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Can someone recommend a bank/account that comes with a Visa-card that works abroad (best would be without foreign transaction fees) and online-banking? What are the requirements for such an account (I have a valid work permit, but all my funds are on my bank account at home and my company pays my salary on that bank account at home)?

I'm surprised no one here mentioned Bella Napoli in Soi 31 yet. One of the biggest pizzas I've ever had in my life, baked in a real wood-fired oven, for a reasonable price (starting 200 THB afair). Some good pasta and meat on the menu, too. Overall a rather small menu, but that's usually a good sign of quality for a restaurant. Better than those doing everything but nothing really good.

I've also liked Basilico (Soi 20, Soi 33) and another one quite near to Basilico in Soi 33 (can't remember the name).

another i found recently that is arguably even better is Mama's you can find this in the soi between Soi 19 and Soi 21 Asoke

You mean "Big Mama" which I really disliked btw (even though quite some friends recommended it). Food wasn't good and seemed rather cheap.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Do you also know the translation for:

- President Asia (i.e. president of the whole Asia business/operations)

- Director Thailand (i.e. director next to the Managing Director/CEO)

Can someone provide translations for the most common job titles/positions in a multinational, i.e.:

- Managing Director

- Chief Executive Office (CEO)

- Chief Operations Officer (COO)

- President of XYZ Ltd. etc.

- (Co-)Founder

etc.

I have a question regarding the minimum capital investment required to open a company in Thailand: I understand it has to be at least 2-3 M THB, and for every work permit 2 M THB (e.g. you want to qualify for 3 work permits, you need to invest 3x2 M THB = 6 M THB capital). But how is the capital actually injected? Does it have to be transferred to a savings account as a kind of security deposit (e.g. to prevent bankruptcy)? Or can it actually be spent? How is checked whether the money was injected and to what account and how much is left etc.?

Can anyone recommend us a local Accounting firm (or Accountant) to handle our first tax filing? We do not yet have many transactions (no revenues, just expensed due to startup), but we are required to file a tax declaration.

We are a startup company and need a car for our company. It's mainly for our CEO. Thus it should not be a too small or too cheap car; it doesn't have to be a big BMW or Mercedes either. Can you recommend any good company where to lease such a car? How much will it cost us apprx.? What do we have to take care of? Thank you for your help!

An American company opens a branch in Thailand under the Amity Treaty. There are already two American directors who both sit in the US. Now they want to appoint a Managing Director who is foreigner but not American.

Is that possible? I hears contradicting things:

- our company lawyer from a top international law firm said that it's only possible if also a Thai person is registered as director who co-signs everything

- on the Siam Legal website it is only said that 50% of the directors have to be American (which would be the case here: 2 US, 1 non-US foreigner)

What's correct?

Yes, afaik there is a tax treaty with Thailand. Now I just wonder whether I can claim back the money at the end of the year with my tax declaration (thus living on a shoestring during the year while having a lot to spend at the end of the year) or if I just don't have to pay income tax at home. But I guess I have to research that with the officials back home

I was expecting something like that. I still wonder though how it is calculated and declared. Ie. how do they know what I earn, is calculated based upon my net or gross salary, etc.

Example:

My gross salary is 50.000 EUR/year. That's 4.166 EUR/month. Net salary, however, as my employer keeps a certain amount for income tax, secial security tax, etc. at home, will be only about 2.500 EUR/month. So what's the income tax I have to pay here? I read something about 50% or more, which would mean I had only or less than 1.250 EUR/month for a living, paying tax twice.

Also, I can receive a bonus every quarter as far as I reach my objectives, so how are bonuses handled?

Phone conversation: "Hi XYZ, it's ABC, we know each other from 123."

How can I say this in Thai? Is the following correct (very spoken):

"Sawasdee krub, XYZ. Nee ABC, na krub. Roo-jak-gan tee 123." (Hello XYZ. This ABC. Know-each-other at 123.)

Assume an expat is employed by the HQ in his home country and receives his salary there. Thus, he pays income tax back home. However, he is in charge of the Thai branch, thus living and working here. Does he also have to pay income tax in Thailand, thus paying it twice? How is income tax handled here; are there good documents about it for self-information?

Assume a multinational wants to expand to Thailand. It already has a legal entity registered here. Can you give advice on how to tackle the following issues:

- What's the procedure of getting the WP for the MD? There are no more other employees than he yet (he will have to hire them), so is there any issue with that 4/1-rule (4 Thais for each foreigner)?

- What's the procedure of setting up a corporate bank account, e.g. to pay rent for office rooms, etc.?

- What's the procedure to get WPs for a few consultants from the HQ, who support the setup in the initial phase (couple of months)?

Even though I already have a bit of knowledge, I am particularly interested in the correct order how to execute these things. E.g.:

- AFAIK for a WP the company needs to have a physical office. To rent an office, we need a corporate bank account here, however. To get a bank account, do we need to show WPs?

- In the initial phase, we do not have any Thais employed yet. We still need the guys from the HQ though. How can we get a WP for them, while we do not yet have Thai staff in place to obey that 4/1-rule?

I have an IDP from my home-country, but my national drivers license isn't here (and most certainly I do not want to afford two flight tickets just to get that document). So is it still possible to get a Thai drivers license with an IDP? Or do I really need to show my national drivers license? If so, can I just get a Thai drivers license the normal way, ie. taking drivers education etc., just like a Thai would do, or would it be too expensive and time-consuming (I heard it's not that difficult here)?

As for the other documents, I will have a WP and according visa soon.

We are planning to open a small startup in Thailand. TV.com has a lot of useful information, but it's all cluttered in threads and replies.

Thus my question:

There is a lot of literature on almost every topic regarding Thailand - language, culture, history, tourism, etc. Are there also good books on how to open a SME in Thailand? I am aware that it won't save us the need to consult a good lawyer/law firm, accounting/tax professionals, etc. at a certain point, and we would have the resources to do that. We are more looking for a comprehensive overview what things we have to consider, at which we have to consult other professionals, where to find the relevant law texts, etc. Basically some kind of 1 on 1 how to open a company in Thailand, explaining things from A to Z, so we have the broad overview and can dig deeper then with professionals.

Does there exist something like that? I already had a look at AsiaBooks and Kinokuniya, but didn't find much.

We are going to build a company here in Thailand. We already have the legal entitiy, business plan, funding, etc. However, for the first weeks, we need office space until we found a final office. Of course, we need all facilities, like internet access, phone, etc. So does anyone of you know:

- Where/whether short-term/temporary office space is available? In some other countries like Japan there even are government offices which may be used by startups during their first weeks if they invest.

- How to find a good final office, i.e. any recommendations for estate agents, buildings, etc.

Additional question:

What payment providers exist? Which are big and have a good reputation?

I am doing some research regarding different payment ways available for a new company to sell products or services via the internet. So far I have:

- Credit card (various banks)

- ATM transfer (various banks)

- Online/E-banking (various banks)

- Over the counter transfer at 7/11

Are there more ways? What are your experiences with the different way, both as A. a consumer (which one do you prefer to use) and B. as a merchant (which one do your customers prefer)? Thanks a lot!

or airport during day/evening if you have to.

That's a good info: Does it mean I can just get it at the airport before taking my flight? I actually don't have much time now, so it would save me the hassle of going to the immigration.

I am currently in country on a dbl entry tourist visa issued in Vientiane. Now I will have to go to a job interview to another Asian country next week, so I need a re-entry stamp from the immigration.

Questions:

1. Which immigration issues it? Is it the "new" one in Chaeng Wattana? Or the "old" one in Suan Plu?

2. How much does it cost? How much time does it take? What information/documents do I need to bring other than my passport?

3. Will they issue the re-entry stamp or could there be any problem because of the red warning stamp in my passport saying that I travelled to Thailand on a tourist visa several times?

I am posting this thread to update about the Vientiane tourist visa:

I went to Vientiane two weeks ago to get another double-entry tourist visa. I didn't think there could be any problem, as I had only one tourist visa before, which even was more than one year back. Indeed I got the visa with both entries, but there is a red stamp in my passport now saying something like "The passport holder travelled to Thailand on a tourist visa several times in the past which might lead to a refusal of a visa in future."

I heard of these warning stamps before, of course, but I thought they apply for those who try to stay in Thailand as long as possible by as many tourist visa in a row as possible. I was really surprised, because my "visa history" is something like this:

- 05/2008-05/2009: 1 yr multi ED visa

- 05/2009-08/2009: abroad

- 08/2009-09/2009: 30 days stamp

- 09/2009-09/2009: 15 days stamp

- 09/2009-12/2009: ED visa

- 12/2009-03/2010: dbl entry tourist visa

- 03/2010-05/2010: ED visa

- 05/2010-01/2011: abroad

- 01/2011-02/2011: 30 days stamp

- 02/2011-06/2011: abroad

- 06/2011-07/2011: 30 days stamp

- 07/2011: dbl entry tourist visa with red stamp

Could it be that they just did not read the passport thoroughly? The ED visa, for example, looks like a tourist visa (same button, just an "ED" where there is a "TR" on a tourist visa), and was also issued in VTE.

Seems to me that the company is trying to restrict the applicant pool to only Thais by requiring a Household Registration

This would be normal for a Thai, but uncommon for a foreigner - perhaps just a standard item on the list of documents required being enforced by an enthusiastic HR staffer.

I was thinking the same. Even more, they are doing a kind of essay writing test in the 1st round, which, as the HR officer told me, also includes Thai questions. On the other hand, they actually should know that I am a foreigner, as my CV clearly states and as the application was placed by one of their partners who knows me.

Anyways, thanks all for your help, so I will check with the HR staff again to make sure they know I am a foreigner.

I am currently applying for jobs here in Bangkok and was invited to a multinational consulting firm for the first round interview. The HR officer told me I have to bring (amongst other documents) a "Household registration". I am pretty sure that I do not have such paper and I never had, even when I was working here before (as an intern for a multinational pharma company). I searched the forums for it and read that it's actually something Thais have or something you can request from your embassy. Now how does my embassy know where I live or how can they attest it? I just came back with a 30-days tourist stamp taking the next best appartment I could find so I can start my job search here.. Help greatly appreciated!

As I said, with an Ed-visa you are unlikely to get a work permit.

Most of the foreign students working as an intern/trainee here hold an ED visa and get a work permit for their internship/traineeship.

Thank you for your help. Meanwhile, I also found two other threads here covering the same topic, which gave me a good overview. After reading what other TV members wrote about the curriculum and learning curve, I consider myself a Basic 2 candidate. This would fit with my flight - I am currently in my home country and will be back by beginning of June, thus I would not be able to take the Basic 1 course if I should qualify for that. I now asked them for doing the qualifying test via email or phone - I think members in the other thread wrote about that. Do you have any experience regarding the telephone interview, i.e. whether and under what circumstances it is possible and what the conditions are (paying the 500 THB fee, for example)?