Hi guys...

I would like to ask about ASEAN EC. ASEAN EC had officially commenced and it is suppose to allow people to travel and work in the ASEAN countries easier ... but I have been trying to search for information and the changes in visa / work permit under AEC.. but unfortunately I don't find any and it seems like the labor office had not made any changes to this and foreigner who wish to apply for work in Thailand are still required to get the work permit in the traditional way... ie. apply for non-immigrant B visa and then apply for work permit.

can any expert can help to verify this?

Is there any official reference to this?

thank you very much!!!!

You cannot find the info because there have been no changes because there are none from the AEC to go into effect.

You cannot find the info because there have been no changes because there are none from the AEC to go into effect.

HI... yes.. i don't see any changes so far and in fact the Working Act BE2551 is still effective ...

You cannot find the info because there have been no changes because there are none from the AEC to go into effect.

And in any case, the only proposed changes were for 8 categories of skilled professionals anyway and all that was ever said was that these workers could receive a work permit more easily, rather than not requiring one at all. However, I doubt there will be an influx of foreign ASEAN workers in any of these categories into Thailand as limiting factors such as Thai language skills and local licencing requirements will continue to keep most of them out.

Similarly, the rumours mostly started by foreign expats that all of a sudden there will be free movement of people, goods and vehicles across ASEAN borders is absolute nonsense.

Not only has there never been any mention of that by any government in the region, but it will take years, if not decades before existing obstacles such as removal of trade barriers and even allowing the entry of foreign registered vehicles into neighboring countries will be resolved. For example, Thai vehicles can still NOT enter Myanmar or Vietnam under AEC. There has not been any talk about whether that will change or not, but in in the case of Myanmar at least, lingering security concerns in many parts of the country all but rule out the possibility of allowing free vehicular access to the country without a guide and tour as is currently required. Just because AEC "happened" doesn't mean that all of the existing conflicts have suddenly been resolved. They haven't.

I could probably make a lot of money talking about ASEAN.

There was never any intention to open the borders and allow free movement of labor. Even the MRAs come with requirements that must be met prior to allowing labor mobility. The much touted freedom of movement was a political ploy to gain votes of either people who were against it or those who were for it. Either way, most people are unable to understand the various ASEAN rules because they are too complicated for the average person to understand. ASEAN is pretty much delivering everything it promised. It is impossible to understand every part of ASEAN because ASEAN is gigantic. Most everything that applies to every part of your life is likely part of an ASEAN agreement. Keep in mind too that the AEC is only one third of this massive machine known as ASEAN.

Here is an idea of the monster known as ASEAN. Most of the agreements are pretty technical but if you have a question about any please feel free to send me a message and I will try to point you in the right direction.

Even if the agreement simplified the ability of labor to move between participating countries (and as others have noted, it has not), it would seem that it would apply only to nationals of those participating countries, and would have no benefit for those of us from countries outside of ASEAN.

You cannot find the info because there have been no changes because there are none from the AEC to go into effect.

HI... yes.. i don't see any changes so far and in fact the Working Act BE2551 is still effective ...

Oh, and also you can get a work visa when holding a non-o also, not just a non-b.