Text courtesy of The Phuket News:

Previously, foreigners who needed to obtain a work permit in order to work were prohibited from doing any work, for any employer, anywhere, and under any such conditions if such were not detailed and, therefore, permitted in the work permit itself. For example, if you had a work permit to run a factory as a manager, you could not also change to a different factory without a new work permit and starting the entire (expensive) process over again, or publish youtube videos online and make money as well, etc. etc.

That is no longer the case.

Until last year Thailand regulated foreign work permissions under the Alien Workers Act (2008) (the “Act”).

In 2017 the Emergency Decree on Non-Thais’ Working Management Emergency Decree, (2017) (“Decree No. 1”) repealed the Alien Workers Act (2008).

Decree No. 1, however, incorporated much of the repealed Act’s provisions and kept in force most of the regulations issued under it.

Then, on 27 March 2018, the Emergency Decree on Non-Thais’ Working Management (No.2) (2018) (“Decree No. 2”) was issued. Decree No. 2 amended Decree No. 1.

Section 70 of Decree No. 1 (and the Act) provided that “a person who is granted permission for working may not carry out the work of the type, with the employer, in a locality or on any working condition that is different from that specified in their work permit unless permission under Section 71 is obtained.”