Unlicensed international school raided, 10 foreigners arrested

Police arrested 10 foreign nationals for working without permits at an unlicensed international school in Bangkok’s Prawet district, amid a broader crackdown on labour and education law violations.

Somchai Morakotsriwan, Director General of the Department of Employment (DOE), said officials acted on a tip-off from the public regarding allegedly undocumented foreign teachers working at a school located on Prawet Road.

A joint task force of officers from the DOE, Immigration Bureau Division 1 and Prawet Police Station conducted an inspection yesterday and discovered that the school had not obtained an official licence to operate.

Authorities also discovered 10 foreign teachers working without valid work permits. The individuals were of various nationalities, including Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Nigerian.

All 10 have been charged with working without permits and were handed over to investigators for legal proceedings. One employer was also charged with hiring foreign workers without work permits and operating a private school without authorisation, in violation of the Private School Act B.E. 2550 (2007).

Somchai stressed that foreign nationals seeking to work as teachers in Thailand must hold a valid non-immigrant visa and obtain a work permit before taking up employment. Tourist or transit visas do not qualify for employment.

Applications for teaching work permits must be submitted, along with professional teaching credentials and other relevant documents, to provincial or Bangkok employment offices in the area where the school is located.

Under Thai law, foreign nationals working without permits face fines ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 baht and possible deportation on conviction. Employers who hire undocumented foreign workers can be fined between 10,000 and 100,000 baht per worker. Repeat offenders may face up to one year in prison, fines of 50,000 to 200,000 baht per worker, or both, and could be barred from hiring foreign workers for three years.

The DOE urged employers and foreign workers to comply strictly with Thai labour regulations.

Further information is available through employment offices or the Ministry of Labour hotline 1506 (press 2), which provides assistance in English.