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Table Of Content

Introduction

Chapter 01 Working in Thailand 04

Chapter 02 Living in Thailand 10

Chapter 03 Obtaining a Thai Work Visa 16

Chapter 04 Obtaining a Thai Work Permit 20

Chapter 05 Thai Culture and Etiquette 24

Chapter 06 Jobs in Thailand for Expats 32

Chapter 07 Jobs in Bangkok 35

Chapter 08 Teaching Jobs 38

Chapter 09 Hospitality Work 42

Chapter 10 Business Opportunities in Thailand 46

Epilogue


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Introduction

If you are opening this eBook, you have probably already done some serious

thinking about how you want to live your life and how those desires line up with the

options available to you in your home country. Chances are you've considered these

factors with an open mind and a strong focus on your highest priorities. Your critical

thinking skills and willingness to look for options that may not have been immediately

obvious already put you on the right track for successfully doing business in Thailand.

Although my own priorities in life have not yet led me to Thailand, I can

sympathize with feeling dissatisfied with the most obvious paths to financial stability and

a fulfilling life within my home country. My interest in learning about other cultures has

lead me to other continents and through multiple countries, and I have made these

experiences possible largely through my own initiative. Were I to choose Thailand as my

next long-term destination, the issues covered in the following chapters are the first

things I would consider while preparing my next move.

Thank you for selecting this eBook in your research, and I hope you find the information

included within its pages helpful.

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Chapter 01 – Working in Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand can be an attractive place for Western expats to stay

and do business for multiple reasons. For one, an extended stay in Thailand is a great way

to learn about a rich culture with a long history. Thai culture is also heavily influenced by

Buddhism, which is practiced by a majority of Thai people. One Buddhist value that is

practiced particularly extensively is that of tolerance—Thai people are generally very

forgiving and laid-back. In fact, the Kingdom is sometimes referred to as the “Land of

Smiles” because of how friendly its people are. Another advantage to living in Thailand

is the relatively low cost of living—most Westerners can get a lot more value for their

money and live more luxuriously in Thailand than they would be able to in their home

countries. This makes Thailand, especially attractive to retirees living off of their savings

or pensions.

However, even with the cost of living being as low as it is, most foreigners

living in Thailand are not wealthy enough that they will be able to stop working

entirely. This book will focus on how to make money legally in Thailand if you are a

foreigner planning to stay in the Kingdom for an extended period of time.

Working as a Foreigner in Thailand

As a foreigner in Thailand, the biggest advantages that you will bring to your job

are your knowledge of your native language and culture, particularly if you come from

Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, or Ireland. This

knowledge will not only make you stand out to employers, but also probably be one of


the main factors that makes you employable in Thailand in spite of being a foreigner.

If you come from a Western culture, however, the differences between Thai culture and

Your culture will probably make things very difficult for you at first. Unlike many

Western cultures, Thai culture is highly collectivist, which affects more of the priorities

that dictate how they do things than one might think if they have never spent time in a

culture different from their own before. It is important that you do your research on Thai

culture ahead of time so you are less likely to be caught off guard. You will have some

difficulty adapting no matter how much research you do ahead of time and will never

gain as full an understanding of Thai culture as a native of Thailand has, but there are

still things you can do to make things a little bit easier for yourself and the people you

will work with. One valuable tool to help you develop an idea of what to expect before

you leave is the Hofstede Center's Country Comparison web page, which can be found

here, and their page for Thailand, which can be found here.

Even if you have a superficial understanding of how Thai culture works, you

will likely experience culture shock once you have been immersed in Thai society.

Culture shock might make you want to do nothing but hide in your room and surround

yourself with reminders and media from your home culture, but if you work through it

by keeping an open mind and continually exposing yourself to Thai culture, you will

have a very rewarding experience and learn to see both your own culture and Thai

culture in a new light. You will also have to get past your culture shock so you can

fulfill the responsibilities that will come with whatever line of work you take up during


your stay in the Kingdom.

Basic Legal Requirements for Working in Thailand

To protect job access for Thai nationals, employment of foreigners is somewhat

tightly restricted in Thailand. In order to work within the Kingdom, you will need to

enter the country with a work visa. If you enter the country with a different kind of visa

(or no visa), you will have to leave and re-enter the country with a work visa before you

can get a work permit. To obtain a work visa, you must have a job waiting for you before

you apply—otherwise, you will not be able to gather the required documentation. Your

job must require skills that Thai nationals are unlikely to have in order for your work

permit application to be accepted—for example, if you are a native (or at least very

fluent) speaker of English, you could look for a job teaching English. Companies that

deal with English speakers frequently, such as hotels, are also good places to look for

employment. Another way to work in Thailand is to get a job with a multinational

company that does business in Thailand. It is also possible for a foreigner to start a

business in Thailand, although there are restrictions.

Regardless of who you work for, you will need a work permit in order to work

in Thailand. It is possible to find work without one, but doing so will make you less

valuable to potential employers, riskier to hire because of the steep fines employers

face for hiring foreign workers without permits, and vulnerable to deportation or


heavy fines if you get caught.

Starting a Business

According to Thai law, companies in based in Thailand must be at least 51

percent Thai-owned, so you will need to find at least one Thai business partner.

Businesses in Thailand are also usually required to have at least four Thai employees

for every foreign employee, so you will need enough capital to pay salaries for four

people. It generally takes a new business 1-2 years to become profitable in Thailand.

You will also need to pay income tax on an income of at least 50,000 Baht per year.

Furthermore, Thai companies are usually required to have at least 2,000,000 Baht

registered capital for every non-Thai employee working for them.

When working with Thai employees, you will need to be very explicit about what you

expect from them. Thai society scores high on power distance and uncertainty

avoidance in Hofstede's 6-D model, which indicates that Thai people usually expect a

strong hierarchy in the Workplace and specific protocols to guide their actions. Open

criticism is also highly taboo in Thai culture—the level of offense, it will evoke for

many Thai people is on par with physical violence. So, taking all these factors into

consideration, you are most likely to develop a good working relationship with your

employees if you tell them exactly what you expect of them ahead of time, rather than


assuming they know what you want and will do it without you asking for it specifically.

If you don't, you will have to deal with the consequences yourself when you aren't

satisfied with the outcome. Bringing up mistakes after they have already been made will

sour your relationships with your employees and is unlikely to change anything for the

better. Another thing to keep in mind is that Thai people value relationships over

efficiency or the results of a transaction. If you focus on keeping everyone happy,

The work that needs to get done is far more likely to get done (eventually). But if you

stress your employees and clients out by not following their cultural norms (which will

be expanded on in chapter five and chapter ten), you will likely face many obstacles

while doing business in Thailand.

Working for a Thai Employer

One of the easiest ways for an English-speaking foreigner to find work in

Thailand is by teaching English. You will generally make 20-40,000 Baht per month as

a full-time English teacher. In order to teach in Thailand, you will need to have the

proper qualifications. Having some kind of TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign

Language) certificate will make you considerably more employable, and will probably

also make your work permit application more likely to be accepted.

It is also possible to find jobs with businesses that deal frequently with foreigners,

such as hotels or restaurants. You can also find employment working for international

companies that do Business in Thailand. However, these jobs will be more difficult to

find because the skills required are more likely to overlap with those possessed by Thai


applicants, and work permits for positions that could easily be filled by Thai people are

highly unlikely to be granted.


Epilogue

Competition for work for Westerners in Thailand is fierce, and with restrictions

on foreign businesses tightening, finding work within the Kingdom is becoming more

challenging. Thai people are very proud of their culture and will go to great lengths to

protect it from being changed by foreign interests. They also protect their own first,

which means prioritizing Thai job access over business opportunities for foreigners.

Even so, Westerners can learn a lot from Thai culture, and Thailand can be a great

place to live out one's retirement. Although there is plenty of competition, it is still

completely possible to make a living in Thailand as a foreigner.

Although you may have to struggle through a great deal of culture shock if you

move to Thailand, you will not be alone. Many expats have come to Thailand before you,

and for many different reasons. Many of them choose to write about their experiences

online, and are easy to contact. Furthermore, there are many expats who continue to live

in Thailand for you to meet once you are in the country. Although it is not advisable to

wall yourself off from Thai people and their culture by surrounding yourself with fellow

expats, you need not feel lonely for fellow Westerners during your stay in Thailand.

In addition, if you embrace Thai culture and seek out friendships, you will surely

be able to make friends with Thai people as well.

Although you will face difficulty, if you are persistent and smart about doing

business in Thailand, you can make your dreams of a different kind of life come true.


Wish you good luck! For additional reading Join us Online to our Facebook page to

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