The poll, which ran online for two weeks, asked: “Is the Thai work permit necessary?”
That question was prompted by the news last month that a work permit is not required in order to receive income from renting out a condo, an announcement that brought much relief to expat condo owners across the island.
However, the disparity of that decision (see story here) compared with the need for a work permit for any other income-creating activities by foreigners threw the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons in a country where work permits are required by any foreigner even doing free volunteer work.
For decades the concept of whether or not money is received has been irrelevant as the definition of work in Thailand remains “engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefits” (see Ministry of Labour website here).
In defence of the work permit, 39 per cent of those who took part in the poll voted, “Yes, the work permit is a valuable form of identification and should be upgraded to a photo ID card.”
A further 5% of respondents voted, “Yes, the work permit is a valuable form of identification and should be kept in the booklet form as is.”
Interestingly, 6% of respondents in the poll supported the Thai work permit in its current format while noting that it performed no essential function on its own, voting, “No, the work permit not necessary but there is no harm in keeping it.”
To all this support, a neat 50% of all respondents in the poll voted, “No, the work permit is pointless and should be discontinued immediately.”
To see the poll results, click here.
To see the results of our previous poll, which asked, “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?” click here.
To suggest a poll, email execeditor@classactmedia.co.th with “Poll Suggestion” in the Subject line.