Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Work Permit violations here in Thailand, specifically a recent announcement that a foreigner was arrested for being an illegal receptionist.

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, that is bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Hostel caught selling smuggled cigarettes on Koh Phangan. Quoting directly: "SURAT THANI: Two men, a Serbian and a Thai, have been arrested for selling contraband cigarettes and an American woman detained for working without permit, at a hostel on Koh Phangan. The arrests followed complaints by local residents that a store in The Wonderlust Hostel building in tambon Ban Tai was selling smuggled cigarettes. The guests were mostly foreigners, Tourist Police Bureau Chief Pol. Maj. Gen. Saksira Pheuak-Um said. The suspects allegedly told police they bought the cigarettes from a Bulgarian friend.." -  ahhhh, the infamous Bulgarian friend. The old Bulgarian friend story, old Bulgarian friend. I'm sorry, it just sounded, - "oh it wasn't us, it was the Bulgarian guy!" - okay.  Quoting further: "..about 20,000 Bahts' worth each time, and sold them to hostel guests at 100 baht a pack, and e-cigarettes at 600 baht each. During the raid, 23-year-old American (I'm going to redact the name) was also arrested for working as a receptionist at the hostel without a Work Permit."

So the point I'm trying to make with regard to this video, yeah, Work Permits are serious. Those that are just cavalier about this in the expat community, I think are being foolish. Look are Immigration out there looking at all times? It's not like Batman where they run a Bat signal and then secret Immigration cops come out and look for foreigners operating without Work Permits, no that's not the point. That being said though, you should be getting work authorized here in Thailand for exactly this instance. It looks like what happened to this young woman unfortunately was somebody else was doing something of an order of magnitude more important to Thai Police than mere Work Permit issues sometimes, and she sort of got caught under their limelight, that's the way it looks to me. As a result, she got kind of sucked into it, but at the end of the day, she didn't have a Work Permit and if you don't have a Work Permit in Thailand that's a problem because you are not work authorized and it's illegal to work in Thailand without work authorization. 

Now what ultimately will happen to her remains to be seen. I expect there will be some sort of fine, some sort of detention. It is possible we could see deportation associated with this and possible blacklisting. That being said, it remains to be seen but we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.