Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are posing the question "can you have Work Permits on a Thailand Elite Visa?" I have this come up at a number, a bit of correspondence, folks have been asking me, actually somebody asked me in person "Oh I saw online where I can get a Work Permit with an Elite Visa now." I went over to the link they showed me, it was from some private service provider who assists with Elite Visas not dissimilar to us, although it seems like all they seem to do is stuff associated with Elite Visas. In any event, not naming names or anything, yeah as has always been the case I did these videos years ago. It has always been possible to in theory have a Work Permit with a Thailand Elite Visa I want to be clear what I mean on this, have a Work Permit with a Thailand Elite Visa, not a Work Permit on a Thailand Elite Visa. What can happen although it is kind of rare and it is a little bit anomalous but I have seen them, I have actually processed Work Permits this way, is somebody that has an Elite Visa, in theory if they want to work in Thailand they have to do what anybody else has to do. Oftentimes they are going to have to leave the country, go get a B Visa which operates simultaneously, sort of in tandem if you will with the Elite Visa, come back in on that visa and then use that B Visa to get a Work Permit. 

The reason I bring this up, it shouldn't even be viewed as in tandem. It's sort of like you switch one visa off when you leave to come back in with a new B Visa and then get a Work Permit on that new B Visa. Elite Visas in and of themselves are not work authorized nor do they act as a platform for Work Permits. So as has always been the case, you can have a B Visa that is running alongside having an Elite Visa. In fact I've had some retired clients that went ahead and went with Elite and then they got a job again, and they went back on the B Visa and Work Permit status so in a sense they weren't using their Elite during that time period that they were in Work Permit and B Visa status. Kind of an odd thing to be but understand it is very different than using an Elite Visa to get a Work Permit. Quite honestly in the circumstances wherein it is an Elite Visa sort of operating in parallel with a Business Visa and Work Permit, the Elite Visa is kind of superfluous. 

So if you are looking to come to Thailand to work primarily, you probably, again it is going to be circumstantially dependent, the best thing to do would be contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance as to the best way to proceed but understand the Elite Visa itself is not work authorized.