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ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawThailand Immigration LawThai "Sponsored Work Permits": What Is an "Employer of Record"?

Thai "Sponsored Work Permits": What Is an "Employer of Record"?

Transcript of the above video:

The notion of a "Sponsored Work Permit" has come up a lot in the last few weeks. I have had a lot of people asking me about this topic. They have been using this term "Sponsored Work Permit", and another thing that has been posed to me is "Employer of Record", this other term. These seem to be terms that are just being made up for lack of a better term. 

What it looks like is "Sponsored Work Permit" is being used euphemistically. Basically it seems to me to imply a Work Permit that is being sponsored by a company that someone is ostensibly working for to allow someone to come into Thailand and it looks to me like and I don't know the context of every given case, but this term "sponsored work permit" seems to be a euphemism for work permit being used pretextually simply to get a visa. It looks to me also based on what I am hearing, what people are telling me who are talking about this topic, is it is a work permit that is on a company that someone does not intend to actually work for. They are just using it as documentation to get a visa. They are also using it in the context of this notion of an "employer of record"; I will get into that in a minute.

One quick warning: if you are using any travel documentation that is not true to your actual circumstances, it is very unwise to travel on that documentation because that can be construed as a myriad things. We are making other videos contemporaneously with this one where we get into some of that but most notably it could be construed as Immigration fraud, it could even arguably rise to the level of trafficking. It could result in fines and even possibly prison time here in Thailand if you are deemed to be operating illegally and using a work permit pretextually or pretensively. So be careful. If you are not actually doing what you say you are doing on this so-called "sponsored work permit" or this "sponsored work permit" is simply being used as a pretext or a pretense to get you a Visa that is not good. The circumstances of why you are seeking a Visa should never be a pretext, it should never be a pretense. It should be truthful and accurate to your circumstances so that the Visa can be issued. Failure to do that can result in real problems and as I said we are making videos contemporaneously with this one where I get into the penalties associated and there is even jail time under certain circumstances associated with immigration fraud, fraudulently working in the Kingdom of Thailand.

Now This notion of "Employer of Record", I have seen that and I have heard that from folks that have contacted us. I don't even know what that means. I think that that has been thrown around out there to sound important but anyone that sponsors a work permit is an “employer of record”. That is all that means. I mean I employ people at the firm here I guess I am an “employer of record”. Anyone that employs anybody, a person can employ another person and be an “employer of record”. The recordation of the employment occurs when someone gets paid and payroll taxes etc. associated with that. That doesn't have any special meaning. So for those out there, and again I have had people call in and ask this question: "Are you an "employer of record"? Well yes, in a sense, but I think that people think that has some more significant connotation than it does and in point of fact no, it looks to me like this notion of being an “employer of record” is this term that is being used to make sponsoring a work permit sound more grandiose for lack of a better term, than it actually is