Class dismissed! Foreign teacher busted for illegal online lessons
A foreign language teacher with a huge online following has been hauled in by Thai immigration cops, after teaching Thai without a licence from her living room turned classroom.
The female online foreign teacher found herself at the centre of a classroom controversy after being arrested in Samut Sakhon for illegally offering online Thai lessons, despite not holding a valid teaching licence.
The woman, who built a booming online business teaching Thai reading, writing and conversation skills via Facebook and Zoom, was caught out during a crackdown by the Immigration Bureau on foreigners working without proper permits.
Colonel Pokchat Chaisukwattana, head of Samut Sakhon’s Immigration Office, led the sting, confirming the teacher had attracted more than 100,000 followers and ran paid classes twice a week, charging 1,500 baht per student.
“She was conducting online lessons every Friday and Saturday for two hours. While there is great demand for language courses among expats, working without a teaching licence is strictly against Thai law.”
Her digital schoolhouse had been running for over two months, pulling in expats eager to learn Thai for better integration. But while her grammar may have been on point, her paperwork wasn’t.
The investigation revealed the woman held a work visa limited to manual labour roles, meaning she was barred from teaching or engaging in professional services.
She’s now facing charges for working without a licence and working outside authorised employment categories, both of which carry hefty fines ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 baht and potential deportation.
Immigration officials are also moving to revoke her right to stay in Thailand.
Col. Pokchat said the arrest forms part of a broader clampdown aimed at protecting jobs for Thai citizens and ensuring foreigners respect employment laws.
“All foreign nationals must ensure their work complies with the 2017 Management of Foreign Workers Act.”
The law also slaps employers of illegal foreign workers with fines between 10,000 and 100,000 baht per worker. Repeat offenders could be jailed for up to a year, fined as much as 200,000 baht, and barred from hiring foreign workers for three years.
Lesson learned? In Thailand, if you’re planning to teach, you’d better make sure your visa gets top marks.
Latest Thailand News
