Bangkok Raids Expose Unlicensed Schools Hiring Teachers Without Permits

In the space of two months, Thai immigration and labour officials have raided at least two unlicensed international schools in Bangkok, arresting more than a dozen foreign nationals found working without valid work permits. According to the Bangkok Post, the most recent operation, carried out on May 31, targeted a school in Bangkok's Pridi Banomyong area that had been running for more than five years without a valid licence, teaching over 100 students from kindergarten to secondary level.

Immigration police and the Department of Employment found six foreign teachers from the Philippines and Myanmar working without work permits. All six were detained at Khlong Tan police station on charges of working without authorisation and violating visa conditions under Thai immigration and labour law. The Office of the Private Education Commission separately lodged a police report with investigators to enable further legal action against the operator.

A pattern of enforcement

An earlier operation, on April 2, produced nearly identical findings. Officials inspecting a school in Bangkok's Prawet district found it had been running without a licence for over a year, with more than 100 students enrolled across kindergarten and primary levels. Ten foreign nationals from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria were found working as teachers and support staff without valid permits. Police lodged charges under Thai labour law, and the school faced closure.

The operations are part of a broader government push to clamp down on unlicensed education providers, which has gathered pace as Thailand's international school sector has expanded rapidly. The national count of international schools has more than doubled in a decade, from around 100 in 2014 to roughly 275 in 2025, with student enrolment approaching 93,000. That growth has created a fringe of operators working outside the legal framework, and the authorities have signalled that enforcement operations will continue.

A warning to parents

The Immigration Bureau has been direct about the risks. Police Major General Prasart Khemmaprasit, Immigration Division 1 commander, warned that institutions without proper licences "risk sudden closure, which could directly affect students' education," and urged parents to verify a school's registration with the Ministry of Education before enrolment.

For families considering the new cohort of British-curriculum schools opening in Bangkok this August, among them Dulwich College, Highgate and Wycombe Abbey, all operating with full authorisation, the raids serve as a reminder that due diligence on licensing is not a formality. The premium end of the market benefits from the contrast, but it operates in a city where the word "international" in a school's name carries no automatic guarantee of lawful operation.