Thought this article was a good point of discussion.

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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.

I currently have a non-O foundation volunteer visa and work permit that I've held for 15+ years. I'm switching to a religious (RA) visa soon. The department of religion said I need to apply for an E-visa and recommended getting it in Penang, Malaysia.

The problem is that I can't apply for an E-visa if I'm in Thailand. What's the process for switching visa types like this?

I see my post was removed. The answer from Tod was great. Not sure why it was removed. I had a follow up question about my wife and son. Do they need to apply separately or is there a place to include them as "followers" on my application?

Hi

I had a vulnteer visa during covid, and then you extended it to me many times.

2 years ago, I left and went back after 6 months and they didn't let me go back in.

I did not overstay. I had legit stamps during covid and exited with no issues. When I went back they asked where did you vulenteer and I got nervous and didnt explain well since I didnt. So they got pissed.

Now 2 years passed and I got a new passport. Can I come back or am I black listed?

Thanks

I’m on a non O volunteer visa and the first 90 days expires soon. Seems like I can’t get an extension due to work permit issues. I only need another 60 days to finish my tasks.

Can I do a border run and return same day with a tourist 60 day visa?

What’s the process and best way to do this from Chiang Mai?

We will be staying in Thailand for about two months as tourists, visa-exempt (from US).

Is it illegal to also volunteer while on a tourist visa? My understanding is some countries don’t want foreign tourists volunteering while they are on a tourist visa.

I’m interested in possibly volunteering in an orphanage or local school. I have several years of experience teaching EFL & I’m also a Speech-Language Pathologist. We’ll be traveling with my young daughter and she struggles with interactions with peers and I was thinking it might be beneficial to do something like this with her while we are there (both benefiting local kids and her at the same time). Possibly an hour or two a day or at least a couple times a week. Im not looking for paid work.

I read about the volunteer visa, but I don’t think it applies, as volunteering is not our main purpose. Can anyone provide insight and/or point me in the right direction for info about volunteering while on a tourist visa?

TIA!

Hello! I’m looking for information or experiences with switching from a volunteer/foundation visa to a business/teaching visa through a school. Has anyone done this recently? Can this be done within country? Thank you!

Hi,

Can anyone give me advice on obtaining a volunteer/working visa for Thailand please?

Is it easy to get?

How long is the process?

How much will it cost?

Thanks

Asking for my daughter, who is 19 and currently living in Chiang Mai on a tourist visa.

She's just signed a12month apartment lease and is staying for a number of reasons, medical treatment, she's volunteering 3 days a week and she's planning to study TEFOl and Thai language.

Question; What would be the best visa for her to apply for and can she do this without leaving the country? She is self funded although has no recent activity in her uk bank account, she's been living off prepaid travel cards so far. She's getting a regular monthly income of 28k baht and we are trying to sort out the best bank account for this.. maybe WISE, Starling, Monzo?

Does anyone know how many dependents can come with you on a non immigrant O volunteer visa, if any?

Hi, I'm looking for some advice regarding a non-immigrant type O visa based on being adoptive parent of a Thai child.

We'll be applying from the UK via the eVisa system. We have been based in the UK for the past year (British citizens) and before that we were in Thailand for 9 years on a volunteer visa.

My husband and I plan to return in August with our biological son (14, education visa, registered at International school in Bangkok) and adopted daughter (11, Thai and British citizenship, registered at International school in Bangkok, special needs). We want to volunteer with a registered Foundation and have sufficient funds outside of country to support the family.

My questions are:

* Can two adoptive parents follow the same adopted child or would one of us need to apply for the guardian visa to follow our son's education visa? As I understand it is possible to get a work permit on the former but not the latter, is this correct?

* Are these visas currently being issued on the basis of having an adopted Thai child? A recent post suggested that somebody in a similar situation had been denied the application at Chaeng Watthana. This is where we would potentially be applying for our extension.

Thanks in advance for any relevant experience or advice.