rikiderorck

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 ?