I can only comment on the process in Thailand. Note this applies specifically to western (and possibly non neighbouring asian) expats.

To get a work permit, you need a business visa (which requires a letter from either a Thai company or if you're lucky, a company in your own country stating why you need the visa), and a Thai company to offer you work.

They have to be able to show (but not always asked to) why they need to hire you (vs a local) and they need to have 4 regular Thai employees for every foreigner they employ.

The minimum wage for (western) foreigners is 50K Baht/month, compared to 9K Baht/month for locals. Graduate salary starts at around 30K Baht/month so you need to be worth it for them to even bother.

A work permit is specific to a company and a location - if you change location your WP needs to be updated (possibly replaced, haven't been through that yet). If you want to change job, you will need to cancel your old on and go through the process for a new one with the new employer.

I worked in Australia as a consultant/contractor (operating as a sole trader) and to carry on here, have formed a Thai company. This was only possible for me, because my wife is Thai, and thus I have a pool of trusted Thais to rely on for things like 51% ownership of the company.

Americans have some other options I didn't have regarding company ownership (the rules on % of ownership are relaxed) but I still wouldn't call it "easy".