Jobs in Thailand for foreigners<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe law that actually lists them<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The prohibitions come from one instrument: the Notification of the Ministry of Labour on Work Prohibited to Aliens<\/strong>, signed 1 April B.E. 2563, published in the Royal Gazette on 21 April 2020 (volume 137, special part 92 ngor, page 14) and in force from 21 June 2020<\/strong>. It is issued under Section 7 paragraph one of the Emergency Decree on Managing the Work of Aliens B.E. 2560<\/strong>, as amended by the Emergency Decree (No. 2) B.E. 2561, with the approval of the policy committee given on 11 March 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTwo things follow, and most English pages on this subject still get both wrong.<\/strong> First, the Alien Working Act B.E. 2551 was repealed by that Emergency Decree, so it is not the governing law and its exceptions are not the current exceptions. Second, the list of “39 occupations reserved for Thai nationals” that circulates everywhere comes from a Royal Decree of B.E. 2522<\/strong> made under the older 1978 Act. Section 134 of the Emergency Decree preserved that Royal Decree only for so long as no notification had been issued under Section 7. One was issued in 2020, so that arrangement ended. The 2563 notification contains no express repeal<\/strong> of the old Royal Decree and did not need one, which is exactly why the superseded list keeps being republished as though it were current.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe notification does not give one list. It gives four schedules, and which schedule a job sits in decides whether it is closed to you outright or open on conditions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n- Schedule 1 (Clause 2): absolutely prohibited<\/strong> in every locality in the Kingdom. Twenty-seven entries, plus any work that another law reserves to Thai-national professionals.<\/li>\n\n
- Schedule 2 (Clause 3): prohibited except<\/strong> where an international agreement, or an obligation binding Thailand under the law, permits it. Three entries: accountancy, civil engineering and architecture.<\/li>\n\n
- Schedule 3 (Clause 4): prohibited except<\/strong> that a foreigner may do the skilled or semi-skilled work only where he has an employer<\/strong>. Eight entries.<\/li>\n\n
- Schedule 4 (Clause 5): prohibited except<\/strong> with an employer and<\/strong> admission to Thailand under a memorandum of understanding between the Thai government and a foreign government. Two entries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Clause 6 adds a separate gate: where another law requires a licence or certificate to practise a profession, a foreigner can obtain a work permit<\/a> only once he already holds that licence.<\/p>\n\n\n
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