Hi,

i am asking on behalf of a friend who doesnt have a thaivisa account.

He has developed software in the past with some big companies in Australia and is interested in living in Thailand.

He is not sure though that he can get a work permit as he does not have any degree. He is self taught and is very good at what he does and was even managed a small team of developers.

So with his past but without a degree, can he still get a work permit?

All I can say is I got a work permit without a degree, though I was a director and my job title on the WP was 'marketing manager'. I believe they look at other evidence as well as the registered job title. There will certainly be a way.

Financially he would almost certainly be better off working remotely for US/EU/AU orgs.

Edited July 17, 201510 yr by rwdrwdrwd

Yes, a WP is available without a degree, no issue

The job itself may not be

He has to demonstrate a skill that is not readily available in the local labour market to qualify..

He has to demonstrate a skill that is not readily available in the local labour market to qualify..

Not really true - I have a work permit for something that is doable by local Thais. He needs an organisation to provide him with a job, or to start his own company.

Yes, a job offer from a company in Thailand is an essential criterion. He cannot just arrive in Thailand and apply for a work permit on his own. For details, see the work permit application form: http://wp.doe.go.th/wp/images/form/Form_tt3.pdf

As stated above, he would have to get a Thai company to employ him, and sponsor his visa application. Presumably your friend doesn't speak fluent Thai, so the reality is, no Thai software house will be interested in him.

Even if he did get a job, he'd be getting a Thai wage...i.e peanuts.

If he's any good, he should have no problem picking up contracting work in his home country, and working remotely from Thailand. If he's not any good, then he's just dreaming.

@mockingbird There are some Thai companies these days that are regularly seeking non Thai nationals/speakers at decent *local* wages (65k - 120k+) - right now I am aware of Agoda, Kaidee, 2C2P and Infinity Levels with open roles.

I agree that he would maximise earnings by working remotely though, should be doubling the top end of the rates mentioned above if he can fill a week and is experienced enough to land any of the jobs on offer by the above companies. No need to target the home country though - in terms of tax it is beneficial not to in many cases. I'd just target companies in the places that tend to pay the most money, which usually means California.

Edited July 19, 201510 yr by rwdrwdrwd

Not really true.

The point is that to get a work permit you would need to be hired by a Thai company.

You could conceivably be hired by that Thai company as an international data systems operations manager and do all your work outside of Thailand....on line if that was specified in your employment contract.

But the point is you must be hired by a Thai company or at least one recognized by the labor department as a Thai company.

It's the company that hires you that sponsors you for the work permit.. Once the Thai company gets you the work permit you could do the work in Thailand but on-line.

Just the fact that you are actually physically in Thailand . even if the work is actually done on-line makes you "working in Thailand".

But that would be only "If" such a deal was approved by the Department of Labor, and your contract was with a Thai company that hired you.

In practical purposes..... I don't think it will ever happen.....Thai companies are not good at thinking "outside the box" like that. They don't like ding things "differently" than normal.

What is not true?

If he wanted a work permit, and wanted to work remotely for non Thai companies, with the simplest structure he could move to Thailand and start his own consultancy in Thailand (yeah with the usual bureaucracy and giving away of 51% ownership), receiving a permit that way. Then just run invoices through that.

A better structure would be a co in HK and a co in TH, with HKco invoicing clients and THco invoicing HKco enough to satisfy WP salary + tax requirements and pay for necessary Thai co fees, accountancy etc. Rest of income can be via dividends from HKco paid to an account outside of Thailand.

In either scenario the OP would be working for the Thai company - the location of the end clients is irrelevant and approval is straightforward.

Not getting into another discussion about what constitutes 'work' in regard to Thai law, aside from the say the legal definition of the term is self referential and as such is completely unclear and open to interpretation. Regardless of interpretation, with a WP the question is moot.

Edited July 19, 201510 yr by rwdrwdrwd