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Russians lead the way with Phuket work permits

Russians lead the way with Phuket work permits

PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) has released its ‘Labour Market Review’ for April 2025, showing that 25% of all work permits currently valid in Phuket have been issued to Russian nationals.

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By The Phuket News

Sunday 6 April 2025 12:24 PM


Photo: The Phuket News / file

Photo: The Phuket News / file

According to the report, a total of 15,620 valid work permits have been issued to foreigners working in Phuket.

Of those, 3,926 have been issued to Russian citizens.

The rest of the ‘Top 10’ countries of origin of foreigners issued work permits were given as:

  • Philippines 1,470 
  • China 1,202 
  • UK 1,150
  • France 856
  • India 707
  • Italy 446
  • United States 402
  • Australia 363
  • Ukraine 355
  • Germany 333
  • Türkiye 232
  • South Africa 201
  • Canada 191
  • Myanmar 191

The remaining 3,595 work permits currently valid have been issued to a variety of other nationalities, the PPEO reported.

Of the current work permits issued, real estate remained the top industry for work permits, with 2,407 issued for foreigners to work in the industry, the PPEO also noted.

A 1,538 work permits have been issued for foreigners working in hotels, along with 1,461 permits issued for foreigners working in Food & Beverage and a further 1,301 permits issued to foreigners working at schools and other education institutions on the island.

There are 1,102 foreigners working legally in Phuket as consultants, along with 876 working with ‘Travel Agents and Tour Operators’.

The remainder of the Top 10 ‘categories’ saw 224 work permits for foreigners working in ‘Computer-related Establishments’, followed by 199 in ‘Sports Facilities (Diving, Windsurfing, Golf, Tennis)’; 187 in ‘Other Entertainment Activities’; and 141 in ‘Other Residential Facilities’.

The remaining 6,184 work permits issued were described as for ‘Other Activity Types’.