When people think about Thailand, they think about a very laid-back country with people who are constantly smiling and don’t seem to have a care in the world. What you think is true to a point, but when it comes to employment law, the people at Thai immigration and the labour office take their jobs very seriously and they expect you to follow the rules of the law. Many young people come to Thailand to travel around and to fund their trip, they try to do a job here which is usually as a sales representative or an English teacher. The one thing that they seem to overlook is that they need to have a work permit for doing a job like this and if their employer doesn’t provide them with one, they can receive a heavy fine, jail and a very likely will get deported. This will bring an abrupt end to your travels and it’s likely you won’t be allowed back into Thailand for a number of years.
This is why a Thai Work Permit is an essential thing to have if you’re to stay in the kingdom and not have to be looking over your shoulder all the time. There are certain service providers that can get you your work permit legally and so if your employer doesn’t know the process, you can refer them to these providers. If you think you can continue on skirting the law, then you are wrong and it will catch up with you eventually. The benefits of having a work permit far outweigh not having one and the following are some of the reasons why you should really not take a job unless they can provide you with a legal work permit.
– You can earn your money legally – Having a work permit is one of the successful ingredients of any business and there being some small changes made to the work permit in Thailand and while you are restricted to the work that you do with a certain employer, you may be allowed to do the work as well. This means that you get to make a living wage and you get to do all of it legally. Knowing that you’re following the employment laws put you in good stead with the local police officers, immigration and the labour office as well.
– It’s easier for money transfers – Transferring money into Thailand is a breeze, but transferring money out is a completely different story. Thai banks are reluctant to transfer Thai baht out of the country and this makes it very difficult to send money back to your home country. If you have a work permit however, they know that you have earned your money legally and sending money by bank transfer becomes a lot easier.
– It’s easy to open a bank account – Trying to open a bank account in Thailand is a bit of a nightmare if you’re just tourist or a retiree. The bank has a list of things that they need to ask for in a work permit is at the top of their list. If you don’t have a work permit, you can experience great difficulties in opening a savings account, but with a work permit in your hand opening a new bank account is a fairly simple procedure. To learn more about Thai work permit requirements, have a look here.
These are only three reasons why a Thai work permit is essential if you intend to do some work in the kingdom. It will make your life so much easier and you will be staying within the confines of the labour laws.