Illegal Vietnamese workers in Thailand in danger of arrest

Following the signing of an agreement on labour recruitment between the two countries, Thailand began recruiting a number of Vietnamese workers for construction and fishing jobs from September 2016 but Vietnamese workers have shown little interest in either of the fields.

Sombat Nivesra, deputy director general of the MoL’s Employment Department, says that according to unofficial statistics, around 50,000 Vietnamese people are currently working in Thailand, with most of them being illegal workers who run the risk of being fined under the law of Thailand.

Anusree Tubsuwan, attached to the Secretariat of Prime Minister, says Thailand has no plans for an expansion of labour cooperation fields with Vietnam.

At present, most Vietnamese workers arrive in Thailand with tourism visas and then illegally remain in the country. They seek work as street vendors, waiters in restaurants, or as seamsters in garment workshops.

The Thai Government is granting work permits for foreign labourers seeking employment in Thailand with a deadline of March 31, 2018.

Employers must register their workers before March 31. After that date, illegal workers will be fined in accordance with Thai regulations.

The MoL have announced that although around 880,000 foreign workers have registered to work in the country, they are unable to finalize all of the procedures yet, so these workers will be able to work in the country until June 30.