BANGKOK – With rising worries about foreign nationals, especially Chinese engineers, using student visas to work illegally on building sites in Thailand, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) and the Immigration Bureau are taking action.

These concerns grew after reports showed foreign workers using student visas to get around work permit rules.

Online groups like CSI LA and “Ru Tan Jeen” shared information about operations in places such as Lamphun, where student visas could be extended for 10,000 baht each, allowing illegal work across the country. Some claims even mention universities and government agencies helping these schemes.

Minister Supamas Isarabhakdi asked Lamphun Buddhist College and three private universities with Chinese funding to submit detailed records on all Chinese students. This includes which programs they joined, how long they plan to study, and the types of visas they hold. She expects these details within a week.

Supamas also named her secretary, Suchada Sang Taensub, to meet with immigration officers on April 23. They talked about ways to check foreign students more closely and prevent student visas from being used for work.

Universities found helping in these activities will face legal charges

Supamas said MHESI takes this issue seriously. Any school found helping or ignoring the misuse of student visas will face strict legal action. The ministry wants to keep Thailand’s higher education system honest and stop it from being used as a cover for illegal work.

MHESI is also building a central database for foreign students. This will let them cross-check records with immigration and other agencies. Admission rules for foreign students, especially for short courses or non-degree programs, will be reviewed and tightened.

During a meeting at MHESI headquarters on April 23, top officials from MHESI and the Immigration Bureau agreed to work more closely together. Immigration officers pointed out that short, non-degree programs—often managed by universities themselves—do not have much oversight, which leads to confusion over how long students should stay and if the programs are real.

To fix this, MHESI will now make universities submit full course descriptions for any non-degree program. The ministry will check these programs and send verified details to the Immigration Bureau to help approve the right visa lengths.

The Immigration Bureau also agreed to give MHESI real-time access to data on student visa approvals. This will help both sides keep track of students and act if rules are broken. Both groups plan to sign an MOU soon to confirm their partnership.

Somchai Morakotsriwan, Director-General of the Department of Employment, said working on a student visa is against Thai labour law unless the work is part of an academic internship.

He said the department is already investigating these cases and urged people to report anything suspicious. Anyone caught working with a student visa without approval will face charges under Thailand’s Foreigners’ Working Management Emergency Decree.

However, if their entry to Thailand was legal, they may not break immigration laws. On the other hand, people who enter Thailand without a visa and work are breaking two laws—entering illegally and working without permission.

This joint effort by MHESI and the Immigration Bureau is a big step toward stricter control of foreign student admissions and stopping student visa abuse. The meeting focused on visa approvals for non-degree international students to stop the misuse of the Ed Visas.

Five key actions were set for the Student Visa:

Program Information Disclosure

MHESI will require each school to give full details about its programs. This covers program names, who runs them, curriculum, class formats (online or in-person), length of the program (class times, days, and hours), and how many students each program can take.

2. Tracking and Compliance

Schools must keep track of student attendance and program participation. There will be rules for oversight and checking that students meet these standards.

3. Monthly Enrollment Updates

Schools need to report student enrollment or removal from programs each month using an online system. This will help decide quickly if a student’s visa should be revoked when standards aren’t met.