Thailand issues four major announcements on new visa measures

The Ministry of Interior of Thailand has issued four major announcements on new visa measures since July 15, 2024. These measures are intended to enhance the tourism industry, attract foreign investment, and bolster local businesses and communities.

New Visa Categories and Extensions:

1. Destination Thailand Visa (DTV): Designed for digital nomads, remote workers, freelancers, and those interested in Thai cultural activities. It is valid for five years and allows multiple entries, with each stay up to 180 days.

This visa can be renewed for an additional 180 days within Thailand. Spouses and children under 20 years old can also apply for dependent DTV visas.

2. Extended Visa-Free Period: Visitors from 93 nationalities now enjoy an extended visa-free stay from 30 to 60 days, encouraging longer tourist and short-term business visits.

3. Expanded Visa on Arrival: Additional nationalities are eligible for visas on arrival, increasing the total to 31 nationalities.

4. New Student Visa (ED-Plus): Aimed at undergraduate and higher-level students, this visa allows them to stay and seek employment in Thailand post-graduation.

Work and Legal Considerations:

The DTV visa is a significant step forward for digital nomads and remote workers. However, foreigners must adhere to the Foreigner's Working Management Law.

The law defines 'work' as any occupation, regardless of employer nationality. Therefore, activities potentially affecting Thai job markets may require a work permit, even if the work is for an overseas employer.

Clear guidelines from the Department of Employment (DOE) are anticipated to ensure compliance and build confidence among foreign workers.

Short-Term Business Activities:

With the visa-free period extended to 60 days, short-term business travelers must carefully evaluate their activities to ensure they do not constitute 'work' under the law.

Specific activities may require regular or urgent work permits, initially valid for 15 days and extendable for another 15 days.

Activities considered urgent or specific work include organizing conferences, conducting academic lectures, temporary internal audits, quality inspections, and machinery installation.

These measures ensure that while foreigners can take advantage of Thailand’s extended visa privileges, they comply with local employment laws. This ensures legal security and protects Thai citizen jobs.

These comprehensive visa updates mark Thailand's steps to attract foreign talent and investment, enhancing its international appeal and economic growth while maintaining a regulated work environment, reported The Nation.

SOURCE: ASIAN NOW

#Thailand - Shortage of migrant labour hits key sectors

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS SLOW DOWN; FISHERIES, AGRICULTURE ALSO AFFECTED

MANY SECTORS, including construction in the capital, fisheries in the South and agriculture in border areas, are facing labour shortages due to the tough new labour law, sources said yesterday as migrant workers began returning to Thailand.

A construction site of the Red Line train (Bang Sue-Rangsit) needed to slow down after many Myanmar workers left their work to reprocess work permits, an official said. 

Workers at the construction site at Bang Sue central terminal also left work, even though they did not need to: they incorrectly believed that their “pink card” was no longer valid under the new law, the official added. He noted that those workers might take 10-20 days to check or reprocess the register before getting back to work.

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However, other construction sectors were less affected by the new law, since major construction firms usually hire legal workers, according to an official at the State Railway of Thailand who declined to be named. 

Millions of migrant workers in Thailand were in a chaotic situation over the past week after the government issued a new decree to manage migrant workers. The decree took effect on June 23, threatening fines for employers of at least Bt400,000 for every illegal worker they hire. 

Only a few days after the decision, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha last Tuesday invoked his special powers under Article 44 to suspend four key articles of the decree until the end of the year. The suspended articles prescribe much harsher penalties against offending migrants and their employers until the end of this year. 

The suspension came too late for many companies, as thousands of legal and illegal workers panicked over the tough punishment and rushed to go to their home countries to process or reprocess their work permits and to register. More than 50,000 migrant workers reportedly returned home since last month, mostly to Myanmar and Cambodia. 

In order to end the chaos, the Labour Ministry will allow all Thai employers to register their Lao, Cambodian and Myanmar workers at temporary centres throughout the country from July 24 to August 7. 

While Prime Minister Prayut said earlier that he believed the workers from neighbouring countries would return to work in Thailand as there are demands in the market, Nit Ouitengkor, former president of Ranong Chamber of Commerce, said they might not return due to complicated legal procedures. There are more jobs available in their countries, including Myanmar, since the economy there is now growing faster than Thailand’s, he said. 

Ranong is Thailand’s southern port province, sitting next to Myanmar. The province is home to some of the most important fishery piers in the country. 

Many piers in the province yesterday were seen almost empty, while some were working with only half of the normal workforce. While it is estimated that more than 5 million migrants from neighbouring countries are working in Thailand currently, it is estimated that only half of them are documented. 

In the eastern border province of Sa Kaew, where there is a shortage of farm workers, local authorities coordinated with their Cambodian counterparts to encourage workers to cross the border to work. Many Cambodian workers have fled due to the new labour law in the past month, leaving many farms in trouble during the growing season. 

Sa Kaew provincial immigration chief, Benjapon Rodsawad, said Cambodian people are allowed to cross the border to work temporarily in the area in order to ease the current labour shortage.

With border pass papers, Cambodians would be allowed to enter and stay in Sa Kaew and neighbouring Pachin Buri province for seven days, he said, “so we have to strictly check their document in order prevent them from going deeper to other provinces or the capital”. 

Source - TheNation 

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Thailand - New work permit rules make for an uncertain May Day for migrant workers

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WORKING IN Thailand is becoming harder and more expensive for unskilled migrant workers from neighboring countries after the government imposed tougher policies addressing illegal |immigration.

Residing in the Kingdom for more than 12 years, 28-year-old Ei Dhan Dar from Myamar has already adapted to Thai society and can speak the language |fluently.

But despite her integration into society, she said she felt increasingly uncertain about her future in Thailand, since tough new regulations to register for work permits were issued, which entail a difficult and expensive process.

“Recently, I had to spend nearly Bt10,000 for the work permit registration fee and other related costs just to make my status legal, but I only earn Bt300 salary per day. It’s like we work hard to pay Thai bureaucrats and we are getting poorer in Thailand,” she said.

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“As I’ve lived in this country for a long time, I now feel that I have a bond with Thailand and I always hope that one day I can live comfortably in this country, but now I am not sure about this dream.”

Ei Dhan Dar is just one among hundreds of thousand migrant workers who have struggled to legalise their work status.

Labour Rights Promotion Network Foundation coordinator Surachai Mintun said his organisation had received many calls for help from migrant workers across the country, who had problems with the recent migrant worker registration, including some who were facing deportation.

“There are so many workers having problems with the registration because the regulation is unclear, specifies too short a period to register for a work permit, and lacks information for applicants,” Surachai said.

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According to the rule implemented this year, migrant workers who hold temporary pink identification cards have to register certificates of identity to get a passport and Thai visa, and then they have to register for a work permit within 15 days. If they fail to register within that period, their status will be illegal and they will be |subject to deportation.

The government cancelled its recognition of the temporary pink identification cards for migrant workers nationwide on March 31, requiring migrant workers to hold valid visas and work permits. There were an estimated 1.3 million migrant workers holding the temporary pink identification cards.

As a result of the rule, Surachai said migrant workers faced two major issues. First, many workers were unable to register for the work permit in time for various reasons, so even if they were |legally registered with authorities and holding a Thai visa, they |suddenly risked arrest and faced deportation.

The second problem is the cost of registration. Although the official cost was only Bt910, Surachai said, many workers had to employ an agent because the entire process was complicated and slow, which could cost as much as Bt10,000.

“It is very hard for workers to register by themselves because many of them cannot communicate in Thai and have limited knowledge about the bureaucratic procedures, so registering through an agent is the easiest way, but there is an extra financial burden,” he said.

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The tough new regulations are justified as an effort to tackle human trafficking and illegal migrant workers by the Labour Ministry.

Labour Ministry deputy permanent secretary Varanon Peetiwan has said the government wants to control the entire migrant labour system, meaning that all migrant workers should be brought to Thailand under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) system only.

Sakultara Bhupornwiwat, owner of a Samut Songkram squid processing factory, said she would like the government to reconsider the policy, because the MOU system was unreliable and unsuitable in practice.

“If I want to import workers via the MOU system, I have to pay a large amount of money first before the agent will recruit workers for me and there is no guarantee that I’ll get the workers. The business cannot rely on that,” Sakultara said.

“Moreover, the workers in the MOU system have to pay more than Bt10,000 in their home countries just to apply to work in Thailand. They cannot afford such an expensive fee. If they could pay that amount of money, why would they want to work in unskilled jobs in Thailand in the first place?”

She said that if the situation remained unchanged under the new policy, there would be a serious shortage of workers in the near future, which would harm not only her business but the country’s economy as a whole.

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Source - TheNation

No more visa Runs

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No more visa runs as

The honeymoon seems to be over. Anyone relying on the Thailand’s easy boarder run policy to stay in the country for an extended period of time will not be able to from 13th August.
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The one day visa runs to the neighboring countries borders to gain an additional 15 – 30 days has been a very popular and cheap way for many long term residents in Thailand to extend their stay here without the need of long stay visas, but this is about to change.
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Anyone wishing to stay longer must now leave the country in order to apply for a visa at consulates and embassies in other countries, something many are complaining is very inconvenient.
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The Immigration Bureau have already told the officials to refuse entry to foreigners on visa runs as a measure to stop the exploitation of tourist visas and visa exemptions to live or work here.
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Tourists wishing to extend their stay in Thailand must now need to exit the country and apply for a proper tourist visa or they will need to fly out of the country every thirty days to obtain a new stamp. However, the ‘fly in – fly out’ option will not last for very long as visa runs by air will be prohibited from August 13th.
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Immigration Bureau website says: “Leniency will be granted until August 12, but only for passengers arriving by air. Foreigners who come to Thailand must seek a proper visa in line with the purpose of their intended stay here.”
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These moves have come about to prevent people from simply coming in and out of the country without having to apply, and pay for, the proper visa required to stay in the country. This means that tourists will now have to secure a visa from a consulate outside of Thailand whether that is in their own country before they travel or in nearby countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos or Singapore.
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The issuing of visas from nearby countries is down to the discretion of the consulate used and the rules regarding the issue of tourist visas change on a monthly basis. Those who have already had several tourist visas may find their application is refused or they may receive a single rather than a double entry visa.
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Pol Colonel Thirachai Dedkhad said: “We have made it clear that if they want to work in Thailand, they must seek a work permit and get the right type of visa.”

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Source: Love Pattaya Thailand

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Thailand, Immigration Announcement.

Immigration Announcement About Visa Exempt Extensions & Other Changes On the 29th #Thailand

Immigration Website
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