After June 30 those caught working illegally in Thailand will be fined between B5,000 and B50,000, deported and banned from re-applying for a work permit in Thailand for two years.
Employers found hiring illegal workers will be fined between B10,000-B100,000 per worker. If employers repeat the offense, they will be fined between B50,000-B200,000 or face no more than one year in jail, or both, and can’t employ workers for three years according to Thai Royal Ordinance on foreign migrant workers 2560.
The Labour Ministry Gen Adul Sangsingkaew said that 37,414 have already registered themselves to work and that 98,478 have yet to come to the ministry’s one stop service centres to do so.
Under the cabinet’s Jan 16 resolution, which was later extended from March 31 until June 30, a total of 1.32 million migrant workers living and working in Thailand are required to register to ensure their employment is in line with Thailand’s migrant labour law, and so they can receive all the work benefits they are owed.
When the first deadline passed on March 31 only 961,946 workers had managed to complete their registration in time, which prompted the cabinet to extend it to June 30.
That leaves 360,222 migrant workers who still have to complete the registration process before the new deadline approaches.
Additional reporting by Bangkok Post