Caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered tough legal action be taken against foreigners working as tour guides, a profession reserved for Thais, government deputy spokeswoman Traisuree Taisarakul said.
This followed numerous complaints of foreigners working as guides in violation of an executive decree of 2017, Ms Traisuree said.
The law stipulated that foreigners were not allowed to work without a permit or to fill jobs reserved for Thai nationals, including working as tour guides. Violators were liable to a 5,000-50,000 baht fine and immediate deportation, and banned from seeking a work permit for two years.
Employers or businesses which employ foreigners without a proper work permit or in a reserved occupation were liable to a fine of 10,000-100,000 baht per foreign employee. Repeat offenders face a maximum jail term of one year and/or fine of 50,000-200,000 baht per foreigner. They will also be banned from employing foreigners for three years.
Ms Traisuree said the prime minister had instructed the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Royal Thai Police to strictly enforce the law, to ensure Thai people get the most benefit from the recovery of the tourism sector.
Since there were insufficient government personnel working in this area to monitor the whole country, people were also asked to report offenders to the Central Employment Registration Division of the Department of Employment, telephone 02-354-1729, or to the provincial employment office, or to the Department of Employment hotline 1694, the spokeswoman said.