Work permit now Baht 10,000

[didierhardy]

Legislators voted to pass a bill on the employment of foreigners, which raises the work permit fee to 10,000 Baht, from 1,000 Baht. Same amount for renewal or extension.

Dider

[Flashermac]

The delightful thing is that labour law says lecturers at government universities and other direct employees of the Thai Government do NOT need a work permit. (Makes sense, since the govmt gave us permission by hiring us in the first place.) However, back in the '80s somebody at Immigration police decided EVERYBODY needed a work permit, no matter what the law said. (They told me that to my face: "We don't care what the law says, WE say you have to have it." So now we are supposed to pay 1/3d of a month's wages for something we legally do not need???

[didierhardy]

I think you stay long enough in Thailand that you can understand.

Didier

[Pom Michael]

This has not yet been implemented (at least as of 31 May). Price is still THB 1,000.

[Guest]

I wonder if other countries will reciprocate and charge Thai nationals working there a simpliar amount for work permits?

JG

[Guest]

Just curious, is that 10,000B for a year?

[didierhardy]

If you get only a 1/2 year work permit, you will have to pay twice the amount of

Baht 10,000 for 1 year.

So if one have to pay the work permit out of his own pocket, better to prepare an additional 1,000 - 2,000 Baht

to "make sure" you get 1 year.

Didier

[Flashermac]

The way it works is you generally start out on arrival on a short term visa, say 90 days. You apply for your work permit, which is granted through the end of that visa. When your full one year visa comes in, you go get another work permit for the remaining 9 months. Thus you could end up initially paying 20,000 baht for your work permit. Now this is not much of anything, if you have a well paid expat job with an international company -- the people the work permit is intended for, those making say US$4,000 a month and up. But if you happen to be working at most teaching jobs (which pay less than US$1,000), it's an outright rip off. Furthermore, in quite a few large companies, the company pays for the work permit for its employees.

p.s. Unless government salaries go up quite soon, it will be increasingly hard to get qualified teachers -- except for those who just want to stay here a year or two and then move on. I've already seen applicants turn down at position at my university after the saw the salary that was offered. Hell, some punters send more than that to a bar girl every month. (I already know less qualified teachers making much more money at low name schools that lecturers at top universities. The prestige of a name school is nice, but it doesn't pay any bills!)

[Guest]

Hi Flashermac,

Agree with you wholeheartedly.

How many more teachers will move on to Japan and Korea and Taiwan because of this?

You sometimes wonder if Thailand really cares about its people learning English?

[Guest]

I am of of those who came back to Japan because of the money. My wife and son are both Thai citizens and I would love to work in Thailand but the salaries are a joke. I posted my resume at a few teaching sites and come March of this year I had a slew of private schools begging me to move to Thailand to teach. St. John's ect. but they were offering 45,000 to 55,000 baht per month. $1000 dollars a month isn't too bad if your living in Thailand but try to save enough for a visit home once and a while and you can kiss any savings goodbye. Hell I have been offered a better salary working in Phnom Penh! So now I am saving my yen trying to pay cash for a condo so if i do make the move at least I won't have rent to pay. For those of you who nothing about the teaching industry in Thailand i am talking about the so called good jobs, some schools pay as little as 22,000 baht a month.