Thailand to get tough on foreigners working without work permits, employers also targeted

[hawker9000]

7 hours ago, Dave67 said:

Surely 5 years in jail for not having a work permit is a bit harsh. I can't think of another country where that would be threatened

Meanwhile, a LB pokes a hole in your head with a stiletto heal, or a man on a motorcycle snatches your gold chain or bag in a drive-by, or bouncers beats the crap out of a customer, or a taxi driver pulls a weapon on you (or gang up on you because they think you're in a Uber car), and gets a 500B fine (maybe 1000B if it's got a lot of social media coverage).  That's if police investigate at all.  But to catch a foreigner illegally working, they're suddenly up & out and will go to the ends of the earth.  I'm actually not against law enforcement doing its job, and that includes illegal work, but the growing xenophobic drumbeat to which they're marching is hard to miss.   Why in the world would anyone not deaf, dumb & blind want to work here anyway, except for maybe the "digital nomads" pecking away at their keyboards in their hotel rooms hoping against hope that they'll be able to continue getting away with their tourist visas and visa exempt attempts at the border or airport and not have to learn Chinese?

 

 

 

 

[Kim1950]

Get real, if you work for any huge multinational corporation and have unique skills or connections, all this is simply cost of doing business. No problems. Just like any other Country in the world. You might reach a ceiling for nationals but well worth the compensation.  You are a economic mercenary, In that region, look at Vietnam, next will be Cambodia.  

[jspill]

3 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

The labour department doesnt care who your clients are, or even if you have no clients. If your are in Thailand physically when you work, you need a work permit. 

 

This has been repeated by the labour department over and over, online work is work and requires exactly the same things, anyone who simply wants to believe otherwise is in denial or deluded. Why do you think there are nomad umbrella companies ?? But then nomads always say "if only there was a way to be legal" and then when they hear it costs 30% of revenue they choke. 

If the work is something physically tied to thailand that you couldn't do anywhere else, maybe, if not then no.

 

Obviously someone with a blog about cats doesn't need a permit when they decide to be a tourist in thailand for a few years, and while here keep tinkering with their blog and cash out their adsense revenue to a thai bank to spend it here. You can keep posting this for 100 years and still those people will never have any problems. (It's been almost 10 years already).

 

'Repeated by the labour department over and over' - where? You only ever link one or two third party phuketgazette soundbites where one or two individuals says yeah online work is work. 

 

But obviously in those individuals' minds they're thinking online phuket tour guide, online seller of something a thai person could sell, etc. etc. There isn't any definitive word on location independent online work. Wouldn't they mention it in this article if it was an issue? 

 

If they ever really crack down on it, it will likely come at the same time as them creating some kind of e-visa for online freelancers like Germany or Estonia, and making nomads pay taxes, so that rather than scare off tourists who check their work emails, they can just move us to more appropriate visas. 

 

'Why do you think there are nomad umbrella companies ??' - to make tons of money out of people that worry too much. 

[AloisAmrein]

9 hours ago, Slavomir said:

Bad news for digital nomads?

No, when I work for a company abroad, this not has to interest Thai authorithies.

[pepi2005]

Sounds like a desperation move to me.

 

Thailand's debt is as high as it hasn't been for decades since the new 'parliament' came into charge,

and the country is falling behind its neighbors more and more every year:

 

No English,

no advanced skills of the majority of the population,

no access to world standard education without burning millions (ideally sending your children abroad, out of this country), 

foreign companies experience nightmares finding staff fitting mentally, intellectually and socially into a modern company,

around Thailand much better English, skill levels and visa regulations,....

 

... so what has Thailand to do? Of course make everything more complicated, annoying and xenophobic than it already is! Thai logic.

[pepi2005]

1 hour ago, AloisAmrein said:

No, when I work for a company abroad, this not has to interest Thai authorithies.

wrong assumption. If you're working in Thailand, you have to obey Thai laws.

[chickenrunCM]

7 hours ago, IamNoone88 said:

Just follows the rules and there is nothing to worry about.

such a stupid comment, we are looking since more than 1 year for staff in Chiang Mai, no chance, you can only get people from Myamar and then without work permits, every place in Chiang Mai is looking for staff, if the people from Myamar would leave then you could close the whole town

[chickenrunCM]

6 hours ago, bannork said:

Unless you have a problem with a malicious local you will be left undisturbed to plant trees, grow rice, weed the garden, etc.

you can do whatever you want on your land and house, nobody can do anything

 

[chickenrunCM]

7 hours ago, soalbundy said:

So you paint the wall of your house (in my case my 10 year old sons house) where you live and you get arrested? What is 'work'.

such a b**lshit, only story´s I know someone, you not get arrested if your paint your wall at home or if you hold a cable, 

i bring my gf to the shop, i carry the laundry, the shopping bags, and I want to see the IMO who want to arrest me, this would become an online hit and for sure not good for Thai officers

[AloisAmrein]

36 minutes ago, pepi2005 said:

wrong assumption. If you're working in Thailand, you have to obey Thai laws.

You are wrong. When I work for a foreign company while I am as a tourist in Thailand this not has to interest the Thai junta. Or you believe they can prohibit me to fulfill my work contract which is alone between me and my employers or customers, all not in Thailand.

[franklnooner]

Just another law that wont be enforced.

[Happyman58]

11 hours ago, Dave67 said:

" some foreigners are prohibited from working in certain professions such as manual work"

 

Good luck getting the Thais to do it

You hit the nail right on the head  My wife has a resturant Being advertising for weeks now for waitress Not 1 application  So getting the Thais to actually work i say good luck to 

[Happyman58]

1 hour ago, chickenrunCM said:

such a stupid comment, we are looking since more than 1 year for staff in Chiang Mai, no chance, you can only get people from Myamar and then without work permits, every place in Chiang Mai is looking for staff, if the people from Myamar would leave then you could close the whole town

Join the club Same here in Ubon We need staff No applications  They would sooner go through rubbish bins to find food than work

[diehard60]

this has been around for years but no one ever really cared. there many foreigners teaching with out work permits. this has been going on for years.

[Happyman58]

2 minutes ago, diehard60 said:

this has been around for years but no one ever really cared. there many foreigners teaching with out work permits. this has been going on for years.

 

2 minutes ago, diehard60 said:

this has been around for years but no one ever really cared. there many foreigners teaching with out work permits. this has been going on for years.

I got a better idea Try and make the Thais do some work Millions of Cambodians Laos and Burmese workers come to Thailand because the Thais wont work Maybe the immigration officers should get off there butts and drive around and ask Thai men why they are sitting around doing nothing in the middle of the day. I am just staggered how they survive when they dont work As for teachers teaching without work permits that is the schools fault They dont want to bother with the paper work and pay the money

[pepi2005]

2 hours ago, AloisAmrein said:

You are wrong. When I work for a foreign company while I am as a tourist in Thailand this not has to interest the Thai junta. Or you believe they can prohibit me to fulfill my work contract which is alone between me and my employers or customers, all not in Thailand.

then of course you're right ... I thought you're talking about living there & working for a company abroad.  :)

 

cheers, p

[hotchilli]

13 hours ago, Suttisan said:

Doesn't sound like good news for the TEFL industry. 

Or the agricultural, factory, fishing & construction industry... but I guess they won't be checked too thoroughly?

[Sydebolle]

If the Department of Labour would have a whiff of common sense .......... 

I had to present a "board resolution" of my company confirming that the board, represented unilaterally by me only, has decided unanimously to employ me for another year. The minutes of meeting are signed by me as minute taker and secretary of the meeting and counter signed as chairman of the company - to be approved at the next board meeting. 

 

They want pictures of me sitting at cleaned-up desk, holding a pen, NOT smiling into the camera, pictures of the house number outside the building and other rubbish.

In all fairness, what has all this to do with my qualification and ability to work here? 

AEC2015 allows fellow ASEAN citizen from neighbouring countries (Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Burma) to find legal  employment. Well, unless your business is in Bangkok proper or located in a province along the Thai border it is a strict  nyet and you have to go through normal work permit procedures. Some business have located their head office to a letterbox of a Bangkok lawyer and operate a "branch" where their business physically is operated ......... 

 

Well, I opted to close my business here and move my operation - it's USD 600 for a one-year multiple visa and work permit, issued within hours, no 90 days and no problem of legally hiring "alien".

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

5 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

If the Department of Labour would have a whiff of common sense .......... 

I had to present a "board resolution" of my company confirming that the board, represented unilaterally by me only, has decided unanimously to employ me for another year. The minutes of meeting are signed by me as minute taker and secretary of the meeting and counter signed as chairman of the company - to be approved at the next board meeting. 

 

They want pictures of me sitting at cleaned-up desk, holding a pen, NOT smiling into the camera, pictures of the house number outside the building and other rubbish.

In all fairness, what has all this to do with my qualification and ability to work here? 

AEC2015 allows fellow ASEAN citizen from neighbouring countries (Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Burma) to find legal  employment. Well, unless your business is in Bangkok proper or located in a province along the Thai border it is a strict  nyet and you have to go through normal work permit procedures. Some business have located their head office to a letterbox of a Bangkok lawyer and operate a "branch" where their business physically is operated ......... 

 

Well, I opted to close my business here and move my operation - it's USD 600 for a one-year multiple visa and work permit, issued within hours, no 90 days and no problem of legally hiring "alien".

They want pictures of me sitting at cleaned-up desk, holding a pen, NOT smiling into the camera, pictures of the house number outside the building and other rubbish.

 

I also had enough of the above harassment and closed down the company and moved to Cambodia

[futsukayoi]

14 hours ago, Slavomir said:

Bad news for digital nomads?

 

My understanding is that as long as all their services or work is being done entirely over the internet for clients outside of Thailand this is legal as long as they do not start to have employees or an office here.  It does however remain a grey area.  If for example they are receiving payments to Thailand or that would probably be stepping over the line.

[ratchaburi]

14 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Foreigners who engage in work different to that which is registered in their work permit will be fined up to 100,000 THB.  My lawyer told me to register too be able to work in all positions in the company to protect myself. I was informed that I could only work at the address my company was registered at, this is another stupid rule if you are working countrywide. 

That funny, as I'm able to work all over Thailand

[YetAnother]

here we go again, now i will have to show a work permit for mowing my grass

[IamNoone88]

12 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Have you ever had a Thai work permit or worked in Thailand? I have for over 20 years and I have never thought that there is nothing to worry about.

I have 13 years of work permits and running a professional business. Is it simple/easy? - No. But make the effort, follow the rules and there is no reason to worry. And no, I don't pay back handers and neither are they requested. 

[midzo]

15 hours ago, Slavomir said:

Bad news for digital nomads?

Don't think so. They were not mentioned.

 

But with the limitations on repeat tourist visas being enforced, the nomads won't be here long-term, anyway.

[quadperfect]

It just seems like the harder they push the behinder they get.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

1 hour ago, ratchaburi said:

That funny, as I'm able to work all over Thailand

The different work permits that I have had in Thailand before allowed me to work just at the address stated in the work permit, what is writing under conditions in your work permit?

[newatthis]

2 minutes ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

The different work permits that I have had in Thailand before allowed me to work just at the address stated in the work permit, what is writing under conditions in your work permit?

That's exactly right.  "A permit holder shall not.....change the locality or place of work from that which is specified in the permit unless prior permission is obtained from the registrar." So teachers can only teach at the school noted on the permit and teaching extra classes at home is officially a "no-no."

 

Replying to an earlier post, the minimum wage for Westerners is Thailand is 50,000baht per month,, but teachers are exempt from this requirement.

[NextStationBangkok]

They wanted to forget total English including what they speak now. Until they have a decent education policy, and decent affordable visas for teachers, they cannot save education system here.

 

It is already in coma. Mai pen rai....

[maxpower]

2 hours ago, ratchaburi said:

That funny, as I'm able to work all over Thailand

Me too, permit covers all provinces and the technical scope is quite wide. 
Also have a central office number should anyone question my position.

[johnarth]

Could be big trouble in city I live in, half the workforce are Cambodians