Immigration and Labor Department Team Up to Arrest Foreigners Without Work Permits

The Immigration Bureau and the Ministry of Labor Thailand are reinforcing the requirement of work permits for foreigners who wish to conduct business or work in Thailand.

Many foreigners believe that if they set up a company and have their staff appoint them as the Managing Director they do not need to have a work permit. In fact, even if you are an employee in a company or the Managing Director who just tells people what to do, you are still be required to have a work permit.

Thailand's Foreign Workers Administration reported that only 10% or around 140,000 foreign workers renewed their work permits.
Work permits are also required for buying properties if you are the Managing Director of a company. At the moment a work permit is not required for selling properties but it is believed that that rule will be soon be changed.

When signing for most transactions at the Land Office, along with a work permit Managing Directors are also required to have a Business Visa issued by Immigration.

Work permits are not difficult to get if you follow the right procedures and have all of the required documents.

If you have a business visa and are no longer working you have seven days to change your visa at the Immigration Office.If you fail to do this you will be fined and the fines will be backdated to the date you last worked.The fine for working without a work permit is 200,000 baht.
Immigration has been cracking down heavily, especially on bars,restaurants and travel agencies as these are jobs that Thai people can perform.
Getting your work permit approved is often determined on your job description. The work permit will be approved easily if your job requires skills that are not possesed by Thais.

Once you submit the documents for a work permit, you must not let your visa expire. Even if you have a double- or triple-entry visa, you cannot leave again without invalidating your work permit papers. If you do have to go out of country and return on the same visa, you must get a re-entry permit from Immigration. The re-entry permit, like a work permit, is valid until your visa expires.

If you cannot get your work permit approved before your visa expires, you may have to get your visa extended.

The processing of a work permit can require several weeks or even months.