Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the issue of foreign nationals being arrested in Thailand for illegally working. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Crackdown on illegal work results in over 140 arrests. 

Just very quickly, I think it's important for people to know that the Thai Government and Thais in general, view the issue of foreigners working illegally in Thailand as very important, and in a way that I don't think folks that come from other places fully understand or fully grasp insofar as it's not even so much protectionist, it's in line with notions of national sovereignty. Thais have an unfettered ability to work in Thailand. I mean not to put too fine a point on it, but the name is on the door, Thailand, the land of the Thais. So again, Thais in Thailand can do as they like with regard to making a living etc. Foreigner nationals, no, there are no restrictions on that, and Thais take those restrictions seriously. 

Before I jump in, I want to do a really quick plug. As I have noted in other videos, my better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok; Pancake Palace is the name. As the name implies, it's breakfast anytime. American breakfast, we also have English breakfast. We also have American Diner style food: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, chilli bowls, buffalo wings; we even have tacos now. So those who are interested, you want to come down and get some American Diner style food in downtown Bangkok, again link is in the description below, Pancake Palace. 

That said, let's jump into again Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Crackdown on illegal work results in over 140 arrests. Quoting directly: "More than 140 foreign nationals were arrested between March 16 and 22 in a sweeping crackdown on illegal employment in Chon Buri, Immigration Authorities said on Tuesday. Pol Maj Gen Songprode Sirisukha, commander of Immigration Division 3, outlined intensified operations targeting migrant workers who are employed without permits or in positions beyond authorised roles, especially in Pattaya."

"Beyond authorized roles", that's something that folks also - I haven't made a video sort of getting into that recently - probably not a bad idea to bring that up in this video. Yeah, you can have a Work Permit and your job description can be noted in that Work Permit and if you operate outside the parameters of that Work Permit, especially where one is operating in the very sort of near and dear Restricted Occupations, which I've discussed at length in other videos, you can find yourself - even where you have a Work Permit - find yourself falling afoul of Thai Labour Law under those circumstances. So it's something to bear in mind, Restricted Occupations are restricted. You can get a Permit for work authorization to do things that aren't on the restricted list, but again there is a difference there. That said, quoting further: "We are stepping up inspections, suppression and deportation of foreign nationals who violate Labour Laws,” he stated." 

So again, I have discussed this in other videos. The Thai Immigration Authorities are increasingly proactive with matters pertaining to Immigration generally, as there has been a paradigm shift away from Immigration being viewed as an administrative or even a purely law enforcement function and now it is viewed much more in the rubric of National Security, as I have discussed in other videos. But more to the point, this is more of an economic concern of many Thai nationals, namely foreign nationals sort of overrunning them in their own labour market; I even made a video recently where I was quoting from the Bangkok Post. They were talking about the "attacking hordes" of foreign nationals coming to Thailand to engage in business activity that might otherwise be restricted. 

The point I'm trying to make is the Thais take this seriously, and it's something that if you are in the expat community you should be aware of. If you are looking to come to Thailand to work, you need to get into work authorization and you need to be in an actual affirmed type of work authorization, one with an actual Work Permit. Now even bearing that in mind, you can only work in occupations which are unrestricted. So you can get a Work Permit for things that you are allowed to get a Work Permit for but there are even some things that no Work Permit can be granted to a non-Thai national for. So something to keep in mind. That said, it remains to be seen how this plays out in the long term and we will certainly be keeping folks updated on this channel as the situation evolves.