Last updated: 18 August 2026
Sources: Ministry of Labour Notification on Work Prohibited to Foreigners, Royal Gazette vol. 137, special part 92 ง, page 14, 21 April 2020 · Emergency Decree on Managing the Work of Foreign Nationals B.E. 2560 (2017), as amended by No. 2 B.E. 2561 (2018), sections 7, 8, 62 and 101
In short
Forty kinds of work are named in the current Ministry of Labour notification. But they are not one list of banned jobs. They sit in four separate schedules, and only the first is an outright ban.
Twenty-seven are prohibited outright. Three are open under international agreements. Eight can be done if you have an employer. Two — labouring and shop sales — can be done if you have an employer and entered Thailand under a government-to-government MOU.
And the forty are not a closed list. The notification also bans, outright, any work that another law reserves to Thai nationals — without naming those.
And if your work permit is issued through the investment promotion or petroleum route, section 62 says the schedules do not block it.
Where the list comes from
The list is not in the Emergency Decree itself. Section 7 of the Decree only gives the Minister of Labour the power to issue a notification, with the approval of the policy committee, declaring what work is prohibited — either outright or on conditions.
The notification currently in force was made on 1 April 2020 and published in the Royal Gazette on 21 April 2020. Clause 1 says it comes into force sixty days after publication. It does not print a date.
Counting sixty days from publication gives 20 June 2020. That date is our calculation, not text from the notification.
Four schedules, not one list
This is the part most English-language summaries flatten. Each schedule carries its own condition, written into the schedule heading.
- Schedule 1 — 27 items. Work prohibited to foreigners absolutely.
- Schedule 2 — 3 items. Prohibited, subject to the condition that a foreigner may do the work under an international agreement or an obligation Thailand is bound by under the provisions of law.
- Schedule 3 — 8 items. Prohibited, subject to the condition that a foreigner may do this skilled or semi-skilled work only where there is an employer.
- Schedule 4 — 2 items. Prohibited, subject to the condition that a foreigner may do the work only where there is an employer and where the foreigner was permitted to enter the Kingdom under the immigration law, under a memorandum of agreement or understanding the Thai government has made with a foreign government.
Clause 5 adds that for Schedule 4, taking a foreigner into employment is subject to conditions announced by the Director-General of the Department of Employment.
Schedule 1 — prohibited absolutely, with three exceptions written inside it
The heading says absolute. Three of the twenty-seven entries carry an exception in their own text.
- Wood carving — งานแกะสลักไม้
- Driving motor vehicles, or driving non-motorised vehicles domestically — except piloting international aircraft, or operating a forklift — งานขับขี่ยานยนต์หรืองานขับขี่ยานพาหนะที่ไม่ใช้เครื่องจักรหรือเครื่องกลในประเทศ ยกเว้น งานขับขี่เครื่องบินระหว่างประเทศ หรืองานขับรถยก (Forklift)
- Auctioneering — งานขายทอดตลาด
- Cutting or polishing diamonds or gemstones — งานเจียระไนหรือขัดเพชรหรือพลอย
- Haircutting, hair perming or beauty work — งานตัดผม งานดัดผม หรืองานเสริมสวย
- Hand weaving of cloth — งานทอผ้าด้วยมือ
- Mat weaving, or making articles from reed, rattan, jute, straw, bamboo, bamboo pulp, grasses, chicken feathers, coconut leaf ribs, fibre, wire or other materials — งานทอเสื่อ หรืองานทำเครื่องใช้ด้วยกก หวาย ปอ ฟาง ไม้ไผ่ เยื่อไม้ไผ่ พืชหญ้า ขนไก่ ก้านทางมะพร้าว เส้นใย ลวด หรือวัสดุอื่น
- Hand-making mulberry paper — งานทำกระดาษสาด้วยมือ
- Making lacquerware — งานทำเครื่องเขิน
- Making Thai musical instruments — งานทำเครื่องดนตรีไทย
- Making nielloware — งานทำเครื่องถม
- Making goldware, silverware or pink-goldware — งานทำเครื่องทอง เครื่องเงิน หรือเครื่องนาก
- Making stone-polished brass and copperware — งานทำเครื่องลงหิน
- Making Thai dolls — งานทำตุ๊กตาไทย
- Making alms bowls — งานทำบาตร
- Hand-making silk products — งานทำผลิตภัณฑ์จากผ้าไหมด้วยมือ
- Making Buddha images — งานทำพระพุทธรูป
- Making paper or cloth umbrellas — งานทำร่มกระดาษหรือผ้า
- Brokerage or agency work — except brokerage or agency work in international trade or investment business — งานนายหน้า หรืองานตัวแทน ยกเว้น งานนายหน้าหรืองานตัวแทนในธุรกิจการค้าหรือการลงทุนระหว่างประเทศ
- Thai massage — งานนวดไทย
- Hand-rolling cigarettes — งานมวนบุหรี่ด้วยมือ
- Tour guiding or tour arranging — งานมัคคุเทศก์หรืองานจัดนำเที่ยว
- Hawking goods — งานเร่ขายสินค้า
- Hand-setting Thai type — งานเรียงตัวพิมพ์อักษรไทยด้วยมือ
- Hand-reeling or hand-twisting silk — งานสาวหรือบิดเกลียวไหมด้วยมือ
- Clerical or secretarial work — งานเสมียนพนักงานหรือเลขานุการ
- Legal or litigation services — except acting as an arbitrator, and assisting or representing in arbitration proceedings where the law governing the dispute is not Thai law — งานให้บริการทางกฎหมายหรืออรรถคดี ยกเว้น (ก) งานปฏิบัติหน้าที่อนุญาโตตุลาการ (ข) งานให้ความช่วยเหลือหรือทำการแทนในการดำเนินกระบวนพิจารณาชั้นอนุญาโตตุลาการ ในกรณีที่กฎหมายซึ่งใช้บังคับแก่ข้อพิพาทที่พิจารณาโดยอนุญาโตตุลาการนั้นมิใช่กฎหมายไทย
Schedule 2 — open under international agreements
- Supervising, auditing, performing or providing accounting services — except occasional internal audit work, and work under an international agreement or obligation Thailand is bound by where the professional council certifies the qualification — งานควบคุม ตรวจสอบ ปฏิบัติงาน หรือให้บริการทางบัญชี ยกเว้นงานดังต่อไปนี้ (ก) งานตรวจสอบภายในเป็นครั้งคราว (ข) งานตามข้อตกลงระหว่างประเทศหรือพันธกรณีที่ประเทศไทยมีความผูกพัน โดยที่สภาวิชาชีพเป็นผู้ให้การรับรองคุณสมบัติ
- Civil engineering work — consulting, planning, design and calculation, construction or production supervision, examination, operation direction, systems organisation, research and testing — except practitioners qualified under the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement or other international agreements on cross-border engineering services, or holders of a Thai civil engineering licence — งานในวิชาชีพวิศวกรรม สาขาวิศวกรรมโยธา ที่เกี่ยวกับงานให้คำปรึกษา งานวางโครงการ งานออกแบบและคำนวณ งานควบคุมการก่อสร้าง หรือการผลิต งานพิจารณาตรวจสอบ งานอำนวยการใช้ จัดระบบ วิจัย ทดสอบ ยกเว้น เป็นผู้ประกอบวิชาชีพวิศวกรรมและวิชาชีพวิศวกรรมควบคุมตามข้อตกลงยอมรับร่วมคุณสมบัตินักวิชาชีพของอาเซียน (MRA) รวมทั้งข้อตกลงระหว่างประเทศอื่นที่เกี่ยวกับการให้บริการวิศวกรรมข้ามแดน หรือผู้ได้รับใบอนุญาตประกอบวิชาชีพวิศวกรรมควบคุม สาขาวิศวกรรมโยธา ตามกฎหมายว่าด้วยวิศวกร
- Architecture work — project study, design, construction administration and direction, inspection or consulting — except practitioners qualified under the ASEAN MRA on architectural services or other international agreements on cross-border architectural services, or holders of a Thai architectural licence — งานในวิชาชีพสถาปัตยกรรมที่เกี่ยวข้องกับงานศึกษาโครงการ งานออกแบบ งานบริหารและอำนวยการก่อสร้าง งานตรวจสอบ หรืองานให้คำปรึกษา ยกเว้น เป็นผู้ประกอบวิชาชีพสถาปัตยกรรมและวิชาชีพสถาปัตยกรรมควบคุมตามข้อตกลงยอมรับร่วมคุณสมบัตินักวิชาชีพของอาเซียนด้านบริการสถาปัตยกรรม (MRA) รวมทั้งข้อตกลงระหว่างประเทศอื่นที่เกี่ยวกับการให้บริการสถาปนิกข้ามแดนจากสภาสถาปนิก หรือผู้ได้รับใบอนุญาตประกอบวิชาชีพสถาปัตยกรรมควบคุมตามกฎหมายว่าด้วยสถาปนิก
Schedule 3 — skilled and semi-skilled, employer required
- Farming, animal husbandry, forestry or fishery work — งานกสิกรรม งานเลี้ยงสัตว์ งานป่าไม้ หรืองานประมง
- Bricklaying, carpentry or building construction work — งานช่างก่ออิฐ งานช่างไม้ หรืองานช่างก่อสร้างอาคาร
- Making mattresses or quilts — งานทำที่นอนหรือผ้าห่มนวม
- Knife making — งานทำมีด
- Shoemaking — งานทำรองเท้า
- Hat making — งานทำหมวก
- Garment making — งานประดิษฐ์เครื่องแต่งกาย
- Pottery or earthenware work — งานปั้นหรือทำเครื่องปั้นดินเผา
Two of these eight entries are not single occupations. Entry 1 carries four separate definitions — farming, animal husbandry, forestry and fishery — and entry 2 carries three. The count of forty is a count of entries, not of activities.
Schedule 4 — labouring and shop sales
- Labouring — งานกรรมกร
- Selling goods in a shop — งานขายของหน้าร้าน
These two are the entries most often reported as absolutely banned. They are not. They sit in Schedule 4, which permits the work where there is an employer and where the foreigner entered the Kingdom under a government-to-government MOU.
The definitions narrow both further.
Labouring means a person doing work using the hands, and normally working or using labour on simple work, where physical strength is the principal element.
Selling goods in a shop means selling goods in a wholesale or retail business establishment, including selling goods on a stall or at a shop located in a market or by the roadside.
The forty are not a closed list
Clause 2 of the notification has two limbs, and most summaries carry only the first.
The work specified in Schedule 1 attached to this notification, or work which the law requires the practitioner to hold Thai nationality, is prescribed as work prohibited to foreigners absolutely in every locality in the Kingdom.
So the absolute ban covers two groups: the twenty-seven named entries, and any work that some other law reserves to Thai nationals. The notification does not say which laws or which occupations those are.
Clause 6 adds a further layer. Where a law requires a practitioner to hold a licence or certificate, a foreigner can apply for a work permit only after obtaining that licence or certificate under that law.
Checking the four schedules is therefore not the end of the check. A job absent from all four can still be closed by a professional statute, or gated behind a licence.
And for one route, the schedules do not block the permit
Section 62 of the Emergency Decree deals with a foreigner permitted to work in Thailand under the investment promotion law, the petroleum law or another law. The responsible agency notifies the registrar, the registrar must issue the work permit within seven days, and the foreigner may work in the meantime.
The issuing of the work permit under paragraph two shall be in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed in ministerial regulations, and shall not be subject to the notification under section 7; and the work permit shall be valid for the period for which the person is permitted to enter and work under that law.
Read the subject of that sentence carefully. What the text lifts out from under the notification is the issuing of the permit, not the person. The decree does not say a promoted-company employee is outside the prohibition in general. It says the permit issued through this route is not gated by it.
Since the permit is what allows the work, the practical effect is that the four schedules do not stand between this route and a work permit.
So the schedules are not the last word in either direction. Clause 2’s second limb makes the ban wider than the forty entries, and section 62 lifts it for one route.
The job titles are not the rule — the definitions are
Attached to the schedules is a separate ten-page annex giving a definition for every one of the forty entries. That annex is where the rule actually lives, and it is the part most often left out when the list is copied.
Accounting reaches owners, not just employees
The definition of accounting work runs to seven numbered categories, and then adds who is caught by them.
This shall include performing duties in any one or more of the following capacities: (1) an independent contract service provider; (2) an owner, an executive, an employee or a member of staff at any level of an accounting service office or organisation, whether a natural person, juristic person, group of persons, business, private body, state enterprise or government body.
A foreigner who reasons that owning the business puts them outside the restriction is reading it wrongly. The definition names owners and executives directly.
The legal-services exception is wider in the annex than in the schedule
Schedule 1 entry 27 lists two exceptions. The annex expands the second of them into four further activities that appear nowhere in the schedule itself — liaison and research work for an arbitral tribunal or the parties, stenographic recording of proceedings, giving expert opinions, and work involving specialist technology for recording audio, images and documentary evidence used in the proceedings.
Clerical work is open-ended
The definition of clerical and secretarial work lists shorthand, typing, cash handling, bookkeeping, general administration, insurance, public relations, reception, ticket booking, library work, statistics, proofreading and photocopying — and then closes with “and other work in the duties of a clerk or of staff at clerical level as the establishment prescribes.”
That final phrase makes the entry wider than the activities it names.
Two more worth reading in full
Hairdressing and beauty work excludes general support tasks such as preparing and cleaning equipment, and excludes hair and make-up work by someone who came to Thailand to work on a film production permitted under the film and video law.
Thai massage is defined by reference to the traditional Thai medicine law — examination, diagnosis, treatment, disease prevention, health promotion and rehabilitation using Thai massage knowledge, by traditional Thai medical methods.
What the four schedules do not cover
Teaching does not appear in any of the four schedules.
That is a statement about this notification only. Clause 2’s second limb and clause 6 both remain in play, and teaching in Thailand is subject to licensing requirements under separate law. Absence from the schedules is not permission.
The penalty
Section 8 of the Emergency Decree prohibits two things in one section — working without a work permit or outside what the permit allows, and doing work specified in a notification issued under section 7, paragraph one.
Because both sit in section 8, there is no separate penalty provision for prohibited work. The penalty is the one in section 101, set out in The penalty for working without a permit in Thailand is not five years in prison.
A note on translation
The notification has no official English version. Every English rendering above is ours, and we give the Thai alongside each of the forty entries so that anyone who reads Thai can check us — and so that you can take the Thai term to a government office, where the English will be of no use.
Two renderings are worth flagging. Entry 13, งานทำเครื่องลงหิน, is metalwork: the definition describes cutting, beating, bending or pressing metal — mostly brass and copper — and then polishing it to a shine with stone. It is not pottery. And เครื่องนาก in entry 12 is a gold-copper-silver alloy with no standard English name; the annex does not define its composition either.
What we have not verified
The full text of sections 8 and 9 of the Emergency Decree has not yet been read from the gazette images in full. The wording quoted above comes from the parts that have been.
The commencement date of 20 June 2020 is our count from clause 1, not text.
We will update this page when either is confirmed.
Check with the government directly
- ratchakitcha.soc.go.th — the Royal Gazette, where the notification quoted on this page was published and where any replacement of it would appear.
- doe.go.th — the Department of Employment, the office that issues work permits and the right place to ask whether a particular job falls inside one of the four schedules.
- immigration.go.th — the Immigration Bureau. Schedule 4 turns on how you entered the Kingdom, not on the work alone, so questions about entry under an MOU belong here rather than with the Department of Employment.
Take the Thai wording of the entry with you. An official will recognise it; an English paraphrase may not match anything on their side.
Sources
- Ministry of Labour Notification on Work Prohibited to Foreigners, made 1 April 2020, signed by M.R. Chatumongol Sonakul, Minister of Labour — Royal Gazette vol. 137, special part 92 ง, page 14, 21 April 2020; with the four schedules and the ten-page annex of definitions attached, which carry their own page numbering
- Emergency Decree on Managing the Work of Foreign Nationals B.E. 2560 (2017), as amended by No. 2 B.E. 2561 (2018), sections 7, 8, 62 and 101
Revision history
18 August 2026 — First published.