Thailand domestic worker glossary

Legal framework

MR 15 (B.E. 2567)

Ministerial Regulation No. 15 (B.E. 2567 / 2024), issued under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) and effective 30 April 2024. It extends minimum wage, a written contract, a paid weekly rest day, paid public holidays, paid annual and sick leave, working-hour limits and overtime to domestic workers, both Thai and migrant. It replaced the much thinner MR 14 (B.E. 2555 / 2012).

Why it matters: MR 15 is the single law that turns an informal "help around the house" arrangement into a regulated employment relationship. It binds the employer whether they realise it or not.

Labour Protection Act (LPA)

The Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) is Thailand's core employment statute. MR 15 is subordinate legislation issued under its authority, applying selected LPA chapters (including the severance schedule in LPA section 118) to domestic work.

Why it matters: When a contract or agency cites "the LPA," it is pointing at the parent law; the domestic-worker-specific rules live in MR 15 underneath it.

Restricted (reserved) occupations

A set of 40 occupations restricted to Thai nationals, organised in four lists: 27 absolutely prohibited (List 1), 3 allowed only under international agreement (List 2), 8 skilled or semi-skilled with an employer (List 3), and 2 under MOU or G2G with an employer (List 4). The basis is a Notification of the Ministry of Labour under the Royal Ordinance B.E. 2560.

Why it matters: Household and "maid" work is not on these lists. The bar on hiring a foreign maid is the MOU work-permit channel, not occupational prohibition. The old "39 restricted occupations" figure comes from the superseded 1979 Working of Aliens Act and should not be used.

Social Security, Section 33

Section 33 of the Social Security Act B.E. 2533 is the mandatory social-security scheme for ordinary employees. Domestic workers are statutorily excluded from it. Thai domestic workers may join the voluntary Section 40 scheme; migrant domestic workers are largely ineligible for either.

Why it matters: MR 15 gave domestic workers many rights but did not grant Social Security access. Private health insurance is the practical workaround, and for migrant workers it is usually a required cost in the work-permit package.

Immigration & the MOU route

MOU labour system

The government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding channel. It is the only legal pathway for hiring a low-skilled foreign domestic worker from one of Thailand's four MOU partners: Myanmar, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam. The flow runs: employer demand letter and quota, a name list from the origin country's labour ministry via a licensed agency, work-permit fee and entry through a designated checkpoint, a one-day orientation at a Department of Employment reception centre, then residence notification to the Immigration Bureau within 15 days.

Why it matters: If a worker did not come through the MOU (or a registered in-country regularisation), the employment is not legal, however good the intentions. See our MOU process explainer.

Demand letter / quota

The employer's formal request, filed with the Provincial or Bangkok Employment Office, stating how many MOU workers they need and in what roles. Approval sets the employer's quota and is the first stage of the MOU process.

Why it matters: The demand letter is the employer's responsibility and the worker should never pay for it. Some brokers illegally sell demand letters; if a worker is asked to buy one, that is a scam.

Work permit

The official document authorising a named foreign national to do a specific job for a specific employer, issued by the Department of Employment under the Royal Ordinance on the Management of Employment of Foreign Workers B.E. 2560 (2017). A migrant domestic worker's permit typically runs for two years, renewable once, to a four-year maximum before a cooling-off period.

Why it matters: Working without a permit exposes the worker to a fine of ฿5,000–50,000 and deportation (no prison), and the employer to a fine of ฿10,000–100,000 per worker for a first offence (Sections 101 and 102).

e-Work Permit

The mandatory online work-permit system at eworkpermit.doe.go.th, de jure mandatory since 13 October 2025 and requiring the ThaiID app. All new applications, renewals, cancellations, amendments and registrations (skilled and MOU, including domestic workers) flow through it.

Why it matters: Manual paper filing is being phased out; the current grace deadline for paper submission is 28 July 2026 (a technical-fault exception only).

Non-LA visa

The non-immigrant visa category used by MOU low-skilled labourers. It is the visa class a migrant domestic worker normally holds. It is distinct from the Non-Immigrant B ("Non-B"), which is the visa for genuine professional roles with a qualifying corporate employer.

Why it matters: A household is not a qualifying Non-B employer and maid duties are not a Non-B occupation, which is why the MOU / Non-LA route exists for domestic work in the first place.

Nationality verification (CI)

The process by which a worker's origin country confirms their identity and issues a passport or Certificate of Identity (CI). It is a prerequisite for legal work-permit status, because the permit must attach to a verified identity document.

Why it matters: A worker whose nationality is not verified cannot hold a valid permit, which leaves them exposed to exploitation. Verification documents belong to the worker and must never be confiscated.

Pink Card

The pink-coloured identity card issued to a registered migrant worker, confirming they are in the registration system. In the migrant-worker context its validity is tied to the work-permit cycle (roughly 1–2 years per cycle), not a standalone ten-year card. The 10-year figure belongs to a different Department of Provincial Administration regime and is misleading here.

Why it matters: A pink card on its own is not a work permit. A worker needs both, and the card lapses when the permit cycle ends.

Repatriation

The return of a migrant worker to their home country, either at the end of a permit cycle, on termination, or after the four-year MOU maximum, when the worker must repatriate before a cooling-off period and any re-entry.

Why it matters: Repatriation costs and timing should be set out in the contract. A worker pressured to "pay to leave" or surrender documents at departure should contact a hotline. See our scam red-flags page.

Money & cost

Recruitment / service fee

Money charged for arranging a job placement. Under the Royal Ordinance B.E. 2560 (Section 49), the employer bears recruitment costs; a worker may be charged only fixed government fees for their passport, medical check and work permit. Demanding money or property from a migrant worker beyond those fixed fees is prohibited, with a penalty of up to six months' imprisonment and/or a fine equal to twice the sum unlawfully collected.

Why it matters: In the Myanmar corridor, workers in practice pay an estimated USD 465–1,045 (mean about USD 730), several times the legal cap. Charging the worker a "training fee," "placement fee" or wage deduction for recruitment is a textbook sign of debt bondage.

Minimum wage

The statutory provincial daily minimum wage, set by Wage Committee notification. It is ฿400/day in Bangkok and Phuket since 1 July 2025, ranging nationally down to ฿337/day in the lowest-cost provinces. Since 30 April 2024 (MR 15) it applies to domestic workers at the provincial rate where they work, with no separate domestic-worker rate.

Why it matters: In-kind benefits such as food, a room or utilities cannot be used to bring the cash wage below the provincial minimum. A live-in maid in Bangkok paid below roughly ฿8,800/month in cash (฿400 × 22 days) is being underpaid under MR 15, even with room and board on top.

Severance

Under the Labour Protection Act, the payment owed to a worker dismissed without cause, on the sliding scale in LPA section 118, from 30 days' wages after 120 days of service up to 400 days' wages after 20 years, and not owed where dismissal is for cause under LPA section 119 (theft, wilful misconduct, serious negligence). Whether MR 15 extends this full LPA severance schedule to domestic workers is not settled: the ILO lists full overtime and severance as a recognised remaining gap for domestic workers rather than a confirmed entitlement.

Why it matters: Do not assume a maid or nanny is automatically owed the full LPA severance schedule on the strength of MR 15 alone. MR 15 did confirm a written contract, one wage-cycle notice and final pay within three days of the last working day; the full severance schedule is the part that remains a recognised gap. See our MR 15 explainer.

Roles & arrangements

Live-in vs day worker

A live-in worker resides at the employer's home; a day (or live-out) worker travels in and out for defined hours. Both are domestic workers covered by MR 15. Non-continuous day work is capped at 8 hours per day, with overtime beyond that; continuous live-in work is held to "reasonable" hours with a guaranteed unbroken daily rest period.

Why it matters: The arrangement changes the working-hours and overtime maths, and it changes market pay. A live-in salary already includes room and food, which (per the minimum-wage entry) sit on top of the cash wage, not inside it.

Yaya / nanny

Yaya (ยาหยี / common usage) is the everyday Thai word for a nanny or childminder; "nanny" is the English equivalent used in expat households. A yaya employed by a family is a domestic worker, fully covered by MR 15.

Why it matters: Childcare framing can make families forget the employment rules apply. A yaya is entitled to the same written contract, minimum wage, rest day and leave as any other domestic worker.