Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Work Permits, specifically processing of Thai Work Permits going into 2023. What do I expect things to look like in 2023? Well hard to say.

What I will say is we have seen a massive increase in inspections associated with the Department of Employment under the Labour Ministry here in Thailand. We have seen inspections increase pretty much one hundred fold. I have seen inspections in cases that we never used to see inspections in associated with ongoing Work Permit, both new Work Permit and renewal of Work Permit for that matter. It is not just folks who are setting up a Work Permit for the first time, we are seeing inspections of folks that have had their Work Permits for years if not decades.

And again, similar to a video I did on the Thai Business Visa processing going into 2023, there is going to be similar implications with respect to Thai Work Permits. I think what this means is you can expect processing of Work Permits to take a little bit more time if they are doing more inspections. There is highest scrutiny associated with work authorization to Thailand especially lo these past few weeks and I think going into 2023, I think we are going to see that trend increase more so. I think it's going to become more scrutinized and I think this is something that Expats should prepare for. Just understand things might take a little longer than they were in the past and there is going to be heightened scrutiny especially compared to the past few years under the Emergency Decree where officers had certain discretion where they could just kind of seal up a case because they just wanted to get it off their desks mainly, because they just had these people they had to deal with, they were stuck with them, they were in Thailand, okay let's use our discretionary power to make something work. That is not really going to be the case in 2023. So, expect again possibly slower processing and possibly more scrutiny associated with Work Permits here in the Kingdom of Thailand.