Illegal Employment of Migrant Workers: Fines by Section

The shortest answer is a fine of 10,000–100,000 Baht per migrant worker, and repeat offenses carry a prison sentence. However, vague numbers are unhelpful if they cannot be verified. Therefore, this article specifies section numbers for every point so you can refer to the original text yourself and be aware of outdated figures still circulating online.

Penalties for Employers

Case	Penalty	Section
Employing a migrant worker in violation of Section 9 (without a work permit)	Fine of 10,000–100,000 Baht per migrant worker	Sec. 102
Repeat offense	Imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or a fine of 50,000–200,000 Baht/person or both and prohibited from employing migrant workers for 3 years from the date the court's judgment becomes final	Sec. 102, paragraph two
Failure to notify the registrar upon employing a migrant worker or when a migrant worker leaves employment (within 15 days)	Fine of not exceeding 20,000 Baht	Sec. 103 (Duty under Sec. 13)
A person who is not an employee under Section 35 but facilitates the employment of migrant workers	Imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding 600,000 Baht or both	Sec. 110

All of the above refers to the Royal Ordinance on the Management of Migrant Worker Employment B.E. 2560 (2017) the version updated by the Royal Ordinance (No. 2) B.E. 2561 (2018), which came into effect on March 28, 2018.

The most overlooked point is the third row — Many employers hire legally in every aspect but forget to notify when an employee leaves employment and are later fined without realizing what they did wrong.

Penalties for Migrant Workers

• Working without a work permit (in violation of Sec. 8): Fine of 5,000–50,000 Baht. There is no longer a prison sentence. After paying the fine, the person shall be promptly deported from the Kingdom. — Sec. 101
• Long-term consequences heavier than the fine: Those previously penalized under Sec. 101 cannot apply for a new work permit until at least 2 years have passed since the penalty. — Sec. 64/1 This means if your employee is charged with this offense, you cannot re-employ them for another 2 years.
• Sec. 101 does not apply to migrant workers who are victims or witnesses in human trafficking cases.

Figures still circulating online but no longer in use

If you have read these figures, that content has not been updated since B.E. 2560 (2017).

Figures commonly found	The reality
Employer fine of 400,000–800,000 Baht/person	This was the rate under the first Royal Ordinance B.E. 2560 (2017), which was repealed by the second version B.E. 2561 (2018). The current rate is 10,000–100,000.
Migrant worker imprisonment not exceeding 5 years, fine of 2,000–100,000	The original text of Sec. 101 has been repealed. Currently, the fine is 5,000–50,000, with no imprisonment.
600,000 Baht as an “employer penalty”	This refers to Sec. 110, which is a different matter — it applies to individuals who are not employees but facilitate the employment of migrant workers.

Two duties often confused: Employer's and Employee's

When there is new employment or a change of employer, the law stipulates two separate sets of duties. Performing only one set is insufficient, and one party's duty does not disappear because the other party has fulfilled theirs.

Who	What to do	When (within)	Form	Section
Employer	Notify the registrar of migrant worker employment and when they leave employment	15 days	BT.52	Sec. 13 (Failure to do so: fine not exceeding 20,000 Baht under Sec. 103)
Migrant worker themselves	Notify the registrar of the employer, workplace, and primary job description every time the employer changes	15 days	BT.55	Sec. 64/2

And if you need to amend the work permit details to match the new employer, use form BT.44 with the fee. Detailed steps are in the article Changing Migrant Worker Employers 2569 (2026)

Figures you should not trust from anywhere yet

• Allowing an employee to work outside the permitted job category — This is definitely an employer's offense. However, content on the internet cites inconsistent rates. Please confirm with the Provincial Employment Office before using any figures.
• Do not confiscate an employee's passport or work permit, whether for fear of them absconding or fear of not recovering document costs. — Besides being a legal risk, it is also an issue that inspectors consider to be human trafficking.

5 immediate actions to avoid learning these sections through direct experience

1. Check complete set of original documents — Passport, VISA, work permit, and non-Thai nationality ID card (How to spot fakes is at 4 Checkpoints for Fake Documents)
2. Check that the employer's name on the work permit is yours — If it doesn't match, it means they are not yet your registered employee.
3. Check that the job category matches the actual work performed before moving someone to another duty.
4. Set an expiry reminder 60 days in advance — Renewal periods have fixed deadlines; missing them means no retroactive action. (Current open period can be found at Submit before Dec 11, 2569 (2026))
5. Notify entry and exit every time within 15 days, even if the employee is with you for only one month.

Let us handle it for you

If you don't want to check everything yourself every time, the Exworker team provides document checks and handles the full renewal process. See details and service fees on the page Migrant Worker Work Permit Renewal Service

References: Royal Ordinance on the Management of Migrant Worker Employment B.E. 2560 (2017) and (No. 2) B.E. 2561 (2018) (Government Gazette, Vol. 135, Part 19 A) · Letter from the Department of Employment, Bureau of Migrant Worker Administration, dated August 20, 2568 (2025) · Data as of August 22, 2569 (2026)