Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Work Permits. I am going to do a series of videos, I am going to kind of call it "Thailand Tales" and hopefully I will have a number of videos in this ilk. It may be even some sort of urban legends about Thailand; we may dispel them, we may prove them but this hashtag "Thailand Tales" we will go ahead and use for these kind of videos. 

What are we talking about here with respect to a lifetime Work Permit? Well in point of fact, when Work Permits were first invented, and they literally were created, they were a product of the creation of the Ministry of Labour which was created it is my understanding, back in the late 70s, early 80s. In the beginning, work authorization, once it was issued, it depended on circumstances, but once it was issued there was no expiration date on the Permit. So as long as you were working within the parameters of that Permit, folks could be authorized indefinitely. Basically it just came down to the fact that in my opinion they weren't thinking about it. They just had a mandate to start authorizing, because even prior to that you didn't need a Work Permit and it is one of the reasons the Business Visa doesn't have the work authorization built into it. They invented the Business Visa first, then they invented the Work Permit later and they both ended up getting administered by different sectors of the Thai Government specifically the Labour Ministry for the Work Permit and the Immigration Office for the Business Visa. When they first came out, yeah I have actually seen a couple of Lifetime Work Permits from some expats that have been out here a very, very long time and sure enough they have got a lifetime Work Permit, they maintain it and good for them. There are not many of those folks left. They are quite old at this point but yeah there was a time when you can get a lifetime Work Permit in Thailand.

Presently that is no longer the case. Work Permit applications are both reviewed and adjudicated for further extension generally on a yearly basis although depending on circumstances, it might be possible to have a two-year Work Permit or under the Smart Visa system, work authorization might be built in to the Visa itself although there is still an adjudication associated with labour authorization. 

So for those who are interested in Work Permits in Thailand, it may be a good idea to go ahead and contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to obtain labor authorization or employment authorization here in the Kingdom.