BANGKOK — The Labour Ministry has ordered a sweeping nationwide crackdown on illegal foreign workers following a high-profile raid on a childcare facility in Koh Phangan that resulted in the arrest of nine Thai and foreign suspects.

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Labour Minister Julapun Amornvivat said on Friday, May 1, 2026, that military officers, administrative officials, Koh Phangan police and Koh Phangan Immigration Police jointly inspected a childcare facility in the district, uncovering offences under laws governing the work of foreign nationals. The operation led to the arrest of nine suspects, though the minister did not specify their nationalities or the exact nature of the violations.

Upon receiving the report, Julapun said he acted without delay, immediately assigning the director-general of the Department of Employment to send officials from the Surat Thani Provincial Employment Office to the area to verify the facts. “If foreign workers are found to be working outside the scope of their permits or working without permits, legal action will be taken strictly,” he warned.

The minister also ordered the Department of Employment to tighten checks on foreign nationals working across Thailand, instructing central and regional agencies to coordinate with all sectors and carry out proactive blanket inspections nationwide. The goal is to ensure serious oversight, control and prosecution of offenders, alongside public communication to build understanding among employers, establishments and foreign workers entering Thailand to work so that they comply with the law.

Somchai Morakotsriwan, Director-General of the Department of Employment, said his department had received the minister’s instructions and had ordered provincial employment offices nationwide and Bangkok Employment Offices Areas 1 to 10 to inspect foreign nationals whose work does not match what they have been permitted to do, including those without work permits entirely. If offences are found, the law will be enforced decisively.

Thailand ordered nationwide inspections of foreign workers on May 1 — Labour Day. Trigger: raid on Koh Phangan uncovered unlicensed school with 89 foreign children. Checks cover both permit validity and whether actual work matches permit scope.https://t.co/rJOLKGyz3W

— Mikhail Borodin (@MikhailBorodin) May 4, 2026

The department will also increase scrutiny when considering the issuance of work permits to foreign workers in nationality groups that require security monitoring, and has assigned officials to integrate cooperation with relevant agencies to inspect, arrest and take legal action against illegal foreign workers more intensively in target areas.

Somchai outlined the penalties for violations. Foreign nationals who work without a work permit or outside their permitted rights face fines of 5,000 to 50,000 baht and will be sent back to their country of origin. They are also prohibited from applying for a work permit for two years from the date they are penalised. Employers or establishments that hire foreign nationals without work permits, or allow them to work beyond their permitted rights, face fines of 10,000 to 100,000 baht per foreign national hired. If the offence is repeated, they are liable to imprisonment for up to one year, or a fine of 50,000 to 200,000 baht per foreign national hired, and are barred from employing foreign nationals for three years.

The crackdown comes amid growing concern about illegal foreign workers across Thailand, from tourism hubs like Koh Phangan to industrial estates and agricultural areas. While Thailand relies on legal foreign labour to fill gaps in its workforce, the influx of undocumented workers has raised security and economic concerns, particularly when foreign nationals take jobs reserved for Thais or engage in criminal activity.

The department has encouraged the public to report any suspicious activity. Tip-offs can be made to the Central Employment Registration and Job Seekers Protection Division, Department of Employment, on the 4th floor of the Ministry of Labour building, by telephone at 0 2354 1729, through provincial employment offices nationwide, Bangkok Employment Offices Areas 1 to 10, or via the Department of Employment hotline at 1506, press 2.

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For the nine suspects arrested in Koh Phangan, the raid was the end of the line. For the thousands of other foreign workers operating in the shadows across Thailand, the message is clear: the Labour Ministry is watching, and the days of working without a permit may be numbered. The crackdown has begun, and no sector is exempt. From childcare facilities to construction sites, from restaurants to factories, the inspectors are coming. Whether they will find a trickle or a flood of violations remains to be seen, but the warning is unmistakable: comply, or face deportation and a ban from returning. Thailand’s labour market is tightening, and the door is swinging shut on those who thought the rules did not apply to them.