wpcoe

Thought I would bump this thread back to life momentarily to verify the status of the Amity treaty. Presumably it has been extended past Dec 5, 2006? If so, what is the current expiry of the treaty?

Also in post #4, Sunbelt says "You cannot apply for the extension of stay based on business, with a sole proprietorship".

Might this be a case where a work permit could be issued on a retirement extension? (Perhaps wishful thinking on my part.)

Knowing what you all know about my personal situation now, would "Thai Representative Office or Regional Headquarters Office in Thailand" be more appropriate for me, if I wanted to be the point person for my American friends' business?

http://www.thaistartup.com/Representoffice.htm :

A Thai Representative or Regional Office may hire as many Thai employees as necessary, but for this type of registered entity, Thai employees are not required to justify several foreign work permits. At least one foreign manager must be domiciled inside Thailand, where this manager exercises signature authority on behalf of the overseas Head Office under a formal power of attorney from corporate CEO.

What they don't state, is what are the financial (or other) requirements to obtain the work permit.

I need to check what form of ownership my friends use for their business. I'm not sure if they are incorporated, which appears a requirement of this option.

Once again. You do NOT NEED 2 million Baht registered capital for a work permit for a a sole proprietorship business or natural person. ( This means you or someone else is owning the business with no partners. )

Have partners with a Thai Limited Company or Limited partnership? You want a work permit? You then need 2 million Baht registered capital.

Keep that piece of lumber in hand, I may need a few more head beatings before it sinks in.

This is the first thread I've read/followed regarding the Amity Treaty stuff, so please forgive me for being so dense. I didn't realize that a sole proprietorship was different than parntership, regarding getting the work permit. I missed the significance that you stated "Amity Treaty Limited Companies or Limited Partnerships" (to the exclusion of Sole Proprietorship) in the opening post. I was also getting tangled up in separating (a) establishing a business and ( getting a work permit. Which, now I hope I understand correctly that I do not need a single baht (other than for fees) to do either, as long as I establish a sole proprietorship? i.e. I can do the paperwork and be in business for myself and have a work permit, with no Thai partners and no registered capital required.

4 Thai employees is only one option with a sole proprietorship business. You also could qualify by paying 50K taxes last year or gross sale of 700K.

You do not need ANY Thai employees with a Limited Company or Limited Partnership.

Since I have never paid taxes in Thailand, and for the first year the business will have no previous year's gross sales, the four Thai employees will be needed for the first year. Am I correct on that? (Or, is there a way to pay B50,000 in back taxes when I was not living in Thailand on a proper visa and with no work permit for the previous year?)

One other idea. Do a Thai Limited Partnership under Amity. You as the major partner could pay for your investment by providing a service for the partnership. Most people think paid up capital is cash. The contribution can also be equipment or service as per the Civil Commercial Code.

Your friend would pay for their portion with cash. As the limited partner they cannot use service, the contribution must be in money or other properties. You however as stated can use service as payment for your portion.

With a limited partnership, you do not need to employ 4 Thai employees to get the work permit.

Can the Thai Limited Partnership under Amity be comprised of all falang owners? i.e. Could I be the major partner and one or both of my American friends (living in USA) be the minor parnter(s)? For some reason, I was under the impression that in any partnership, that there had to be Thai partner(s). But, I honestly don't know where I got that idea from.

Regarding my work permit is it correct that:

(a) for Sole Proprietorship, I would need not capital investment shown, but in my particular set of circumstances I would need to have the Thai employees for the first year

( for Limited Partnership, I would not need any Thai employees, but would need B2m capital comprising:

[edited because I pressed the "Add Reply" button too early...]

So, Mrs Buppa Jones, age 39, is really Khun Nitaya, age 42.

Boon Tangsagoon is really Somsak.

And, Buppa Supona, age 18, is really age 23.

You gotta love the accuracy of some of the new reporting around here.

I'm not at all condoning his violence, but she stabbed him first. I would think he'd have a reasonable defense that it was not pre-meditated and perhaps even self-defense.

Again, I don't support the claim that violence justifies further violence, I just wonder about the *first degree* murder charge...

My number 1 Taco stand is on 2nd road across from the Sabai Room Body massage at the foot of the Atlantic bar just before you get to Big C. Open 4pm to 6am all week.

My second place is just off the corner of Soi Buakaow and Soi Chiapoon next to Club Oasis. We are open 5pm to 5am, 7 days a week.

We now have delivery from 5pm to 3am.

Thanks for the info! If you are considering a third outlet, please remember us folks in Jomtien!

When I applied for my TT&T service for my Jomtien condo, they connected my phone line with a subscriber at a totally different address. It took FIVE MONTHS for them to admit to the problem and correct it. They kept saying it was a problem within the condo building and that the condo engineer was responsible to fix it. (How could it be his problem when my phone line was connected to a lady's phone line waaay down the road?) I kept insisting that it was a screw-up at their end at some junction box someplace. I was a very frequent visitor to the Carrefour TT&T office. Nobody could fix it. My condo engineer also talked directly to the TT&T engineer several times. No dice.

I endured five months of not being able to receive phone calls, not being able to subscribe to ADSL (my main reason for having a land line) and having my phone ring every time the lady down the road received a phone call. I used to use a pre-paid dial-up ISP card only in the middle of the night, lest I be "caught" by the lady down the street.

When TT&T *finally* straightened it out, I was required to pay the overdue monthly bills or they would cancel my account. No consideration for the fact that I was unable to use my own phone line during that time. TiT.

To balance that episode, I had a funny experience at TOT in Bangkok. I was moving across town so wanted my phone line transferred from one TOT office to another. At the new TOT office I presented the necessary documents from the old office and the English-speaking girl at the counter was very helpful in filling out the forms for me. She asked me: "Would you like this phone service transferred by next Monday?" Full of delight, I said "Yes, I would." She replied: "Sorry. We cannot do that. It takes 10 days." With my warped sense of humor, I thought that was hysterical. :-)

The idea of paying THB 15 for the trip between National Stadium and Siam (Central) is going to take some getting use to.

Try rationalizing that a taxi would cost over twice as much? Or, that avoiding a walk on the elevated walkway between the two stations is worth B15?

A sole proprietorship does NOT require 2 million Baht or even one Baht investment. A Limited partnership or Limited Company does require registered capital of 2 million Baht.

Cripes. How could I have misread/mangled that so badly? It's B2m to get the work permit for me, right? Still not likely to materialize B2m for ANY reason.

Have 4 Thai employees the first year. The second year go on the basis that you had turnover higher than 700,000 Baht or that you paid personal tax higher than 50K. First year expense for 4 Thai employees is around 265,000 ( including social tax).

Thanks. At least I had *that* part right (about needing 4 Thai employees). Needing four people I don't need. <g> Maybe one or two, but actually I expected to do most of the work myself.

So I would need B2m (for my work permit) and another B265k for four employees the first year. I can't see that working for me. Too bad for my friends who want someone they know and trust to be their liason here in Thailand. I'm not looking for high-volume exports here, just occasional assistance to find (or have manufactured) products for my friends' decorating business. More like a part-time job, not a full-time job. Apparently such a scenario is not workable. Oh, well. Back to retirement.

Thanks for your presence here on the forum, Sunbelt. I'm sure *you* have a full-time job (actually with your restaurants: *many* full-time jobs) and yet you still have the time and effort to help us here.

I'm an unmarried 51-year old American living full-time in Thailand with a Non-Immigrant O visa and an extension for retirement. (In more common shorthand used here on ThaiVisa by many posters: "I have a retirement visa.")

I live here full-time and do not now (nor have I ever) worked inThailand, nor had any type of visa other than my current Non-Immigrant O. (Never had B visa nor work permit, etc.) Therefore I have never paid taxes in Thailand.

Some friends who operate an interior decorating service in the USA have floated the idea of importing Thai decorating accessories and even possibly incorporating them into their own product line. As their friend in Thailand, to what extent can I legally help them with their business, if at all? I understood from the stern officer at Jomtien Immigrations that I cannot work in Thailand with the retirement extension. I am open to changing to a different type of visa.

Under the Amity Treaty I can own a sole proprietorship business with no Thai partners, but it requires transferring B2million to Thailand and, since I am not married and have not paid any taxes (much less B50,000), I would need to have four Thai employees.

Unless I strike a gold mine of an opportunity with my friends, I doubt the sole proprietorship with those pre-conditions is even remotely possible.

As much as I would like to be their point person in Thailand, helping find suppliers, shopping for materials, ensuring quality control, coordinating with manufacturers and export agents, etc, there really isn't a way to do it in a small, almost part-time, way, is there? I'm assuming I would need a work permit, but how can I get one?

Thanks to anyone who can bring me some clarity on the possibilities, if there are any, for me to get involved with my friends' business while living here in Thailand.

Cock and balls! Cock and bull surely?! What was the writer thinking of?

Male genitalia, obviously. The question is WHY was the writer thinking of them?

In the case of the antibiotics and antivirals he'd probably get cut some slack, but the morphine-based painkiller is dangerously close to trafficking narcotics.

I'm puzzled why this accident report made the farang press.

Surely it is not uncommon for a Thai on a motorcycle to be a victim of a hit-and-run accident? I could understand it if the driver were famous or killed and/or a farang.

Or, am I mistaken and that such accidents are quite rare, and hence newsworthy?

Chownah thank you for your highly detailed post. I'm inclined to insulate the roof first with off the shelf insulation, since it seems relatively easy/cheap to do. I'll see how it goes and then reevaluate as necessary.

Have been to HomePro and seen own-brand rolls of insulation 6" thick and R23 for 390 baht. They're covered in silver - not sure what's inside them but presume they must be the fibreglass ones. Couldn't find the 6" tiles, only thinner ones. Anyway about 8,000 baht's worth of those would cover my roof. At that price I think it's a no brainer.

I do hope you mean your *ceiling*? If I understand correctly, the "attic space" above then entire row of units is an open space? If you only insulated your part of the roof, then the rest of the roof would still be transmitting heat into the space. Laying your insulation onto your ceiling would be the thing to do, no?

BigAL: I understand you have more than one store in Pattaya, can you tell me where the are?

... a minimum air gap of 25mm is required for effective noise reduction.

You mean a space of one inch between the window panes is needed? I had no idea that so much space would be necessary.

Are most double-glazed windows in Thailand vacuum sealed, i.e. no air between the inner and outer panes, or are they simply two panes of glass separated by air?

....why don't you hire this guy to clean your home...

:D

This is a bit of a stretch, but maybe your friend has friends who are grandfathered in on some old rendition of the retirement extension qualifications? If I recall reading correctly here on this forum, a few years ago it was only B400,000 needed, and years before that only B200,000, plus the age requirement was higher (55? or 60?)

So, as I said, it's a stretch, but in the "where there's smoke there's fire" category I could see where some older retired person, who had to wait until age 60 to get his visa and at that time only needed B200k or B400k could be telling your friend that you don't need B800k if you are 60. Then the "not needing B800k in the bank" got transposed into "free" ... are you familiar with the "telephone game"?

The Public Health Officers also provided a free medical service for cats and dogs in 27 communities around Pattaya including pet vaccination, de-worming, parasite evacuation and skin disease treatment. An unofficial source at City Hall said a free shampoo and pedicure service is now being given deliberation.

They are considering free shampoo and pedicures, but no mention of neutering?

I don't often get up north far enough on 2nd Road to go past Big C, but did today and saw Big Al's stand. Is there someplace there to sit and eat? It was closed when I went by around noon but looked rather small.

Where are the other Big Al locations?

What's that?!???!

It’s this. The playground for the grown-ups, or something like that. No holds barred, or almost. As if you didn't know: you're a frequent poster there

--

Maestro

That link leads to "Sorry, the link that brought you to this page seems to be out of date or broken."

Is that a "private club" or something?

Momo, I understand you posted that as a joke, but I've read that some people do use two condoms at a time, but that the rubber-on-rubber friction GREATLY increases the chance of a rupture.

You can buy 32-bit OEM and 64-bit OEM, however the license is only good for that actual version, so if you buy 32-bit OEM and later want to install 64-bit, you have to buy another license.

Are the 64-bit OEM versions available in Thailand yet? In particular, I'm looking for 64-bit OEM Vista Business.

Since I switched to OpenDNS, a lot of internet flakiness I used to experience in Thailand (currently with TT&T ADSL) disappeared.

For those not familiar with OpenDNS, click on the link in astral's post above. All you need to do is put their DNS server address numbers in your TCP/IP settings, and the web site tells you how. It's free and works like a charm.

How did I miss that post about "the two standard modem sockets"??? <smack!>

UNDOUBTEDLY, one of them is an RJ-45 port.

Scottie, if you look closely you'll see one of them is a little wider than the other one, and that's the RJ-45 port.