Foreigners may work as dive instructors in Thailand, because diving instruction is not one of the jobs reserved for Thai nationals, but only with a work permit arranged through a Thai employer. Teaching or guiding paying divers without one is illegal work, and the penalty for the worker is a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 baht and removal from Thailand.
The details matter in diving because many people arrive as students, stay on as divemaster trainees and slide into work without anyone mentioning visas. This page sets out where the legal line is, as far as the sources we could read show it, and what to ask a dive center before you accept a job. It is not legal advice. For your own case, ask the Department of Employment, a Thai embassy or a licensed Thai lawyer.
The legal position in brief (October 2026)
- Is dive instruction a banned job?
- No. It is not among the 27 fully prohibited occupations (Ministry of Labour notification, 2020)
- Work permit needed?
- Yes, for any work, paid or unpaid
- Visa
- Normally a Non-Immigrant B visa for the employer's job
- Worker's penalty
- Fine 5,000–50,000 baht, removal from Thailand, no new work permit for 2 years
- Employer's penalty
- 10,000–100,000 baht per worker; more for repeat offenses
- Not verified
- Whether guiding certified divers counts as "guide services", a job reserved for Thais
Diving instruction is not a reserved job
Thailand's list of jobs foreigners may not do comes from a Ministry of Labour notification of 2020. It names 40 occupations, 27 of them fully prohibited, including tour guiding, Thai massage, hairdressing and driving. Teaching scuba diving is not on the list, so a foreign instructor can work legally once the employer has obtained a work permit for the job. Our guide to the work permit and Non-B visa explains the general process; we do not repeat it here.
One question remains open. Item 22 of the fully prohibited list is "guide services". A divemaster who leads certified divers around a reef is guiding, in plain English, but we found no official ruling on whether that counts as the reserved job. The Department of Employment's website could not be reached when we checked. Until you have an answer from the department or a lawyer, assume the permit must describe what you actually do, and ask the employer how they describe it.
Divemaster internships: training or work?
Many people come to Thailand to train as a divemaster, the first professional level. PADI's requirements for its Divemaster course are: age 18 or older, the Rescue Diver certification, Emergency First Response primary and secondary care training within the past 24 months, 40 logged dives to start and 60 to certify, and medical clearance from a doctor within the past 12 months. PADI says the course can be done in two very intense weeks, while most people take between three weeks and six months.
The problem starts when a trainee helps with paying customers: carrying tanks for a class, leading a fun dive, or looking after students in the water. Thai law counts work done with or without wages as work, so a trainee who assists or guides paying customers is working, whatever the program is called. We found no official guidance on where a pure training course ends, so treat any unpaid "internship" that puts you in charge of customers as work that needs a permit. The same principle applies to unpaid help of every kind, which our page on volunteering in Thailand legally explains.
A "free divemaster internship" can still be illegal work. If the deal is free training in exchange for helping with customers, you are working without a permit. Ask the dive center in writing what your role will be, and whether you will ever be counted in the staff on a dive with paying guests.
The e-Visa portal does list a Non-Immigrant B category for internships. Whether it fits a divemaster program depends on the program and the host, so ask the Thai embassy where you apply before you book.
How dive centers hire legally
A legal job starts with the employer, not with you. The center applies for the work permit for a named job, and you enter Thailand on, or change to, the matching Non-B visa. Two separate rules decide whether a business can do this:
- Capital: the Department of Employment expects 2 million baht of paid-up registered capital for each foreign work permit (1 million baht if the foreigner is married to a Thai national; see marrying a Thai citizen), under a 2004 regulation as described by law firms.
- Thai staff: for the one-year extension of stay, the Immigration Bureau looks for four Thai employees for each foreigner (Immigration Bureau Order 12/2568 of January 2025, as described by law firms).
With both rules in place, a small business can support only a few foreign staff, so a center that hires many foreigners every season deserves questions. Ask to see your work permit before you start teaching, and check that the employer and job title on it match where and how you work.
What happens at a check
Working without a permit is an offense for both sides. According to a Thai law firm's summary of the 2018 amendment to the foreign-worker decree, the worker faces a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 baht, then deportation once it is paid, and is barred from a new work permit for two years. The same summary says the amendment removed prison for the worker; older articles that quote up to five years in prison describe the 2017 text. Khaosod English, citing the Ministry of Labour, gives the same fine and "possible deportation" for the worker, and 10,000 to 100,000 baht per worker for the employer, with prison of up to one year possible for repeat offenders.
Removal from Thailand is deportation. It can include time in an immigration detention center, and deportees can face restrictions on returning. Our page on what happens if you are arrested in Thailand explains detention and deportation. We could not find an official record of recent inspections on Koh Tao or other dive islands, so we print none; checks happen in Thailand, and no dive center can promise you they will not.
Seasons and where the work is
Dive work follows the weather. On the Andaman coast, the main dive season runs from about mid-October to mid-May: the Similan Islands and Surin Islands are open from 15 October to 15 May, and close for the southwest monsoon. On the Gulf side, Koh Samui's wettest months are October to December, the opposite of the Andaman pattern, which matters for Koh Tao and Koh Phangan nearby too. A move to a new employer or a new place of work means a new or changed permit.
We found no official or reliable figures for instructor pay in Thailand, so we print none. Whatever the pay model (salary, a share of each course or a mix), get the terms in a written contract that names the employer on your work permit.
The safety rules you will be teaching under
As an instructor you are responsible for your students' safety, and Thai rules have tightened. Under a 2025 environment ministry notice aimed at keeping dive tourism from damaging coral, every dive activity needs close supervision, with a ratio of one supervisor to four tourists for scuba diving. Inside marine national parks, sunscreens with oxybenzone, octinoxate, 4-MBC or butylparaben are banned (see our sunscreen ban guide), and your students will look to you to enforce the rule.
The UK Foreign Office warns that Thai dive schools do not always keep to safety and maintenance standards, and that oxygen should be available on every dive boat; as staff, you are part of that standard. Know where the nearest recompression chamber is before you teach your first class. The SSS network runs 24-hour chambers on Koh Tao and in Phuket; we found no chamber on Koh Samui. The chambers we could confirm are listed in our diving safety guide. For what your students go through, see our guide to learning to dive on Koh Tao.
Before you accept a job offer
- Ask who will apply for your work permit, when, and what job title it will show.
- Ask which visa you should enter on, and get the employer's documents for the Non-B application.
- Do not start teaching, guiding or assisting customers until the permit is issued.
- Get a written contract with the employer named on the permit, the pay model and who pays the permit and visa costs.
- Check that your professional insurance and your health insurance cover work as an instructor in Thailand; our page on health insurance for expats explains what to look for.
Frequently asked questions
Can I work as a dive instructor in Thailand on a tourist visa?
No. Teaching diving is work, and work needs a work permit and normally a Non-Immigrant B visa arranged with a Thai employer. Neither a tourist visa nor entry on visa exemption allows it, even when the work is unpaid.
Is diving instruction a job reserved for Thai nationals?
No. It is not among the 27 fully prohibited occupations in the 2020 Ministry of Labour notification, so foreigners can do it with a work permit. Whether leading certified divers counts as "guide services", which is reserved, was not confirmed by an official source.
Is a divemaster internship legal in Thailand?
Studying for a divemaster certification is a course. Once you assist or guide paying customers, even unpaid, Thai law treats it as work that needs a permit. Ask the dive center exactly what you will do, and ask a Thai embassy about the right visa.
What is the penalty for working in Thailand without a work permit?
The worker can be fined 5,000 to 50,000 baht, deported and barred from any new work permit for two years (a Thai law firm's summary of the 2018 amendment). The employer can be fined 10,000 to 100,000 baht per worker.
How long does it take to become a PADI Divemaster?
PADI says it can be done in two very intense weeks, but most people take three weeks to six months. You need to be 18, hold Rescue Diver and recent first-aid training, and have 60 logged dives to certify.
Sources
- Khaosod English – The 40 occupations restricted or prohibited for foreigners, citing the Ministry of Labour (5 July 2023) (checked October 2026)
- Thai Law Online – Work permit penalties in Thailand (updated 17 October 2026) (checked October 2026)
- PADI – Divemaster course prerequisites (checked October 2026)
- Department of National Parks – Marine tourism standards and the 2025 coral-protection notice, 4 August 2026 (Thai) (checked October 2026)
- SSS Recompression Chamber Network – Thailand (checked October 2026)
- UK Foreign Office – Thailand: safety and security (diving) (checked October 2026)