Online Visa?

[Chairman Of The Board]

Can I work online with an Education Visa, or is there some kind of visa that I can get that will work in conjunction with my Education Visa and allow this.

I have tried to search this using the search function but there seems to be no clear answer

[Shot]

Simple answer is no. Here are some recent links to working on-line:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/762615-internet-nomads/?hl= digital nomad

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/766754-definitive-answer-from-a-thai-lawyer-about-the-legality-of-online-work-without-a-work-permit/page-1

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/761133-work-online-with-marriage/page-1

Dozens of others.

[Chairman Of The Board]

Hi Shot,

On the last thread it seams that the issue was not resolved, ubonjoe, the moderator, stated that an immigration officer said it was OK for tourists to do some work online while they are here.

The first two threads were just dragged down into personal arguments instigated by the same group of people who do not allow for an answer on this type of question.

[Shot]

Correct, on a tourist visa in that thread.

It's a big can of worms. The laws were written long before the internet. Lots of opinions on this subject.

[JLCrab]

Correct, on a tourist visa in that thread.

It's a big can of worms. The laws were written long before the internet. Lots of opinions on this subject.

The laws were written long before the internet

Just to note that the Thai Alien Labor Act was enacted in February, 2008.

[Mario2008]

Work requires WP, which will not be issued on an ED-visa.

[bkkcanuck8]

The correct answer is legally no, but the authorities that might pursue such "illegal activities" have decided that it is unenforceable and not worth their time. Thus it is extremely unlikely that you would have any problems if you did. Just make sure that you do it on the downlow, no bragging, nothing that would embarrass those with the power to change their minds.

[Shot]

Correct, on a tourist visa in that thread.

It's a big can of worms. The laws were written long before the internet. Lots of opinions on this subject.

The laws were written long before the internet

Just to note that the Thai Alien Labor Act was enacted in February, 2008.

Correct

http://www.lawreform.go.th/lawreform/images/th/legis/en/act/2008/30442.pdf

[Soutpeel]

Correct, on a tourist visa in that thread.

It's a big can of worms. The laws were written long before the internet. Lots of opinions on this subject.

LOL the world had internet in 2008 when the last revision of the laws were written

The fact is while things like the poker grind house,s illegal distribution of both straight and gay porn, peddling knock off product on line etc an online visa will never be offered

[bkkcanuck8]

Yep, it even covers the work of getting out of bed in the morning:

“Work” means engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefits;

[Shot]

Correct, on a tourist visa in that thread.

It's a big can of worms. The laws were written long before the internet. Lots of opinions on this subject.

LOL the world had internet in 2008 when the last revision of the laws were written

The fact is while things like the poker grind house,s illegal distribution of both straight and gay porn, peddling knock off product on line etc an online visa will never be offered

Correct. Please see post #8

[bkkcanuck8]

^ Yep, they had internet, they had email, they had phones, they had beds..... and according to the "unofficial translation" they are all considered work that you need a work permit for.

It really comes down to what they want to enforce....

[Soutpeel]

Hi Shot,

On the last thread it seams that the issue was not resolved, ubonjoe, the moderator, stated that an immigration officer said it was OK for tourists to do some work online while they are here.

The first two threads were just dragged down into personal arguments instigated by the same group of people who do not allow for an answer on this type of question.

Apparently with reference to what the immigration officer said I believe this was what the jouro wrote and what officer actually said was taken out of context

[jspill]

Nothing has ever been said in context on the matter either

[jspill]

Can you work online? Yes. If asked you're writing to friends and family, I'd like to see them challenge you.

Can you get a visa for it? No. Plus you already have an Ed visa anyway.

[JLCrab]

Yep, it even covers the work of getting out of bed in the morning:

“Work” means engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefits;

The definition of work in the Alien Labor Act is likely configured so that -- if they should ever choose to prosecute an alleged offense -- they won't have to spend time arguing what does or does not constitute work.

[Chairman Of The Board]

Can you work online? Yes. If asked you're writing to friends and family, I'd like to see them challenge you.

Can you get a visa for it? No. Plus you already have an Ed visa anyway.

I just don't want to get into any trouble.

There is a group of posters on here who all seem to post together and they keep telling people on here that it is dangerous to work online here.

They even told me that it would be very dangerous to play online poker when I am in Thailand, even though the site that I want to play on is not in Thailand.

[Soutpeel]

Can you work online? Yes. If asked you're writing to friends and family, I'd like to see them challenge you.

Can you get a visa for it? No. Plus you already have an Ed visa anyway.

I just don't want to get into any trouble.

There is a group of posters on here who all seem to post together and they keep telling people on here that it is dangerous to work online here.

They even told me that it would be very dangerous to play online poker when I am in Thailand, even though the site that I want to play on is not in Thailand.

Playing poker on line from Thailand is illegal irrespective of where the server is, gambling is illegal in Thailand with a few exceptions

Also OP be careful of things called grind houses based in Thailand, in addition to the illegal poker playing going on, heard stories of members of the " grind" scamming other players, also believe in certain cases grind houses have been associated with porn production, as well both gay and straight

[Julie H]

I just don't want to get into any trouble.

There is a group of posters on here who all seem to post together and they keep telling people on here that it is dangerous to work online here.

They even told me that it would be very dangerous to play online poker when I am in Thailand, even though the site that I want to play on is not in Thailand.

You were asking questions about contacting people regarding illegal activity. You were advised not get involved with other people with a few gay/slave jokes thrown in. The answer is NO & it is illegal.

However it is legal in Cambodia so consider setting up shop there

[jspill]

Playing poker on line from Thailand is illegal irrespective of where the server is, gambling is illegal in Thailand with a few exceptions

Also OP be careful of things called grind houses based in Thailand, in addition to the illegal poker playing going on, heard stories of members of the " grind" scamming other players, also believe in certain cases grind houses have been associated with porn production, as well both gay and straight

He asked if it would be very dangerous - no it wouldn't. Thais play on offshore sites too.

Scams, yes, scams exist in every industry.

[Chairman Of The Board]

I just don't want to get into any trouble.

There is a group of posters on here who all seem to post together and they keep telling people on here that it is dangerous to work online here.

They even told me that it would be very dangerous to play online poker when I am in Thailand, even though the site that I want to play on is not in Thailand.

You were asking questions about contacting people regarding illegal activity. You were advised not get involved with other people with a few gay/slave jokes thrown in. The answer is NO & it is illegal.

I was actually asking about how I could contact other people with a view to circumnavigating the laws and not breaking them.

I don't understand why some people on here (an I'm not talking about you Julie) have to drag down people just because we do not share the same lifestyle.

Not everyone on here has a full working visa.

[jspill]

I was actually asking about how I could contact other people with a view to circumnavigating the laws and not breaking them.

I don't understand why some people on here (an I'm not talking about you Julie) have to drag down people just because we do not share the same lifestyle.

Not everyone on here has a full working visa.

Tens of thousands of people have tinkered around with online work from their laptops, and thousands have played online poker, yet no arrests have been made. Once work starts having a physical presence, yes it's dangerous, live poker rooms have been raided, people selling services to Thais in person have gotten into trouble. Keep it online.

Every online poker room accepts Thai signups, no poker ISPs are blocked so no VPN is necessary, and cashouts are not flagged by Thai banks. I've seen Thais in PokerStars t shirts and playing real money applications on their phones. Seems the officialdom are less concerned than the average Thaivisa poster.

Also forums will be full of self-righteous people, that's standard. Debating laws a Thai would laugh to see them passing comment on in a country where bribes and a patronage system are commonplace. You're welcome to PM me although not sure what advice you need other than just keep your work online and no there is no 'online visa' for understandable reasons.

[paz]

Clearly meant ATF. Easy to mix you two up.

[bkkcanuck8]

It is clear that by the letter of the law pretty well everything is illegal in respects to the written law, therefore there is no "circumventing" the law in regards to anything you do. What is important again is what they have chosen to enforce as being against the law (which may change, so keep up-to-date on current events). The only indication that I have read one way or another, in regards to working online with parties who have no physical or financial interest in Thailand, is that of a Chiang Mai based immigration which says basically they don't currently see it as a problem. There have been no contrarian evidence (i.e. arresting those that work online) that they are enforcing working online as working. If it were a problem, it would be a problem for everyone that is not a resident or citizen, since work permits are in regards to specific work - which are never issued in regards to offshore contra-parties.

If you chose to work online -- don't advertise it -- don't talk about it to anyone. There are a lot of jealous farang here that would love such a setup, and would do everything in their power to be vindictive towards you. If someone asks what you do, just tell them you have money saved up and are taking a couple years off. Most importantly, don't embarrass those that chose not to enforce it. I would also recommend that you work out of your own private residence. If you are worried about security, get a secure connection (i.e. VPN) for your work.

[Maestro]

Removed some off-topic posts and the replies to them.