Is foreign agent legal in Thailand ?

[susanschwaiger]

Does anyone know: According to the Thai law, can foreigners open/do property agent in Thailand ? 

 

Of course, there are so many such on the street.......Prostitution and foreign tour guides also exist, but they are not legall. Government can crackdown whenever they like ....

 

THanks 

[LennyW]

Whilst they can and do, technically/officially they will be advisors or consultants to the real estate company.

[allane]

While this a guess, I am thinking along the same line as LennyW. It is probably analogous to the tour bus industry for minority languages such as Korean or Russian"

   - a Thai is hired as a "tour guide", he speaks little or none of the minority language

  -  a foreign speaker of the minority language is hired as a "co-ordinator". This person does the work.

Is it strictly legal ?   No.  Does everyone go home happy ?    Yes.

[blackcab]

Yes it is possible. I have a work permit that allows me to be a property agent.

 

It's not easy to get though, due to the business/tax requirements of a business that deals in immovable property.

 

Specifically, the Ministry of Labour will want your business to be registered for Specific Business Tax, which is a big undertaking, and not something for a new or a small company to consider. SBT puts your company very much under the microscope, which a lot of people don't want.

 

As I said, it's possible, but difficult to comply. This is why there are very, very few property agents with the correct work permit. Most agents are employed as managers or something similar, then they do what they have to do discretely.

[jackdd]

According to this site http://www.thailawonline.com/en/others/labour-law/forbidden-occupations-for-foreigners-jobs.html it's forbidden

[blackcab]

5 hours ago, jackdd said:

According to this site http://www.thailawonline.com/en/others/labour-law/forbidden-occupations-for-foreigners-jobs.html it's forbidden

 

According to the Ministry of Labour it's not :)