Hey everyone,

Great forum! I've had a look through many posts but as my situation is slightly unique, I haven't found anything that relates to it.

I work in the UK for a large multinational but it's an 'at home' position. Due to this, I'd like to move to Thailand for 6 months to a year just to avoid the winter and spring here. The issue is, I can't work out what type of visa I should apply for and an email from the Thai embassy was along the lines of 'have a look and find out yourself.

Any direction would be great!

How old are you?

 

There is no visa that will allow you to work from within Thailand. If you're only planning to be here 6 months a year a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa would probably be the best option, if you can meet the criteria.

Yep. A Tourist visa and keep quiet about what you are doing.

Yes I second what Lite Beer is saying, keep a low profile in life, and do not talk outside home of what you are doing.....

 

Glegolo

I third Lite Beer and second glegolo.

 

Best if you have a cover story. e.g. "I am in Thailand to look for a suitable candidate for a wife."

Technically if you're working in Thailand you would need a work permit, but as others have said, come as a tourist on a multiple entry tourist visa and don't share with anyone that you are working at home. It doesn't matter where the company is located or how much you're being paid. If you're working while in Thailand, in theory, you need a work permit.

 

If you got a single entry tourist visa in UK, you'd get a 60 day stay when you arrive, could extend it for 30 days at an immigration office in Thailand, then travel to a neighboring country for another SETV that would give you 60 + 30 more days. So starting with a multiple entry tourist visa would be less hassle.

 

Even while here on a multiple entry tourist visa you will need to do some border crossings by land or air.

 

 

Edited January 5, 20179 yr by Suradit69

clickyclick said: Great forum!

You'll get over it

 

Regarding your question: ALL of the above

double bolt the front door and have a fire burning to be ready to destroy any evidence you are working. but seriously best to keep it hush hush. multi entry tourist visa should be the ticket if it is possible to obtain.

 

4 hours ago, clickyclick said:

I'd like to move to Thailand for 6 months to a year just to avoid the winter and spring here.

Why Thailand?

There's Australia, Israel, South Africa, etc. if avoiding winter weather is your sole reason without major cultural and "legal" differences.

Thanks for all the info guys

I chose Thailand because I have friends there working in the tourism industry and they're in a quiet, partyless place that looks great in terms of relaxation...which I desperately need.

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

Why Thailand?

There's Australia, Israel, South Africa, etc. if avoiding winter weather is your sole reason without major cultural and "legal" differences.

 

you are probably not into girls I guess... you missed out on that one reason..

 

Glegolo

Or you can work in Cambodia without the slightest bit of trouble.  Working here is not an issue at all.  Thailand a good place to start for the less initiated. 

I thought that immigration announced that it was ok to work online on a tourist visa a couple of years back.

I thought that immigration announced that it was ok to work online on a tourist visa a couple of years back.

Immigration has made no such announcement and it would not be within their authority to make such announcement.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

1 hour ago, loong said:

I thought that immigration announced that it was ok to work online on a tourist visa a couple of years back.

 

Immigration (who are not responsible for labor law) were misquoted when they said approximately "we are not bothered abut that" because its not thier remit. 

 

 

No offence to the OP but the posters telling him to work on a TV are the exact reason why visa regulations are being made harder

 

The authorities do read these boards

Technically you're not working in Thailand. Working in Thailand means that you are making money within the Thai Economy. Since your the company you work for is overseas as well as the income you're making, then you are not working in Thailand.

 

Visa options include: (In order from the easiest to obtain)

Tourist Visa

Education Visa

Non-Imm Business Visa

 

Also but more expensive but worth it IMO:

 

Thai Elite Visa (500,000 Baht for 5 years)

4 minutes ago, Helios said:

Technically you're not working in Thailand. Working in Thailand means that you are making money within the Thai Economy. Since your the company you work for is overseas as well as the income you're making, then you are not working in Thailand.

 

 

This is categorically incorrect.. Many countries operate a physical presence test to determine work location. Thailand is one of them. 

 

This has been confirmed by the labor dept every time they have been asked on record.. Online work is considered Thai work as per the Thai law. 

 

The denials of this fact is only from those who either haven't bothered to research it, or willfully remain in denial because it costs them money. 

 

And so the cycle of miss information continues. 

30 minutes ago, Helios said:

Technically you're not working in Thailand. Working in Thailand means that you are making money within the Thai Economy. Since your the company you work for is overseas as well as the income you're making, then you are not working in Thailand.

If the OP is working for his company whilst on Thai soil he is undisputedly working in Thailand.

 

The immigration act prohibits anyone, with temporary permission to stay, from carrying out any occupation without permission. Permission the OP will not get.

 

The authorities currently tolerate tourists carrying out remote work, such as discribed by the OP, and all the time his claim of being a tourist is accepted I am sure the authorities would not have a problem with this work or take action against the OP.

 

I am sure the immigration act wasn't written with this kind of worker in mind, but until/if new laws are passed exempting remote work it is illegal without permission.

Thanks for all the responses guys, I just have a further question...

If I organised an educational visa (as there are some legitimate courses I could complete in Thailand that would be genuinely profitable to my education) does that make the situation even murkier than working on a Tourist visa?

On 1/5/2017 at 7:40 PM, elviajero said:

<snip>

I am sure the immigration act wasn't written with this kind of worker in mind, but until/if new laws are passed exempting remote work it is illegal without permission.

Just to note that the latest rendition of the Thai Immigration Act is valid as of 01 DEC 2004.

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/doc/Immigration_Act.pdf

4 hours ago, clickyclick said:

Thanks for all the responses guys, I just have a further question...

If I organised an educational visa (as there are some legitimate courses I could complete in Thailand that would be genuinely profitable to my education) does that make the situation even murkier than working on a Tourist visa?

 

Its not murkier.. Its breaking the law.. On any visa or extension without a work permit. 

 

You can choose to break the law.. Thats entirely up to you.. But if people would stop pretending its murky, or hard to fathom, or not the norm over almost all of asia. Thailand wants tax revenue, its chosen to control non Thais work and contributions through its employment law, breaking that law and avoiding Thai taxes isnt somehow hard to understand. 

Has this announcement been rescinded? https://asiancorrespondent.com/2014/08/thai-immigration-officials-say-digital-nomads-ok-to-work-on-tourist-visas/

12 minutes ago, SaintLouisBlues said:

Has this announcement been rescinded? https://asiancorrespondent.com/2014/08/thai-immigration-officials-say-digital-nomads-ok-to-work-on-tourist-visas/

 

Ah this continual red herring.. Immigration is not responsible for labor law.. Asking immigration about work issues is like asking your mechanic about a root canal, unlikely to get correct or accurate advice. 

 

What was said was along the lines of 'we are not bothered about that' which, considering immigration isnt responsible for it, makes perfect sense. This was an informal Q&A session putting a immigration officer on the spot requiring an answer, he didnt say 'it is legal' as stated without quotes there, he simply said, 'not our responsibility / concern'. A very different thing. 

 

See the constant and clear statements by labor officers on the subject.. Statements which state clearly that online work for non Thai clients is still work requiring a work permit, even uploading a blog post to a monetized blog or youtube account from within the kingdom is working. 

There is nothing murky about the law, only the practical difficulties of enforcing the law. 

Edited January 7, 20179 yr by LivinLOS

Thanks for the clarification. So the issue has nothing to do with visas and everything to do with being caught by a different government department?

The issue is the Thai law.. The law implemented and controlled by the labor dept / employment office.. The law with which Thailand gathers income tax revenue. 

 

Immigration is not responsible for the enforcement of that law. 

From the Thai Immigration Act as amended through 2004:

 

Section 12 : Aliens which fall into any of the following categories are excluded from entering into the Kingdom : 

3. Having entered into the Kingdom to take occupation as a laborer or to take employment by using physical without skills training or to work in violation of the Ministerial Regulations

53 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

The issue is the Thai law.. The law implemented and controlled by the labor dept / employment office.. The law with which Thailand gathers income tax revenue. 

 

Immigration is not responsible for the enforcement of that law. 

Surely then the most straightforward, succinct and informative response to the OP would have been something along the lines of "The visa is irrelevant. Immigration don't care if you're a digital nomad. The department that does care is the Labor Department, so it's a matter of getting caught by them. Shut your mouth, shut your door and you should be fine"

The 7 hour time difference will be a bit inconvinient if you have to work UK office hours. I am still looking for a job like this. I am allowed to work only 1 day from home a week now.

6 hours ago, clickyclick said:

Thanks for all the responses guys, I just have a further question...

If I organised an educational visa (as there are some legitimate courses I could complete in Thailand that would be genuinely profitable to my education) does that make the situation even murkier than working on a Tourist visa?

 

It would not make any difference with regard to the legality of working. 

 

An Edu-Visa solution to staying in Thailand has its own set of trade-offs versus serial Tourist-Visas.  If you can get a Multi-Entry Edu-Visa from your home-country before coming to Thailand, that might be worth considering.  No such visa is available nearby, so you would be stuck with a single-entry, then continuous jumping through hoops with immigration, and/or under-the-table payoffs, to maintain your permission-to-stay.  I use Tourist Visas, instead, for this reason - no desire to get involved in shady-dealing.