Indo-Siam

If you are in Thailand on a non-immigrant entry permit issued against a Class O visa, that makes you eligible to apply for a work permit. This is perfectly routine - and this is my personal work permit/entry permit status.

Applying for work permit with Class O entry permit, they no longer even ask about paid-in capital, or Thai employee headcount - the fcat that you are married means that only 2,000,000 baht in REGISTERED capital is required.

Good luck!

Steve

Indo-Siam

www.thaistartup.com

I have had several clients tell me that Thai diplomatic posts within SE Asia have told them that they are allowed only to issue 90-day, single-entry non-immigrant entry permits to third-country nationals applying there - for the (absolutely correct) reason that if you seek to remain in Thailand for more than 90 days, you must meet Thailand's specified criteria for being granted long-term stay - and in that case, only a single entry 90 day visa is needed. If you meet qualifying criteria for long-term stay, as soon as your are within 30 days of expiration,you apply for a long-term extension. With that, you no longer need any visa - you just need a re-entry permit. So - anyone in this category would not be concerned about only receiving a single-entry 90 day visa.

Citizens of the country in which the Embassy is located are still allowed to get one-year multiple-entry visas. The restriction is just on third-country nationals. In effect, they have a fairly clear profile of low-income foreigners who can't meet criteria to obtain long-term entry permits, and they figure that most of these individuals will not have money to return to home countries for proper one-year visas. So this becomes somewhat of a self-selecting process - if you scrape your way to Penang or Vientienne, they are going to force you to either meet long-stay requiremnents properly within 90 days, or hit the road.

I believe that this policy has been in place since before the APEC Conference last September.

I know nothing of the specifics, but - in general - I think that the overall trend is toward eliminating the fairly comical past pattern whereby the visa issuance practices of Thai diplomatic posts in the region were almost tailor-made to allow low-income westerners to achieve perpetual defacto residence, without meeting Immigration Bureau's published criteria for long-term stay.

Good luck!

Indo-Siam

One scenario:

Initial trip, for less than 30 days on the ground in Bangkok: simply get a 30 day entry permit upon arrival- no visa needed. While here, launch a Thai Private Co. Ltd. - which will become the vehicle for purchasing the assets that you will later want to acquire.

If you want guidance concerning company incorporation - send me a conventional e-mail messge to which I can reply with attachments. make sure that you are working with a company that can handle incorporation within 2-3 weeks (not 10-12 weeks as is common at several well-known "busness start up" companies).

Prior to departure from Thailand on initial trip, obtain employment letters from newly launched company, requesting that Thai embassy in your home country issue one-year, multiple-entry, non-immigrant Class B visas to you two - one to be hired as Managing Director, the other as International Marketing Manager. Take copies of all incorporation documents with you. Using employment letter and company documents, apply for one-year, multiple-entry, non-immigrant Class B visas in home country.

When you then come back to Thailand in September, you will receive 90 day entry permits upon arrival. Provided that you capitalized company at at least 2,000,000 baht, the one of you listed as Managing Director can get a work permit for that position immediately upon arrival. Possibly aslo the other individual.

You then use your new company to conclude an asset purchase agreement, to take on just the listed assets (but not the unknown hidden liabilities) of the company that presently owns the property.

Long-term, your main challenge will be to obtain long-term entry permits, to allow you to obtain corresponding long-term work permits, which allow you to remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days at a time, without making "visa runs." To do this, you will need to:

1. Be able to document 2,000,0000 baht paid-in capital for EACH foreigner employed.

2. Be able to document four Thai employees per EACH foreigner employed

3. Be able to document that you are each being paid a minimum qualifying salary - 50,0000 baht per month for Europeans.

Good luck!

Best regards,

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

The answer is: yes, you can do these things, if you can find an employer who will hire you to do them, and provide you with a work permit.

You cannot legally pursue this sort of work as a "freelance" worker, outside the labor rules for foreign workers.

Your situation sounds pretty unlikely to have a good outcome - but, I can imagine one scenario:

High-end hotel serving European clientele hires you as an aerobics (fitness)instructor, and then also slots you into a program to develop and improive the language skills of front-line service personnel - in both English and French - and also serve as final editor of hotel announcements and literature in both languages.

Separately, I know foreigners who have landed jobs at a five star hotel as fitness instructor (and spa manager), and also one who was hired to manage the English-language skills development program (and proof-edit English documentation) at a different five-star hotel in Bangkok.

Never say never - but you probbaly have a better chance of winning the lottery.

Good luck - bon chance!

Indo-Siam

Hello -

I have received several preliminary inquiries via direct e-mail, but none of the people to whom I responded have followed up.

This position must be filled during June - really within the next 10-12 days.

This position requires excellent English and Thai language skills - both spoken and written. Main role will be to assist with screening interviews and progress interviews, starting with simple biographical info sheet in Thai, and then assisting western representative with creating and developing case files via series of interviews - all at a static location convenient to mass transport system in Bangkok.

Position will generally involve no more than six or seven hours per day. Work will typically involve both weekend days for three weekends per month, plus typically one or two additional work days during each work week.

There is a second job tied in with this job - and the new hire could perform both roles, at a higher salary - but this would involve probably 16-18 week days, plus six weekend days per month. The weekend days would mostly be static, indoor work, at an interview location. Most of the weekdays would be "field" work - largely visiting high schools. An energetic person could fulfill both roles - the good news is that workdays would remain fairly short - probably averaging 6.5 hours per day. If new hire orchestrates program to run smoothly, after several months, this "combined" position could possibly fall back to 25 or fewer hours per week - at same salary - in which case the worker would be clearing in the neighborhood of 240 baht per hour. If employee is sharp enough to engineer this outcome, has very high quality written English skills, and wants additional work, I can supply more work (unrelated to initial progrqm - probably written translation work, which can be accomplished anywhere that has a computer) to raise total compensation solidly above 30,000 baht per month.

The keys:

1. Bangkok area only

2. Core work is weekends, with one weekend per month "off"

3. Short workdays - 6-7 hours, but varying (some mornings, some evenings)

4. Requires strong English and Thai skills - but does not require 100% grammatically perfect English (base position does not involve formal verbatim written translation).

5. There is an aspect to this position that effectively involves being admin assistant to a western Foundation representative - with main role being to minimize his frustration level when things go haywire in Thailand. So - a sense of humor, ability to fill in time gaps with distracting conversation, etc. may be very useful. This position will involve teen-aged program participants showing up for interview appointments in Bangkok - which may mean frequent time gaps.

6. You must have ability to keep track of time and reimbursable expenses daily, using an Escel spreadsheet

7. Job must be filled by 18 June - 25 June at latest.

After initial confusion, this should become fairly happy work - you will be helping to "give away" fairly valuable health and welfare benefits to qualifying low-income students - including funding for specific health care activities, school uniforms, books and supplies, proper nutrition, and possibly other funding benefits.

For more information, please contact me via personal e-mail.

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.bangkokstaff.com

You can incorporate on any kind of entry permit - my company has this year incorporated several companies for people who just send money, and allowed us to provide seven shareholders and director (and registered office location,and bookkeeping support). All they did was select company name and capitalization amount - and send funds for processing. Within a couple of weeks, we then provided employment letter from Thai director to investor, and company incorporation documents, requesting Class B visa to support hiring investor as Managing Director.

Director gets Class B visa, comes here, finds his own office location, provides identity information for whatever new shareholders he wants to substitute in place of original slate - we then process registration change to insert him in place of our interim director, change registered office address, and make any desired changes to shareholders. Investor now has the company he wants, where he wants it. He then opens bank account, and carries on his business.

The client's risk is that we are crooks and take the money he sends us to get things processed. Other than that, the newly-formed company has no assets - so there is no risk. By the time it has assets, the shareholder/director structure is as client wants it.

Most overseas investors come here on entries on arrival (no visa) to get things started. Once company is established (which should never take more than three weeks), we provide employmemnt letter and incorporation documentation, and they make a visa run to Singapore, KL, or Penang to get Class B visa. Upon return with 90 day initial entry permit, we then submit work permit application for them - and they typically have work permit in hand two weeks after arrival.

I have recently heard about big-name law firms here taking 6-10 weeks to orchestrate company incorporation, and a month or more to arrange work permits. Such timing is utterly absurd.

The incorporation process should take three weeks - two weeks in a pinch. The work permit process should take two to three weeks - 10 days, in a pinch.

The only things that take significant time are:

1. Obtaining final long-term entry permit extension (this can take 20-24 weeks after initial arrival)

2. Registering Thai Rep Office (which involves sequential steps in both country where Head Office is located, and in Thailand)

3. Obtaining Alien Business License or Amity Treaty certification (which involves consideration by a board or committe during two separate sessions, at least one month apart - and preparation of documentation takes a long time).

For anyone considering trying to register a company with majority foreign ownership (and this includes Thai Rep Offices),the required documentation to pursue business activities that are restricted to foreign companies has gotten MUCH harder over past six weeks - as an example, take a look at just one small part of the application process - which has ballooned into a major pain - see English translation at http://www.thairegistration.com/eng/foreig...gy_Transfer.doc

I have commonly seen investors from USA and UK who obtained one-year multiple-entry Class B visas from Thai Embassy in their home country by just indicating that they were going to Thailand to start a business. But this may only happen at certain diplomatic posts, and the criteria for issuing such visas may fluctuate from post to post, or even by different individuals at the same post.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

The direct answer to your question is that you may depart Thailand, and then return with a Class B visa, enter on a 90 day non-immigrant entry permit, and - when your work permit is ready to expire, renew it for the length of remaining validity of your entry permit. You may also extend that new entry permit on the basis of legal employment.

The fact that you depart Thailand for five days during the period that the work permit is valid, and during those five days are technically without a non-immigrant status, should not an issue at the work permit office. What they care about is that you have non-immigrant status at time of renewal.

You can do your Immigration processing at Immigration HQ in Bangkok. But your work permit processing must be accomplished in the jurisdiction where your employer is based (unless employer is BOI approved - then this can be procesed in Bangkok).

Back to your main story - where in the country is this problem Amphur? Your story sounds NOTHING like what I would expect. At Amphur level, your wife and her extended family should be able to fix anything. The PooYai Bahn for her Moo-bahn should be delighted to accompany her to straighten things out at the Amphur - and everybody should be happy to help you straighten out your marriage - because you will sponsor a big "lam" afterwards, to celebrate.

You personally should have nothing to do with arranging anything. Keep your mouth shut, smile, and simply act as paymaster for the festivities. The one problem is if you really have another wife somewhere - and are unable to get embassy certification that you are single.

The Amphur should have no contact with Immigration, or with Labor Department. Amphur is local government. The other two are federal government. They are all rivals that rarely cooperate with each other.

With you bankrolling things, I cannot imagine any place in Thailand where a Thai wife - on her own turf - in her home Amphur - with backing of her PooYai Bahn -could not straighten out anything and everything.

So - there is still something missing from your story. Are you perhaps no longer on good terms with your wife? Perhaps she is the one who fingered you? Or who personally arranged for the marriage records to disappear? If she is actively out to persecute you - then she can marshall all those local influencers to ensure that you cannot survive. Best for you to flee.

Or - am I missing something? My bs meter is twitching.

Whatever. Good luck!

Steve

Well, someone on this board may be able to help "match-make"

My company has a contract to support an overseas-based charitable foundation on the ground in Bangkok.

I am in need of a Thai woman between ages of 22 and 30 to provide support - mostly verbal translation support - during interviews between English speaking foundation representative, and Thai receivers of program benefits. Most such interviews will be on Saturdays and Sundays - for 4-6 hours on each of these days. Probably one weekend "off" per month. Company will also reimburse all job-related expenses.

This job could be just Friday through Monday - so, a four day work week - and probably only six-hour workdays most days. Starting salary would be 16,000 baht per month - higher, if they can work additional days on other work. For outstanding performer, salary could rise by 50% within a few months. Most work will be "in the field," somewhere along the BTS or subway route.

The primary requirement is to have strong English-language skills, to be dependable, and to be able to translate between Thai teenagers and a 65-year old foreign representative.

I welcome referrals of Thai candidates who might be appropriate and interested in such work. They should contact me at [email protected].

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

[email protected]

www.bangkokstaff.com

Hi -

It does sound very unlikely that anyone would go to the trouble to line up a fake marriage registration - it is cheaper and simpler to simply get the real thing.

If you and your wife have both halves of the blue and white marriage certificate (it has recently changed to salmon pink, but three years ago it was still blue and white), with certifying stamp along the common edge, then as far as I can tell, you are legally married (and Immigration must have agreed, since they previously granted you successive extensions). What you have is a mistake in the Amphur data base - present your certificate, and they should correct their data base. No big deal. Maybe give them 500 baht for their trouble.

Or - if they decide tht you are still single, then get married on the spot. You do not need an "agent." You just need a letter certified by your Embassy in Thailand stating that, according to their records, you are not married to someone else.

If you are married, stay that way. If you are not married, get married. What's the big deal?

At any rate, if:

1) You presently have a valid non-immigrant entry permit in a category other than retirement

and

2) You have a work permit

Then - we can get you a long-term entry permit renewal based on legal employment - if your employer qualifies to sponsor such a permit extension. There are four criteria that employer must meet:

1. Company must be current on all required payments and regulatory submissions

2. Company must be paying you at least slary specified for your nationality (as on next month)

3. Company must have four Thai employees per each foreign employee

4. Company must have 2,000,000 baht paid-in capital per each foreign employee.

We/you can only apply for renewal when you are within 30 days of expiration of your present non-immigrant entry permit.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

Gary - I will reply in more detail tonight. You CANNOT apply for a work permit if you are holding a retirement visa/entry permit. Your age alone is not significant - but having Class O retirement status is. If you wish to be employed, and you have a retirement entry permit, you must exit country and obtain any other non-immigrant visa - that action automatically cancels your retirement status.

You may be a shareholder, and even an unpaid director of a company, regardless of other status. You can be both of thesewithout ever having set foot in Thailand, as long as someone obtains your signatures.

More to follow - 'gotta go now.

Cheers!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

Hi -

The sponsor for the Thai Representative Office (TRO) must be the Head Office of the company, not another intermediary office without its own capitalization.

If you send me an e-mail message to which I can reply with attachments, I can send you details.

A few key facts:

1) Your activities in Thailand must not directly earn revenue paid to Thai office from Thai clients.

2) As head of TRO, you can obtain work permit and entry permit without consideration of number of Thai employees.

3) A major expense factor may arise, as the cost for registering the TRO includes a fee of 5 baht per 1,000 baht of MAIN COMPANY registered capitalization - with this part of the fee capped at 250,000 baht.

4) The process involves submitting - after translation into Thai language - what amounts to a quite detailed business plan for your TRO, including 3-year financial projections. We have some pretty good "boiler plates" prepared. We can also help prepare the sections related to estimating market size in Thailand for your business, who your competitors are, and who your major targets will be. Also, details of your marketing plan, operations plan, staff training plan, etc.

5) The process starts with Head Office submitting application and key corporate documents (translated into Thai) to Thai Embassy in country where Head Office is located. Thai Embassy must endorse ("legalize") these, and they must then be sent to Thailand for the application processing at this end.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

This is to confirm that someone holding a Class O entry permit may routinely apply for and receive a work permit. Later, using that work permit, you may routinely apply for and receive a long-term entry permit extension based on qualifying employment for a qualifying employer - exactly as applies to a Class B entry permit holder.

That is my own personal status.

Good luck!

Steve

Indo-Siam

If you REGISTER 2,000,000 baht capitalization (and pay in 25% - but no one tends to check), you can get a work permit - regardless of Thai employees, or additional paid-in capital. Your work permit will be as Managing Director of your holding company. You then specify an activity of your company as providing entertainment. If you can DOCUMENT that your are qualified as a musician (by DOCUMENTED training or DOCUMENTED experience), you can perform that work. Best to have it carefully worked into your MD job description - part of your responsibility is to network with clients, and to do this, you participate in musical performances.

But - your work permit will expire every time yor entry permit expires - meaning every 90 days. So - every 90 days, you need to make a visa run, and - upon return - revalidate your work permit. Very helpful to have a one-year multiple-entry visa - so you just have to mkae "border turns" instead of apply and wait for a visa.

To get extended entry permit based on employment - THAT is when you need 2,000,000 baht paid in capital and four Thai employees - documented by you paying in 10% of salaries (5% withheld, 5% employer match) for each Thai employee - with each worker earning a minimum of just under 6,000 baht. So - you must pay to Social Fund department 4 x 600 baht - 2,400 baht. For Bangkok applications, Immigration inspectors are very likely to show up at your registered business address, and do a head-count and identiity match of your employees. If any employees are absent, they may be required to report to Immigration office at Soi Suan Phlu to sign in - within 48 hours.

You will also need to pay for monthly bookkeeping, and for maintaining a legally registered business address. For 90% of my firm's clients (and for 100% of the "bootstrap" guys), meeting the Revenue Department standards for documenting their registered business address is the single toughest aspect of operating a "shoestring" company. To get tax registration, you must submit GLOSSY photo of entrance to your office, showing both company name sign, and street or office/room number, street location map, and certification by building owner that your business is a registered tennant - inluding signed documentation showing building ownership, plus personal identity documents of person who owns the building.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

If you can find an employer, you can get a work permit to work in mortgage lending. Technically, this is either a sales and marketing job, or a consulting job - it just happens to involve financial loans by your employer. It is not a certifiable profession in Thailand - it is the jobs that require professional licensing that are restricted to foreigners.

Good luck!

Indo-Siam

The people who you deal with in the Suan Phlu admin offices are not the people who do the inspections. The "field agent" inspectors are a separate group - inspections are all they do.

Immigration has a limited jurisdiction. Beyond their limits (I'm not sure where the border is), they ask local police office in your area to do the inspection. I know that Nothaburi/Chang Wattana/Pakkred is beyond their limit, because we just dealt with that local police precinct after it was tasked to inspect one of our clients.

Cheers!

Steve

All of our Bangkok-area clients for extensions based on marriage are visited.

Photos of happy coule at home are REQUIRED when submitting application for extensions, and Thai wife MUST accompany applicant to Immigration on date that application is submitted.

In several cases, inspectors conducting the home inspection visit just spoke to security gurads, rental office manager, or housekeeper. I suppose this decision is based on whether the pattern of initial investigation "smells fishy". All of our clients have been legitimate.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

You can run an Internet business that does not involve Thai customers or suppliers without interference. No Thai officials will care. You just need to properly manange your immigration status - leaving Thailand frequently. You will also face some minor restrictions (some banks, some cellular services, etc will not accept you without more formalized status - but others will accommodate you). And - you should make it a practice to open a persoanl Thai bank account, and live off money that you periodically wire in from overseas. This will serve you well, to demonstrate that you are not living off illegal local earnings.

In the unlikely event that you are challenged about your status, this last part can make a big difference - if you cannot document that you are "taking a break in Thailand" while living off funds you bring in from elsewhere - Thai officialdom may make the summary decision that you must be working here illegally - and lock you up and deport you. They won't put much effort into investigation - you either show them a bank statement that immediately clears their suspicions, or you get drop-kicked out of the Kingdom.

The PADI question is another story. If you pursue this work without official sponsorship, you are much more likely to face arrest and deportation. I very specifically know one such individual who was picked up and imprisoned in Pattaya, in what was basically a "sting" operation by plainclothes Thai policemen - who were actually targeting the business owner, but grabbed my acquaintance instead. I think there is an entire program within the Immigration police system, specifically on the lookout for diving instructors working illegally. The two professions that are massively over-represented here by illegal westerners are: golf pros, and diving instructors.

Good luck!

Steve

Indo-Siam

JBG _

For someone coming and going, there are three or four separate things stamped into a passport:

One is a "visa" - which is usually issued outside Thailand

One is an initial entry permit - which is normally issued at a border crossing/entry point, and is normally valid for 90 days (there are exceptions, for holders of "OA" visas)

One may be a long-term extry permit extension - which is normally only issued at a main (non-border) Immigration office - and this is typically valid for no longer than one year since issuance of the immidiately previous entry permit that it is extending.

One is a "re-entry" permit, which can be obtained at both main Immigration offices,, and at border crossings (or, at least, at Don Muang Airport).

I suspect that your friend is coming and going on the basis of a re-entry permit, issued on top of an extended entry permit - but (unless he had an OA visa when he first entered Thailand) his initial entry permit - prior to receiving his first long-term extension - was for just 90 days.

Cheers!

Indo-Siam

I can't figure out why Immigration cares. Whether you have a 90 day visa, or a 100 year non-immigrant visa, the maximum ENTRY PERMIT they will give you at entry is 90 days. As far as I know, Immigration at the border could care less about the validity of your visa, up until it expires.

Good luck!

Steve

Indo-Siam

Egghead -

What you are describing is the solution for someone who wants to be fully legal, but whose employer does not qualify to sponsor a long-term entry permit.

Meaning - if your employer does not have four Thai employees per foreign work permit holder, or 2,000,000 baht paid-in capital per work permit holder. Or, is not willing to pay you a sufficiently high salary to qualify.

All of these requirements are IMMIGRATION requirements for obtaining a long-term entry permit - they are NOT requirements to get a work permit.

To get a work permit, all you need is a non-immigrant entry permit (90 day permit is fine), and a legally registered employer - and you need to meet ONE of the following:

1) Be married to a Thai (with Thai marriage certificate)

or

2) Be able to document that you paid at least 18,000 baht in Thai persomnaln income taxes in personalincome tax during the prior calendar year (working legally for any Thai employer)

or

3) Be presently employed by an employer with at least 2,000,000 baht in REGISTERED capital (they do not verify amount paid-in).

There are also some other qualifying criteria - involving total number of Thai employees or amount of export revenue earned the previous year - but they are tyoically not practical to satisfy.

So - if you meet ONE of the last three LABOR MINISTRY qualifications, but your employer does NOT meet the IMMIGRATION requirements, then your one alternative to be employed here in a fully legal manner is to enter the country on a non-immigrant entry permit (60 or 90 day), and then apply for a work permit - which will initially only be valid for the duration of your entry permit. Turn-around time for approving a work permit in Bangkok is presently 7-10 days.

Then, when you near the expiration date of your entry permit (which is also the expiration date on your work permit), make sure you execute your visa run early enough so that you are able to re-enter, and have another 60 or 90 day entry permit PRIOR to what would have been the expiration date on your work permit. As long as you apply for revalidation of the work permit for anther period (60 or 90 days) before it expired (under your previous entry sequence), then you can simply revalidate it on the spot. If you allow the work permit to expire (by even one day), you must refile an entire new work permit application.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

'Just guessing here -

Your entry permit (either naturally,or because of triggering by turning in previous work permit) has only a short time remaining. Thus - any work permit you get will only last a few days. So - to your company visa lady, it makes no sense to get a work permit valid for five or ten days - she thinks it better to go get a new visa and 90 day entry permit, so that yoiu can get a work permit valid for a few months.

She is not taking into accoiunt the cost for you to make a visa run - she figures that's your problem.

Best idea - when possible - is to add a secoind job to work permit booklet, before first job ends - then you have smooth sailing.

What you need to do is push for rapid application for work permit - turnaround is just one week, and then apply for long-term entry permit extension.

If you are in bangkok, and if your company can't move processing that fast, but can pull required documents together quickly, we can make both processes proceed at maximun speed. In that case, have your new employer contact Khun Siriporn at my firm's office - tel: 02-260-3914.

Or - send me regular e-mail, to which I can reply with attachments.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

Hi Tom -

You do not need to do anything. I lived here for two years as "Asian Technical Manager" for an overseas firm - paid to a US bank, and basically living in Bangkok in-between endless trips throughout the region. Thailand couldn't have cared less.

As long as your passport shows you going in and out of the country a lot, they simply ignore you.

If you did want to get a work permit - which does allow you some additional options for things like bank accounts, drivers licenses, certain mobile phone accounts, etc - you would have to have your firm open a Thai Representtive (or Regional) Office - which would then be funded by your overseas parent company - that TRO would then sponsor you for a work permit, and pay you (and withhold personal income taxes). It's quite an involved process - not for the faint of heart.

If you ever dow ant to establish a TRO, please let me know, and I'll send you details.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

I stumbled upon the following article:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/page.news....14009&usrsess=1

I know nothing about the author, and have no way of knowing whether he has inside information. But - it provides another data point that says that if you are under 50, not working, not married - i.e. a "drone" - Thailand will not allow you to stay here, just on the basis of having fathered a child here.

This article does suggest that money in the bank might make a candidate a more attractive drone.

Indo-Siam

Bobcat - I know one of the nine who made it that far this year.

I think people have the wrong idea about residency - they think it is like a non-immigrant entry permit extension, or work permit. For both of those types of permits, if you meet qulaifications, and your paperwork is in order, you basically get approved.

Such is not the case with residency. The government is quite selective - more so in recent years than in the past. Here is what I understand about the nine westerners who made it through final screening this year:

* Most of them have been in Thailand 10 years or more

* Most (or all) of them read, write, and speak Thai reasonably fluently

* Several are women

* Most have served time as a monk (or nun) in a wat

* Most (or all) have a sponsoring Thai such as a member of Royal Family, cabinet minister, or very senior Buddhist monk

* Most (or all) have delivered distinguished service - either as educators, or to charity, or to the Buddhist faith, or to the Thai government

* The youngest is perhaps 39 or 40 years old. Several are 60 or older.

Residency is NOT the case of - "well, I've now been here three years on consecutive long-term extensions - whew, I am tired of scraping through - thank God I can now get residency, so that I can live happily ever after with my ex-bg girlfriend." You have to have distinguished service, or some clout behind you.

I'm not sure how long things have been like this. I think as recently as maybe five years ago, if you were married to a Thai, with kids in a thai school, a reasonable job, and you spoke Thai - residency was fairly automatic - if someone had been here 10 years or so.

I know that there are a handful of people active on this board who have received residency - I would be interested to hear if any of them have knowledge of ANYONE ever actually getting residency with just four or five years worth of consecutive one-year extensions.

Indo-Siam

If a company has its papers in order, and makes even a reasonable effort to cooperate with us, we can have a work permit application submitted within 3-4 work days after an employee lands in Bangkok with a non-immigrant entry permit. Turn-around time is one week. So - figure two weeks from touchdown.

If company gave us their documents ahead of time, and we received necessary details from worker in advance, via e-mail, we could theoretically have packet prepared and company signatures already affixed on day you arrived in Thailand. You go straight to hospital for medical check, then to photoshop for photos - we photocopy your passport and collect signatures. You use passport to check into hotel, and we submit your work permit application on the day after you land. Seven days later, you receive work permit. Initial work permit will be good only until 90th day after you enter Thailand - whether it take 10 days or two months to secure it.

What takes longer (and can only start after you have been here for two months) is applying for a long-term entry permit extension - which is what allows you to obtain a long-term entry permit, good until the one year annivsary date of your arrival into Thailand.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com