The Labour Ministry's Employment Department and the Thai Modelling Industry and Agencies Association have joined up to campaign against the hiring of foreign models without a work permit.
Arak Prommanee, director-general of the Employment Department, said many male and female models entered Thailand on a tourist visa but obtained work as models for various products without a permit.
Many modelling firms in Thailand liked to hire them, he said, adding that some models were paid as much as 50,000 baht an hour without paying tax.
The models were from countries such as Ukraine, Brazil and Israel and from every continent.
Some of them were under 18 years of age. Therefore, the firms that hire them risk being charged with using child labour and forced labour as well as prostitution which are regarded as human trafficking issues, Mr Arak said.
The Employment Department and the Thai Modelling Industry and Agencies Association plan to hold a press conference this month to launch a campaign against modelling firms hiring foreign models without a work permit.
The stand to be charged with violating Section 51 of the Foreign Workers Employment Act of 2008 and are liable to five years imprisonment or a fine of 2,000 to 100,000 baht, or both.
The firms that employ illegal foreign models are liable to a fine of between 10,000 and 100,000 baht for each model hired.