportation will follow.

There are many more people who are far more experienced than me in these matters and I expect they will be along shortly.

[KaronSteve]

I thought you were offering illegal work.....

[MeMock]

Believe me Bentje, after just 10 minutes trying to harvest rice you will be reaching out for your wallet to hand over 300 baht for some local to take your place!

[bentje60]

Catch your drift MeMock, but want to see if i can live up to the saying "when in Rome, do as the romans do"

[jamescollister]

Catch your drift MeMock, but want to see if i can live up to the saying "when in Rome, do as the romans do"

Think if you follow the letter of the law you would need to hire someone to lift the beer to your mouth. Have heard of guys busted for working, but as yet never heard of anyone getting done for helping out on the farm. I do and many others do, maybe some one can give a more detailed reply, but where do they draw the line from a retiree growing veggies in his back yard, hobby farm to helping the wife stack heavy rice bags.

Think the Thai cops us a bit more commonsense than a traffic cop back home. Jim

[DILLIGAD]

Benje60

Have you also considered that you may be rideculed as Thai village folk think us farangs have little tree's growing in our back gardens at home that continuoisly sprout GOLD. They will think "Why TF is a crazy farang working in the hot sun, he must be nuts! I will see if he will buy me Rice Whisky every day if I smile and laugh with him?"

Mate, Face it, we are different and they know it. I am very sorry if I offend you, it is not the intention.

Edited August 28, 2012 by DILLIGAD

[uptheos]

Catch your drift MeMock, but want to see if i can live up to the saying "when in Rome, do as the romans do"

Throw the Christian's to the Lions?

[bentje60]

Nice ones DILLIGAD and uptheos, and not offended at all DILLIGAD. Think i know what you are saying. But i'm going to stay with GF for a longer time now to find out if village life is anything for me and i'm thinking that i will have to find out about something to do besides sitting on the porch sipping Chang.

[uptheos]

Nice ones DILLIGAD and uptheos, and not offended at all DILLIGAD. Think i know what you are saying. But i'm going to stay with GF for a longer time now to find out if village life is anything for me and i'm thinking that i will have to find out about something to do besides sitting on the porch sipping Chang.

I think you should sit on the porch and sip whatever you like and don't feel guilty.

Something (or someone) will grab you.

[MrRed]

It really depends on where you are going to be living and how you integrate with the people around your good lady.

Jealousy and upsetting someone in the village is something you will need to watch out for other than that you should be ok,just go and watch what teh locals do and see if you are interested.....you maybe for a while but will eventually realize it is better to pay than do the hard labor yourself.

Go out at night frogging and rat catching that will keep you occupied enough then the fishing in the days,get your own allotment going and this will keep you happy without to much back breaking work.

Everything will be different in a month or two to what you perceived it to be so then you can recalculate if you are enjoying things or not,it will be an eye opener! just relax and learn to take deep breaths regularly. And keep a few cold ones available when the deep breaths become heavy.good luck on your way,where are you going to be living in Isaan?

[bentje60]

MrRed: About an hour and half South West of Khon Kaen. Nearest city would be Mancha Khiri

[chris1dna]

My wife wants to start a Som Tam and BBQ chicken stall in Chiang Mai. She wants me to do the chicken while she does the Son tam. Would I be in trouble for helping her as well? I told he I thought I would and she just laughed at me as if I was crazy. Partly true btw but still.

[jamescollister]

My wife wants to start a Som Tam and BBQ chicken stall in Chiang Mai. She wants me to do the chicken while she does the Son tam. Would I be in trouble for helping her as well? I told he I thought I would and she just laughed at me as if I was crazy. Partly true btw but still.

Other side of the country, but seen guys doing burgers and chips, noodles at the roadside. Never heard of anyone being bothered, there is always a chance, but you are not running girls, booze etc and you are not personally making any real money, The cops have to take you to court, is it really worth their effort and a Judge may laugh at a charge of a farang making 50 Baht selling noodles.

There are more important things to worry about. Jim

[seabear]

The problem starts only if somebody is denouncing you. And the cops won't tell you who it was.

[jamescollister]

The problem starts only if somebody is denouncing you. And the cops won't tell you who it was.

If you live here the local cops will tell you, but it is not the local cops, it is the RTIMP police that are the problem and they are not interested out here. Someone could complain, but they are not going to down tools and leave a border crossing point empty so they can catch a fararg loading a truck load of rice for his wifes family. Jim

[seabear]

The problem starts only if somebody is denouncing you. And the cops won't tell you who it was.

If you live here the local cops will tell you, but it is not the local cops, it is the RTIMP police that are the problem and they are not interested out here. Someone could complain, but they are not going to down tools and leave a border crossing point empty so they can catch a fararg loading a truck load of rice for his wifes family. Jim

Thank you Jim. So cops work differently in Isaan, than here in Phuket. A friend of mine who has a workpermit as a dive instructor, was painting a roof for his and his wife's motorbikes. Somebody was taking a photo of him painting. The next day 4 cops arrived, showed him the picture and threatened him. It cost him 20'000 Baht to get rid of them. An other guy, married to a Thai, with 3 children, was helping his wife to unload some crates of fruit at a market. The cops showed up, and he spent 3 days in prison. What can I say? ( I have lived the last 20 years happily in Thailand)

[pnustedt]

I've been harvesting rice for 6 years now and never had a problem. In NE Thailand.

[Mario2008]

Working withut a work permit is illegal, it is as simple as that.

If you will be prosecuted is a different matter, but they can.

[Semper]

My wife wants to start a Som Tam and BBQ chicken stall in Chiang Mai. She wants me to do the chicken while she does the Son tam. Would I be in trouble for helping her as well? I told he I thought I would and she just laughed at me as if I was crazy. Partly true btw but still.

I wouldn't recommend it.

[SantiSuk]

Have you told her that the risk is quite small (but indefinably so)?

However, she will have to follow the ATM back to home country if somebody doesnt like the som tam stall and decides to wreak vengeance?

I think she might find the latter threat not so far-fetched in Thailand and the former threat unconscionable.

Edited August 29, 2012 by SantiSuk

[DILLIGAD]

I've been harvesting rice for 6 years now and never had a problem. In NE Thailand.

Why go public with that?

Item No1, your honor, is this post on TV by .............

Edited August 29, 2012 by DILLIGAD

[boloa]

Have a question after reading about what has happend to the american guy Willard Underburg.

Going to Thailand this autumn to stay with my Thai GF and family. Intend to be part of daily life which will also include helping them with the rice harvest. Will or can this be considered as illegal work with risk of getting fined, jailed or deported.

Bentje

The chances of you getting arrested for helping out in the rice harvest is near on non-existence,the Family and locals will love having a Farang help out whilst watching him sweat.

I've lived in the NE for 9/10 years and have not yet meet a bar-owner / restaurant owner /Coffee shop owners / computer shop owner/ Mini Mart owner / Travel Agents/Resort Owners and their western workers and even some teachers that have had a work permit. 98% fly below the radar by putting the business in their wifes or partners name, some ever openly advertise on Local forums.As far as I know not one has ever been arrested for working illegally.( You do read about the odd one on forums but normally its when someone has been grassed up because they have upset someone )

So Bentje I think you will be OK with helping the family out and if you do get caught you will be very.very,very,very unlucky but also don't forget you have been warned by some,the risk is as big as you see it

Edited August 29, 2012 by boloa

[pnustedt]

Why go public with that?

Because the op asked the risk of getting fined, jailed or deported

[bunnydrops]

I have a friend that goes out with the locals to fix the roads or clear the brush ( As he puts it, 1 hr work, 1 hr eat, 2 hr drink) and he is never bothered--- but the law says he can't even to volunteer work with out a work permit. I think they except him as part of the community. I don't think I would work in a large city without one though. I have heard of a guy who just went behind the bar of his business to change the music on the CD player and got busted. His bar was hurting someone else s business no doubt.

Oh as I understand it you can get a work permit on an marriage extension.

Edited August 29, 2012 by bunnydrops

[uptheos]

My wife wants to start a Som Tam and BBQ chicken stall in Chiang Mai. She wants me to do the chicken while she does the Son tam. Would I be in trouble for helping her as well? I told he I thought I would and she just laughed at me as if I was crazy. Partly true btw but still.

I wouldn't recommend it.

It might be delicious.

[elliss]

MrRed: About an hour and half South West of Khon Kaen. Nearest city would be Mancha Khiri

no problem , your far enough away from udon thani .

[jamescollister]

The problem starts only if somebody is denouncing you. And the cops won't tell you who it was.

If you live here the local cops will tell you, but it is not the local cops, it is the RTIMP police that are the problem and they are not interested out here. Someone could complain, but they are not going to down tools and leave a border crossing point empty so they can catch a fararg loading a truck load of rice for his wifes family. Jim

Thank you Jim. So cops work differently in Isaan, than here in Phuket. A friend of mine who has a workpermit as a dive instructor, was painting a roof for his and his wife's motorbikes. Somebody was taking a photo of him painting. The next day 4 cops arrived, showed him the picture and threatened him. It cost him 20'000 Baht to get rid of them. An other guy, married to a Thai, with 3 children, was helping his wife to unload some crates of fruit at a market. The cops showed up, and he spent 3 days in prison. What can I say? ( I have lived the last 20 years happily in Thailand)

Think there is where the difference lays, wouldn't say the cops work differently in Phuket, there are a lot of farangs etc and the Royal Thai Immigration Police have plenty of work. Out here I say what cops, the nearest RTIP station is 70 km away at the Chong Mek border crossing. There are maybe 5 farangs between me and them, doubt catching a farang cutting rice is very high on their to do list.

Manpower and resources are placed where they are needed, doubt there are any RTIP assigned to farang catching around here. Jim

[mike123ca]

Last time I was at Phiboom immigration they had a group of Laos being given a one way ticket back. Someone must be looking

for illegal workers here.

[jamescollister]

Last time I was at Phiboom immigration they had a group of Laos being given a one way ticket back. Someone must be looking

for illegal workers here.

You get road blocks along the border roads, army and police, they are looking for illegals, drugs, poachers and lumber, guess if you were a farang driving a truck load of goods to market, questions might be asked.

I have never had a problem around here, usually just waved through. Jim