I Want to Work in Thailand!

Question:

My dream is to live and work in Thailand. Is it difficult to get a work permit?

Tourist 

Answer:

When we talk about working in Thailand, it's useful to know the Thai mindset first: Thais like short-term tourists and resident senior citizens best. These groups threaten nobody, take no jobs from the Thais themselves, and they usually stay away from criminal behavior.

The type of foreigner the Thais—based on long experience—like less, are young or middle-aged men (well, 90 percent men and 10 percent women) who come here to live and make a living here.

A number of these people are in fact criminals, or at least unreliable people fleeing from financial problems in their home country. They often support themselves by talking their fellow unsuspecting countrymen out of their hard earned money. They do this by starting businesses in tourist-related areas—such as restaurants and bars, or something in the property arena.

Therefore, one can understand that the Thais

1) Have made it difficult to get work permits here,

2) Use a lot of resources to ensure that the work done is in accordance with the laws, and

3) Penalize violations of the law severely.

Having said that, there are after all those who manage to make it here. Because the Thais have reluctantly realized that they need some foreigners here to make the wheels go round in both tourism and business in general.

Here are some ways you can work on in Thailand:

1. Create your own workplace

A number of foreigners have created their own jobs and started up small businesses here. Thai law states that a company must be able to show a profit before they are allowed to hire a foreigner. So, how come some foreigners manage to start up new businesses with themselves on the books holding work permits? That’s the great mystery, but it happens with the help of great advisers and lawyers—and an ability to read between the lines.

If you want to start your own company, you must be aware that you’re required to hire four full-time Thai employees for every foreigner employed. And, every company must have an office with one work station for each employee. This law is not particularly well adapted to our new online world.

2. Become a teacher

The most common way to work in Thailand is to become a teacher. And, the most common subject is English, of course. Non-native English speakers may not apply. Teachers are not paid particularly well in Thailand. As a foreigner, you can expect a starting salary of 25-35,000 baht per month.

3. Be employed by a company

Being employed by a Thai company is not impossible. It’s in fact a feather in some Thai businessmen’s cap to have foreigners on the staff. However, you must find a way to get to know these business owners first. We meet foreigners here who work as translators and “ambassadors” for firms, there are also those who work as private tutors for children of rich families.

4. Working through the Internet?

What if you wanted to come here to live and work through the Internet but be paid from your home country?

Well, it's not allowed, as was clearly demonstrated last year when four Norwegians and two Swedes spent three weeks in jail in Pattaya after having run a legit (businesswise) call center from here. But, there’s little doubt that many foreigners in Thailand wholly or partially make a living via Internet activities, even though it’s against the law.

(From Thailands Tidende Issue 9/2011)