Jobs forbidden for foreigners - Labor ministry says law is out of date and there will be changes

[Mad mick]

15 hours ago, ukrules said:

I literally can't wait to see how they <deleted> this up, I'm almost certain that whatever they change it will be to the detriment of the country as a whole.

Last half nail almost in the coffin " Simply farangs are not wanted at all dont come for a holiday 20,000 thb enter show and tell atm cards r banned as proof at customs go check  balance slip for proof " only quality chinese allowed in even though not spent 1 baht in thailand all paid in country of origin .this new law is that the end of tourist guides for the chinese and all the stores at mbk owned by Indians  , Arabs  , Chinese  Nepalese,  rich Burmese . close down all over seas owned hotels

no os management how far do they intend to go " completly close whats left of this country ""  Im over it " Totally racist country on verge of collapse , All country's should just stop

investmenting criky human trafficing alert catogary at 2 how worse can they it  get only number 1 left for them" public debt out of control any wonder no jobs " when thais go abroad same deal no thais allowed to work or work off student visas as do now  + on 3 month holiday visas all thais must report every 90 days with extra long queues for them grill them " all parks + zoo's must charge thais double price for every thai  + go buy off vendor double price as must be rich to go school in a western countries same deal as they do to us " its only fair  no working at all on os visas cancel all thais " let them go cry army jaunta " no english teachers to teach thai army full stop  kw_i's anyway .... they r becoming more incellar country daily , thais can't get jobs construction because thai companies will not employ them burmese , cambodians work for half price " fix that loop hole first same farang owned companies in thailand make them employ thais before top up with neighbour country's workers " Ahh Amazing thailand .

[bristolgeoff]

my friend build a house and had so many builders he sacked because of poor workmenship.he is using a tank type system for the toilet they have tried to get it right 6 times and failed every time.i wait and see if the last attempt is a success.something needs to change for sure in that field

Edited July 20, 2017 by bristolgeoff

[silent]

4 hours ago, joecoolfrog said:

Excellent article the main points of which have been articulated many times by members on this forum. Of course they are usually just dismissed as the bitter rants of ' Thai bashers '.One hears so many grandiose ideas proposed by the authorities but the fundamentals of education , lateral thinking and languages , are never addressed. One might think that certain people dont actually want change in the country !

Ya think?

[Arkady]

One important point that needs to be pointed out regarding the current 1979 decree on restricted occupations is that the decree doesn't provide  any penalties for violation.  The application of the law has simply been that the Labour Ministry will not issue work permits that specify those occupations and no penalties applied to those who pursued those professions under a work permit stating something else.  I assume that this omission will be rectified in the new decree.  

 

Among others, this could be bad news for Bangkok's legions of foreign lawyers who illegally practice law while pretending to be consultants and business managers.  The first thing most of them do when they come to Thailand is ironically break Thai law by illegally practising their profession.  Anyway, they have had a good run over the last 38 years, so can't really complain if it all comes to an end.     

[Arkady]

54 minutes ago, Mad mick said:

Last half nail almost in the coffin " Simply farangs are not wanted at all dont come for a holiday 20,000 thb enter show and tell atm cards r banned as proof at customs go check  balance slip for proof " only quality chinese allowed in even though not spent 1 baht in thailand all paid in country of origin .this new law is that the end of tourist guides for the chinese and all the stores at mbk owned by Indians  , Arabs  , Chinese  Nepalese,  rich Burmese . close down all over seas owned hotels

no os management how far do they intend to go " completly close whats left of this country ""  Im over it " Totally racist country on verge of collapse , All country's should just stop

investmenting criky human trafficing alert catogary at 2 how worse can they it  get only number 1 left for them" public debt out of control any wonder no jobs " when thais go abroad same deal no thais allowed to work or work off student visas as do now  + on 3 month holiday visas all thais must report every 90 days with extra long queues for them grill them " all parks + zoo's must charge thais double price for every thai  + go buy off vendor double price as must be rich to go school in a western countries same deal as they do to us " its only fair  no working at all on os visas cancel all thais " let them go cry army jaunta " no english teachers to teach thai army full stop  kw_i's anyway .... they r becoming more incellar country daily , thais can't get jobs construction because thai companies will not employ them burmese , cambodians work for half price " fix that loop hole first same farang owned companies in thailand make them employ thais before top up with neighbour country's workers " Ahh Amazing thailand .

 

I think you are rather over reacting to a law that has never ever been specifically directed at farangs and is 38 years old and badly in need of updating.  The original law was to deal with imported Chinese coolies.  Now the issue is to do with migrant labour from neighbouring countries. 

 

Some professions followed by a number of farangs as well as non-farang foreigners, such as law and accounting, are on the current list but, as I have pointed out, there has never been any serious effort made to prevent foreign professionals working in those fields.  We will have to wait and see whether these professions remain on the list and whether there will be any penalties for violation.  Apart from these professional fields, it is hard to argue that a large number of farangs want to work in restricted professions such as labouring and retail and even harder to argue that Thai citizens are not qualified to do those jobs. 

[Shaunduhpostman]

I wouldn't hold my breath on this one. Laws need to be vague, and contradictory or even, as they are complaining about, outmoded so that there is maximum flexibility in "interpretreting" them. 

[kannot]

17 hours ago, bornredi said:

the thais are their own worst enemy, many people do not want to move to a country to just retire and  sit  and drink all day, they want to be active and start and run a business and pass on their skills to others

i  dont........i just wanted to make  money, so set the Wife  up instead

[kannot]

1 hour ago, bristolgeoff said:

my friend build a house and had so many builders he sacked because of poor workmenship.he is using a tank type system for the toilet they have tried to get it right 6 times and failed every time.i wait and see if the last attempt is a success.something needs to change for sure in that field

only 6!! I gave  up, in the end  built my two houses  alone, they  look great, best thing I ever  did in my life

[micmichd]

17 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Biggest mistake you will ever make in Thailand.

 

My advice would be ONLY to come here to sit and drink all day, preferably with a 20yo on your lap. 

 

Chok dee!

What if a Thai national ask you for advice? Are you supposed to refuse? 

[JustNo]

3 hours ago, Time Traveller said:

Me too. Then I can relocate my Thai Doll making and Mullberry Paper manufacturing business back to Thailand.

Not to the mention the global Alms bowl shortage.....that occupation definitely needs to open up to foreigners so Thailand can become the Alms bowl hub of Asia.

 

Seriously, get a dose of reality. Thai buearocrats and politicians talk all they want about changes and "modernizing", but over the last 3 decades I've seen, nothing really changes in Thailand. Only fools go beleiving their empty promises.

 

AND the most ridiculous thing of all, the Labor Dept has discretion over all work permit applications anyway, so even if the occupation is not on the restricted list you still need to justify why a thai can't be hired instead of hiring the foreign worker......So yes, the truth is the forbidden occupation list is meaningless.

I did say I am not holding my breath 

[MaiChai]

Wonder how being part of ASEAN affects this? Thought the idea is people from ASEAN countries could freely move and work in other ASEAN countries? That would mean this law does not apply?

[silent]

2 hours ago, Xaos said:

Hope they will allow farmers gas parties

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
 

Looks like another learned enough English to be dangerous.

[Sydebolle]

Great news - looking forward to the amendment because then I can go back doing ice carving and cigarette rolling again ;-) 

[theguyfromanotherforum]

One 

On 7/19/2017 at 7:03 AM, Father Fintan Stack said:

Oh, what a surprise that this article appeared today as well.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-18/skills-gap-tests-thai-junta-s-goal-of-forging-innovative-economy

 

One third functionally illiterate?

 

I don't believe this stat.

[wirat69]

3 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

13. Paper hand job.

Ummm......

 

    

[eppic]

I would say a major issue skilled or educated work force in thailand is Salary.
 
The average salary of a programmer is 29,000 baht (less than $900) while the average salary of a programmer in a western country is much higher. IE Middle and upper-class Thais send their children to get educated in a western country and a small percentage come back to actually contribute to Thailand's skilled workforce. 

Interesting given that we can't even find a reasonably well-educated, English-speaking Thai nanny for that amount. My Thai friends tell me it is a face issue -- most educated Thais would rather work in an office even at a much lower salary because it makes them feel more important when talking to friends.

Meanwhile, in our previous home Singapore, a far more costly country, we could hire an excellent nanny for far less. Importing a good English-speaking Filipina nanny is of course not allowed.

[Juan B Tong]

OMG!  Is that s photo of My Mate Mate as a boy?  

[metisdead]

Off topic posts have been removed. 

[tryasimight]

7 hours ago, wealthychef said:

I'm sitting right now in a 38000 baht per month condo where the door does not hang straight and the toilet does not flush correctly and the lighting is inadequate and there are no dual paned windows.  A little foreign know-how would go a long way here.  Thais would benefit greatly by at least allowing 20% of these protected occupations to be done nationally by foreigners to provide "salt for the leaven."  

A little foreign know how would have told you not to the rent the dump!

[tryasimight]

8 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

One of the Hooters in Bangkok has a nice looking white woman working there, presumably as a manager or trainer.   

I dream of a day when Bangkok becomes more like Hong Kong and Singapore and we see far more westerners living and working here.    Sadly I doubt it will ever happen.

Hopefully it will never happen. Why would you wish that on anyone?

Two dumps of cities like Singapore and HK are enough for this world.

Most sterile boring places. Particularly Singapore.

[wealthychef]

32 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

A little foreign know how would have told you not to the rent the dump!

Live and learn!  :-) 

 

[canuckamuck]

21 hours ago, SoFarAndNear said:

Should give foreigners with thai wife and children more possibilities like no foreign/thai worker quota. So you can at least work legal for the own family business.

 

21 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Would be a disaster in practice.

 

Be open to all kinds of abuse. Marriages of convenience, sham marriages to be eligible for business ownerships and employments or just to be able to obtain non O visas and stay long term in the country, for the under 50s or those who don`t have 800000 baht for retirement extensions. I have no doubts this is already happening on a huge scale.

It defies logic that a country will not allow a man who has a wife and children here a means to stay with them and also earn a living. 

There should at least be an easier path to residency, like they have for women married to Thais, for someone who has been married 5 years or more,

[curlylekan]

6 hours ago, munchlet said:

Well I understand the cynical nature of the replies here, but this eduation issue actually goes to the heart of what is wrong with Thailand, actually, the biggest issue if faces, SKILLS, or rather the lack of them. The education ministry is regarded as a prime milk cow for whichever party gets to run it, My daughter, who holds a Thai passport, worked in a Thai School and could not believe the sycophantic rubbish relating to nationalistic rubbish that was being stuffed down their throats, not to mention the mind numbingly facile nature of the curriculum. There are so many skills which could be transferred to Thai nationals by liberalising laws relating to foreigners working here.

 

I recently met a South African Gal who was teaching English in Surat Thani. She told me that 1) She had to pass all the students, regardless of how hopelessly moronic they were and, even more amazingly, get this, 2) was not allowed to teach grammar in class only how to speak. The reasoning behind this is apparently that only Thai nationals are capable of teaching English Grammar to Thais. This explains so much. I have met Thai teachers of English in the Thai system, I could hardly make them understand me, let alone understand their replies, until I reverted to my own mangled Thai landguage skills.

 

Aside from this there is the rote learning issue, corruption at every level, mind numbing centralised bureaucracy and just for even more fun, the fact that there have been 17 Education ministers in the last 16 years. No policy, no continuity. Thailand will not die if these problems are sorted out, but it is never going to reach its potential. It seems that the only growth business I can detect is around is massage spas, and the number of girls in there with qualifications coming out of the wazoo in all kinds of subjects is amazing. Their skills are being wasted. The degrees they have are probably useless and/or in totally irrelevant subjects to the ones required by the  real economy. Surely it is time the government gets the idea that unless a serious upgrade of education takes place, it is condemning its young to a life of totally unambitious mediocrity. They are just being set up to be exploited by venal buisness owners rather than being free thinking individuals able to realise their potential.

 

I love this country. Have been here for most of the last 30 years. This is its real tragedy, the waste of human resources promoted by its own crooked and outdated education system........ Shame, real SHAME.

Really, foreigners are not allowed to teach English grammar? It is no wonder I've read that other countries do not look at ESOL teachers who teach in Thailand as something beneficial on a resume. I've even read that some countries look at teaching English in Thailand as a degrading mark on ones resume. Also, it is no wonder that many Thai's confuse the tenses of English words.

 

It's up to a country to do what it wants, sovereignty, be it Thailand, China, or Ghana, but one reason I enjoy traveling in Europe or even China, is I can have a deep conversation with almost any European person and when it comes to China, the younger crowd is getting there as well. With most Thai's, only simple conversations, and with some, moderately thought out conversations. Ladyboy's often seem the individual's who can speak and understand English the best.

 

I don't wish to see the culture change whatsoever and I'd imagine that was part of the intent of the original laws, aside from the economic reasons, but a more through education is always good, in any country.

[Thechook]

Great with changes I may invest in cigarette rolling.

[duanebigsby]

9 hours ago, hotchilli said:

The list should be zero, it's protectionism at best, racist at worst!

It's no where near racist. You should see the list of prohibited jobs someone from Canada can't do in the U.S.

[whaleboneman]

11 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

In order refresh memories of the current list of prohibited occupations, it seems a good time to recall that masterpiece of translation work that appeared on the Ministry of Labour's website on 11th August 2015 and stayed for a few days until remarked upon by the local English language press.

 

Career aliens do not.

Not alien to the professional set of career. Professional and not an alien to do.

Account end decree.
Set in professional video and tea alien life that do not.
2522.

1. The proletariat.

2. Farmers gas party animals of the forest or fishery, except that the use of specialized expertise or the control of farms.
3. The masonry construction or other carpentry work.
4. Carved wood.
5. The driving vehicle. The driver or vehicle that does not use machinery or mechanical. Exception of the pilot countries.
6. The sale of every page.
7. The auction.
8. Monitoring or control services unless account the interim audit.
9. The cut or polished diamonds or pebble.
10. The haircut or the curl of beauty.
11. Work hand-weaving.
12. Of woven mats or work appliances with rattan reed or straw, hemp bamboo pulp.
13. Paper hand job.
14. Lacquer work.
15. Thai musical work.
16. Job filling machine.
17. Work a gold or silver otter.
18. Lghin a job.
19. Job Thai dolls.
20. Berth blanket mitt work.
21. The card.
22. The products made from silk hand.
23. Job Buddha.
24. Work knife.
25. Indoor work with paper or cloth.
26. Work shoes.
27. Work hat.
28. The broker or the agent unless the agent or broker in the business of international trade.
29. Work in the engineering profession. Civil Engineering. Associated with the design calculations and organize research project construction control testing. Or advice. Excluding the special expertise required.
30. Job-related professional architectural design drawings about price director of construction or advice.
31. Crafts apparel.
32. The sculpture or pottery making.
33. The roll by hand.
34. The guide. Or the organized tour.
35. Hawk the product.
36. Work individually hand-printed Thai characters.
37. The young, and some hand-twisting spiral.
38. The clerk or secretarial staff.
39. Work for legal services or legal action.

 

This is Google's cache of http://www.mol.go.th/en/content/page/6347. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 11 Aug 2015 04:10:07 GMT.

The current page could have changed in the meantime. Learn more

Thanks for my morning laugh. Looks like they may have used google translate.

I thought I knew all about sex, but I've never had a #13.

[Damrongsak]

On 7/19/2017 at 10:05 AM, Father Fintan Stack said:

...  My advice would be ONLY to come here to sit and drink all day, preferably with a 20yo on your lap.  ...

No, no, no.  That job will surely be added to the list of jobs that Thai men aspire to and you'd risk deportation.

[YetAnother]

expect worse

[TheLobster]

On ‎19‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 3:05 PM, Father Fintan Stack said:

Biggest mistake you will ever make in Thailand.

 

My advice would be ONLY to come here to sit and drink all day, preferably with a 20yo on your lap. 

 

Chok dee!

Been there but lost interest after a few months and realised what a shallow life that is.

 

For the intellectually challenged it is probably a perfect life.

[The Old Bull]

Whatever they do will not be for the benefit of for the workers. It will be for the rich employers so they can continue to use cheap labour from Burma and Cambodia.