Immigration Are Arresting Farang House Developers

[Mobi]

I was having a cup of tea this morning with the farang why built my house and he received a call from another farang builder warning him not to go anywhere near his building site. Apperently there is a squad of immigration police going round the building sites in Pattaya and the surrounding areas and arresting any farangs they find on site who don't have work permits.

I have no idea how accurate or true this report is - at the moment just hearsay based on a phone call from someone I know of, but have never met.

If it is true, it's a new and scary development in the land crackdown.

Seems difficult to believe that it was instigated by the land office. More likely a local Thai developer may have been mixing it down at immigration. But who knows?

Anyone else heard about this?

[Pattaya_Fox]

I was having a cup of tea this morning with the farang why built my house and he received a call from another farang builder warning him not to go anywhere near his building site. Apperently there is a squad of immigration police going round the building sites in Pattaya and the surrounding areas and arresting any farangs they find on site who don't have work permits.

I have no idea how accurate or true this report is - at the moment just hearsay based on a phone call from someone I know of, but have never met.

If it is true, it's a new and scary development in the land crackdown.

Seems difficult to believe that it was instigated by the land office. More likely a local Thai developer may have been mixing it down at immigration. But who knows?

Anyone else heard about this?

Well it`s hard to believe that any farang builders working have not got work permits....... the consequences of a farang working in Thailand who is caught without a work permit are well documented. Very stupid if they take the chance..

From the other side of the coin and in relation to the recent statements with regard to Farang property/company house ownership if what Mobi has heard is correct then you have to ask the question Are they tightening the screw on the developers?

[Mobi]

Well it`s hard to believe that any farang builders working have not got work permits....... the consequences of a farang working in Thailand who is caught without a work permit are well documented. Very stupid if they take the chance..

I may be naive, but I can't see how farang developers could get a work permit - after all its a prohibited profession for foreigners, isn't it?

In conversation this morning, it was evident that there are plenty of farangs doing this business who do not have work permits - some are even on retirement visas. They would argue that they are not really working, just paying Thai contractor to build for them - but I suspect the authorities may have a different spin on that.

[Pattaya_Fox]

I see Mobi what I believe that you meant to say in your opening post was that it was the broker or middleman or arranger who instructs the builder not the actual builder......now I understand

[Mobi]

I see Mobi what I believe that you meant to say in your opening post was that it was the broker or middleman or arranger who instructs the builder not the actual builder......now I understand

Yes, Fox I suppose so. The reality is that many of them are builders, and get quite heavily involved in the building process, but of course they all use Thai foremen, and basically sub- contract the work.

But even if they are acting as middlemen or brokers, in my book its still working and I would imagine they need work permits.

Haven't heard any more. I'll update if I do.

[taxexile]

the fact that the thai authorities have sunk so low as to now be arresting falang property developers as they sweat and toil in the heat in order to earn a few measly baht so that they can buy to a bowl of noodles and a bottle of water and maybe a bag of toasted locusts for their spouses is a cause for great concern.

uncork the champagne jeeves , its partytime

[Rimmer]

I sure hope this does not apply if you are standing on your own job site telling the builder where to put that load of sand or whatever..

[Pattaya_Fox]

I sure hope this does not apply if you are standing on your own job site telling the builder where to put that load of sand or whatever..

I suppose that you could say that your hobby was distribution

[Noel]

I sure hope this does not apply if you are standing on your own job site telling the builder where to put that load of sand or whatever..

Hmmm, it could well depend on where you tell him to put it?

They can be touchy sods...

[johng]

I sure hope this does not apply if you are standing on your own job site telling the builder where to put that load of sand or whatever..

Strictly speaking ..thats working too !!!!

Strictly speakng you can't even use a broom to sweep up,wash dishes,change a CD,drill a hole to hang a picture or put up shelves or sit at the front counter of your own internet cafe.

My god you can't even wipe your own arse lest it be deemed working...thats why all foreigners have to have a chauffeur,maid,cook etc etc etc 5555555555

[Mobi]

A follow up/ clarification.

As best as I can now ascertain, there was only one farang involved and he wasn't arrested, just told to report to immigration with his passport. Work permit might not have even been mentioned.

It would seem, and I say seem, that immigration were 'cruising' looking for illegal Cambodians on a building site, and a farang there got caught up in their 'raid'.

Who knows what the truth really was? Probably just someone panicking, and chinese whispers amongst the farang building fraternity quickly ensued.

[penzman]

A follow up/ clarification.

As best as I can now ascertain, there was only one farang involved and he wasn't arrested, just told to report to immigration with his passport. Work permit might not have even been mentioned.

It would seem, and I say seem, that immigration were 'cruising' looking for illegal Cambodians on a building site, and a farang there got caught up in their 'raid'.

Who knows what the truth really was? Probably just someone panicking, and chinese whispers amongst the farang building fraternity quickly ensued.

They were out fishing for red snapper and caught a prize winning swordfish.

[jobsworth]

I keep telling people to rent condos and not to buy new condos.

If you buy, you buy a shell.

You can then either be ripped off by a property developer

or,if you can speak Thai, employ Thai workman

but then, unless you have a work permit,

you are engaging in an illegal activity.

You cannot win.

[Pattaya_Fox]

A follow up/ clarification.

As best as I can now ascertain, there was only one farang involved and he wasn't arrested, just told to report to immigration with his passport. Work permit might not have even been mentioned.

It would seem, and I say seem, that immigration were 'cruising' looking for illegal Cambodians on a building site, and a farang there got caught up in their 'raid'.

Who knows what the truth really was? Probably just someone panicking, and chinese whispers amongst the farang building fraternity quickly ensued.

Thanks for clarifying Mobi.... I was going to sell the story to the International Press (slightly embroidered of course)

[kurgen]

I don't understand why these fallang developers don't get work permits.

I'm not talking about Joe Bloggs who's overseeing the building of his own house.

It's builders, such as yours Mobi (JH) ,who are certainly making enough money in Thailand to "go legal" and start paying some taxes.

As far as I know the "fallang builders can't get work permits"law is actually aimed at bricklayers ,carpenters,plasterers etc, not foremen ,site agents etc.

I can't see that the fallangs who run K Tech would run for cover every time the BIB turned up on one of their sites.

[Scott]

Getting a Work Permit isn't all that easy. It's not like you can walk into immigration and pick one up. In addition to a lot of paper work and a good chance of getting a "no", it takes a lot of time. A friend of mine is going to get his work permit today--his employer applied for the WP 10 months ago and it's ready today. If he would have been "caught" anytime in between he could have had a lot of trouble.

[Mobi]

I really can't be bothered, but I'm sure if you look on the Ministry of Labour website, you would find that jobs such as Site Foremen, Property Developers, Estate agents etc, are prohibited positions for foreigners. All 'professional' jobs like lawyers, accountants, architects etc are banned, so why would they permit these building trade people to work here? - And I'll bet you most of them don't have a qualification to their name. There's plenty of Thais around who can screw it all up equally as well.

There's a lot of farangs here who have a work permit for one job, and do another.

Edited June 16, 2006 by Mobi D'Ark

[Rimmer]

I really can't be bothered, but I'm sure if you look on the Ministry of Labour website, you would find that jobs such as Site Foremen, Property Developers, Estate agents etc, are prohibited positions for foreigners. All 'professional' jobs like lawyers, accountants, architects etc are banned, so why would they permit these building trade people to work here? - And I'll bet you most of them don't have a qualification to their name. There's plenty of Thais around who can screw it all up equally as well.

There's a lot of farangs here who have a work permit for one job, and do another.

Wonder how all these farangs that work in estate agents offices get on then?

Perhaps they get a work permit to be a brain surgeon, then go and sell houses

That would work because you would need full frontal lobotomy to buy some of these houses, err or is it a full bottle in front of me?

Edited June 16, 2006 by Rimmer

[Digger]

The reason for no work permits is that Chonburi's governor will not grant them to foreigners in the property development business. It is a restricted occupation. It also takes account of the fact that most of these 'developers' are two bit companies that dont show/declare anything in their accounts in terms of paying social taxes for their employees, be registered for VAT etc etc.

The likes of K-Tech and Raimon Land have loads of foreigners in senior positions - they are a completely different league - basically they are public companies where everything is transparent and taxes are paid. Also helps that their capital levels are oftemn running into billions of baht paid in as against 2million paid in capital. Any company with capital or assets over 30,000,000 baht has a different set of criteria for obtaining work permits which basically makes it a whole lot easier, the bigger the company.

There are property developers with work permits in Chonburi but they follow the principals of the big boys rather than the little one off guy.

[Noel]

I keep telling people to rent condos and not to buy new condos.

If you buy, you buy a shell.

You can then either be ripped off by a property developer

or,if you can speak Thai, employ Thai workman

but then, unless you have a work permit,

you are engaging in an illegal activity. You cannot win.

So you are saying that if you employ a Thai contractor to refurbish your condo, you are deemed to be working?

Where on earth did you get that silly notion from?

On that basis, employing a maid, gardener etc would also be considered as "engaging in an illegal activity".

I really don't think so...

[Mobi]

I keep telling people to rent condos and not to buy new condos.

If you buy, you buy a shell.

You can then either be ripped off by a property developer

or,if you can speak Thai, employ Thai workman

but then, unless you have a work permit,

you are engaging in an illegal activity. You cannot win.

So you are saying that if you employ a Thai contractor to refurbish your condo, you are deemed to be working?

Where on earth did you get that silly notion from?

On that basis, employing a maid, gardener etc would also be considered as "engaging in an illegal activity".

I really don't think so...

The classic one I heard was in Phuket where a farang was jamming for free with a local band. When arrested for not having a work permit, he explained that he was not being paid, but the authorities told him he was working, with or without payment, and that he had "leased" (at a zero rate) the mike and amplifiers for his performance.

You have to admire their creativity.