Thought this article was a good point of discussion.

[members only]

So many people make it seem like Thailand's labor and immigration laws are crazy or out of the ordinary, when it couldn't be further from the truth.

"As long as you don't get paid, there's no law being broken"

"They won't care, everyone does it"

"I signed up through an organization who said it was okay"

The woman in the article signed up with "Workaway" to live with a family in the US and help around the house. In return she was fed and had a place to sleep. She then was going to do the same thing in Canada but was stopped when they found out what her plan was and denied entry, as that is considered work in Canada. When she was sent back to the US they took her into custody for working in the US, and now she is being held pending deportation.

Thailand's laws are not unusual in any way. Work is work, whether you are paid for it or not. If you are on a visa that is work restricted, you CANNOT work, you CANNOT volunteer, you CANNOT do anything that could be considered work in any way. You risk being arrested, banned and deported otherwise.