rikiderorck

Hi all, I saw some Facebook pages from my country promoting tropical villas in Koh Phangan, aimed at foreigners.. here is a video demo: https://imgur.com/a/opV4MQ0 They show fully furnished villas with private pools and promise up to 20% annual returns. In the comments, the admin said each villa is selling for about €150,000. This made me wonder, how are they selling villas to foreigners if foreigners can't legally own land in Thailand? These aren't condos. So is it a 30-year lease, or is there some company structure involved? I found the listing here: https://lazudi.com/th-en/surat-thani/project/greeny-moon-villas-14851 But there's no info about leasehold, company setup, or legal ownership, just lifestyle and investment talk. Is this common? Are they just selling lease contracts without saying it? Thanks in advance for any info or experience.

Hey everyone, I’m currently researching how realistic it is to get a Non-B visa if you're moving to Thailand. I know it’s mainly for work or business, but I wanna know about what it actually looks like in real life. From your own experiences guys, If you’re in Thailand on a Non-B visa, what kind of job did you apply for, or what were the circumstances that allowed you to get it? Was it through a company, your own business, teaching, something else? Like I said just trying to understand the real paths people take to get this visa, beyond just the theory or legal definitions.

Thanks.

Hey guys, After giving it a lot of thought and going over some early ideas I have for business in Thailand, I started to feel that the most practical path forward would be to rent a place rather than buy. What I’m looking to do is set up a small tourism-related operation where I will be working with foreigners from my home country. The idea is that I’ll have an office (rented, not owned) in Thailand which will serve as a base for the business. The clients would pay for the service packages abroad, and once they arrive in Thailand, I would provide everything included, airport pickup, hotel coordination, tours, maybe some small events depending on what’s arranged. It’s a very lean model, no land ownership, no major real estate commitments, just running things locally for people who already paid for the experience before arriving. So here’s where I wanna know. Has anyone here done something like this before guys? If that's the case could you provide me some insights on this matter? I imagine my two main options are either operating through a foreign company or registering a Thai company locally. Since the money would be collected abroad, I feel like having the company registered outside Thailand will make more sense, doesn’t it? But in that case, can I legally run such a business on Thai land while renting an office and organizing activities? What would be the requirements, permits, or limitations I need to be aware of? Of course, I can search and read legal guides, but I wanted to post here to see if anyone with firsthand experience could share real-world info , which is often way more helpful than just relying on Google. Then there’s the second route, opening a Thai company. From what I understand, I will be limited to 49% ownership as a foreigner. Is that still the case today? And are there people here who went that route and could speak to how it worked out, especially for a small tourism operation? This project is still in the early idea phase, and I’m not rushing into anything. Just trying to gather information and learn from people who have done it before or know the process well. I really want to make the right moves from the beginning and avoid problems down the line, even though Im pretty sure I cant know everything in advance no matter how much I prepare. Btw, initially what I had in mind was to invest my savings directly into something bigger, like land or a more developed setup. But after talking with a few people and thinking through the risks, I realized I might not have enough capital to do that securely. There’s also the real possibility of losing everything if things don’t go as planned. That’s why I started leaning toward this leaner rental-based model, at least for the first couple of years. If things go well and the setup proves sustainable, I can always scale later. So if any of you think I’m being unrealistic or see any major issues with this approach, please let me know. That kind of feedback will really help me make better decisions.

Thank you sir, really genuine and honest opinion . I’ll keep your points in mind. Unfortunately, I’m not into the whole Thai wife thing or really interested in Asians in general , just not my style, to be honest. I’m heading there for business, not for personal relationships.

Thanks for the reply. I'm in my thirties and plan to come with a family member in his fifties. I was thinking about Phuket but right now I'm just trying to collect as much clear info as possible. I stayed in Phuket town for six months about a year ago. Didn't go near Patong for long-term living. After that I went back home and started talking to my family to see who might want to join. Of course we're still cautious. That’s part of the process. If it was simple and risk-free everyone would be doing it. I posted here because I believe even in forums like this I can get useful information. Maybe not always perfect, but enough to help shape the next steps. I'm in the preparation stage and never claimed to be fully ready. I’m here to gather knowledge, there will be good and bad input, I get that, but I’m hoping some of it will be genuinely helpful.

@Celsius Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer me, genuinely grateful for that I appreciate it. That said, if you don’t mind, Im curious to hear your thoughts on the actual questions I asked in the post. That way I can get more insights.

Hi everyone I’m a European with a solid six-figure amount saved and I’m planning to move to Phuket to start a small tourism business. The goal is to get my money out of Europe and invest it into something stable and long term in Thailand. What I have in mind is buying land, building some small accommodation units, and using that property as a base to offer guided tours and experience packages. The business would start small but focused. Guests would stay on site and also take part in activities I organise directly. These could include renting out gear I own, as well as offering guided trips to nearby islands. I’m also open to eventually hosting small music events, things like DJ nights or social gatherings. It’s not the core idea but something that could develop later if it makes sense. If anyone thinks that’s a bad move or has advice on that side of things, I’m open to hearing it. At first I assumed I could simply buy land and go from there, but after digging into it more, it figured out that foreigners cannot legally own land in Thailand outright. What I understand so far is that a foreigner can own up to 49 percent of a Thai company, and that company can own land, while the remaining 51 percent must be Thai-owned. If anyone here knows the facts for sure or has gone through this process, please confirm or correct that for me. I don’t want to rely on half-truths or secondhand assumptions. I also started looking into different options like: Investment routes such as the Board of Investment (BOI), Setting up a Thai company under the 49/51 ownership rule, Leasing land long term (30 years, possibly renewable), Other legal structures I may not be aware of yet At the same time I see plenty of foreigners, especially Russians, running similar businesses in Phuket. So my honest question is : how are they doing it ? Are they managing through Thai companies where they hold 49 percent? Are they leasing land and building on it? Are they using nominee setups that are technically illegal but common? Or is it that some are doing this legally through boi or another setup Im not aware of ? Just to be clear, I’m not looking for shortcuts. I spent about a year in Thailand over the past seven years across multiple trips, so I’m not someone who just visited once and got carried away. This idea has been in the back of my mind for a long time, and now I’m doing proper research before making any commitments. Getting my money out of Europe and investing in Thailand is the goal, but only if it’s legally and structurally done. I’m not going all in if there are still major gray areas. So what advice would you give me based on your own experiences and knowledge in the matter ?