Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Work Permits and changing jobs in Thailand. This has become something of a muddled situation. It is very dependent on where you are geographically located because different Labour Offices take a different tack on how to administratively deal with this. Also, if you are switching, if you are moving from one Labour Office to another for example employment offices here in Bangkok, there can be some implications there.

Let me preface by saying those who are in a BOI setup or dealing with a Smart Visa, this video isn't so much for you. BOI is dealing with the One Stop System which in and of itself is its own different sort of thing. We do assist folks with BOI and if you are switching from a BOI to a non-BOI situation you may want to contact a legal professional and gain some insight and guidance into how to deal with that because that can be a little bit nettlesome. The same can also be said for those in a Smart Visa or who are looking to convert into another status; that can be also a bit problematic for lack of a better term as well. 

We are talking here about an SME, basically you are working for a standard Thai company and you are looking to change jobs over to another one. In the past it was generally possible to deal with what was called a cross endorsement where essentially you had two employers stamped into the same Work Permit simultaneously and then you just move one off and keep the new one. Now essentially the way that we look at it and the way that the protocols are dictating now is it is as if you are canceling one Work Permit and then starting another one. In my opinion this needs to be done well or done right for lack of a better term and you really need to deal with somebody who knows what they are doing because it needs to be done in one smooth motion so that essentially you don't fall out of status, you don't end up with a hole in your work authorization status. It can happen, it can be rectified but it is better if you can forestall it and just have a continuous ongoing work authorization status that basically is unbroken. Essentially what we are talking about is one Work Permit is canceled on the same day or theoretically in the same moment that the new Work Permit begins; that is the optimal way to deal with it. Again some fact patterns will dictate that a different course of action apply but in most cases we like to see this all done in one smooth motion.