Thailand has warned employers against hiring migrant workers without valid permits or assigning them to jobs outside their legal rights as economic pressures in Laos and growing concerns over exploitation and human trafficking.
Thailand’s Deputy Spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office Patdarasm Thongsaluaykorn issued the warning on 4 September, urging employers to verify workers’ documents and comply with restrictions on occupations reserved for Thai nationals.
Authorities said that employers hiring foreign workers illegally face fines up to THB 100,000 (USD 3,040) per worker, imprisonment, and a three-year hiring ban. Workers may be fined from THB 5,000 to 50,000 (USD 152 to 1,520), deported, and banned from applying for work permits for two years.
According to Thailand’s Foreign Workers Administration Office, 4.24 million foreign workers held valid work permits in July. Of these, at least 306,806 Lao workers recorded across three major permit groups.
The figures do not include Lao nationals who may be registered under other categories and working illegally.
Illegal Work and Trafficking Risks
Thai employment inspectors reported that the number of Lao workers prosecuted for working without permits or in reserved occupations increased from 178 in 2022 to 746 in 2025. Cases have included street selling, shop sales, beauty services, and massage and spa work.
The risks can be particularly serious for Lao children.
Thai media, Prachatai, documented in a January 2026 investigation that Lao children traveled to Thailand after leaving school because of poverty and low incomes at home. Some reported working 14 to 15 hours a day, unpaid wages, threats, sexual assault, and forced sexual exploitation.
Recruiters, often relatives or brokers, cover worker’s passports and travel costs upfront before recovering the money from wages; some families mistakenly believe a passport alone permits legal work.
Economic Pressure Pushes Workers Across the Border
Teachers and labor officials interviewed by Prachatai said some children leave school because families cannot afford education or believe further schooling will not lead to better jobs. One southern Lao teacher reported that 40 to 50 students out of more than 800 dropped out annually, some later travelling to Thailand for work.
The investigation also cited Lao wages of roughly LAK 900,000 (USD 40) to LAK 1.6 million (USD 71) per month, compared with reported Thai earnings of around THB 7,000 (USD 212) to THB 13,000 (USD 395), making cross-border employment financially attractive despite the risks.
Laos reported over 73,000 undocumented workers abroad illegally in early 2025, and recorded 46 human trafficking cases involving 85 victims , including 40 underage women, and authorities arrested 95 people. Still, Lao migrant workers sent home an estimated USD 366 million in the first half of 2025, as authorities push safer legal migration pathways amid persistent exploitation risks.
