Thailand aiming to be "Start-Up hub of SE Asia - visas made easy for tech entrepreneurs

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, JAG said:

Well, obviously, if your startup is successful and turning a profit after three years, your visa expires and the business is turned over to a Thai. No doubt that will be made clear to you - at the 2 year and 10 month point...

Plenty of joint-ventures that were nurtured on the BOI tit since the 1980's have suffered this fate, so what's new?

[seancbk]

25 minutes ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

1 hour ago, seancbk said:

Huh?

There are only really two classes of Visa available here, Tourist and Non Immigrant.

Within the Non Immigrant class there are only two Visas that most people will ever need to apply for - Non B (for Business) or Non O (Marriage or Retirement).
 

You may want to call them sub-categories of Non Immigrant Visa? the Thailand Elite Visa, the different new Smart visas, the Non O, the Non OA, the Non B, and the 10 year retirement visa (2x5 year) we heard about last year.

 

Thailand Elite is a Tourist Visa.   The new Smart Visas are different categories of Non B visas.   Non O, and Non OA are included (with Non B ) in the Non Immigrant Category.

The rumoured 10 year retirement visa doesn't exist and if/when it does it too will just be a Non Immigrant Visa.

There are several other visas, but they are not relevant for most of people.   Most people will be on one of 2 types, Tourist or Non Immigrant.

 

[seancbk]

6 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

And thus the 1000+ throbbing hard-ons of various bloggers, vloggers, eBay traders, online English teachers and other itinerant digital pikeys were summarily and cruelly lost.

 

Those people can legally be here on Tourist Visas.

 

 

[Redline]

The real question is how much money can they make here.  The only people I can see doing this is single males, and they will be out after they burn through their cash, or burned out on p***y

Edited April 30, 2018 by Redline

[Bkkthebest]

You need more than just visa to attract talent. BTW, how the hell do you define Talent? 

[mommysboy]

Also, wherever I've been in Thailand the internet has been somewhat crap!  Wouldn't this be a tad detrimental?  Maybe this can be overcome!

[shady86]

Also, wherever I've been in Thailand the internet has been somewhat crap!  Wouldn't this be a tad detrimental?  Maybe this can be overcome!

Which countries are you comparing to? You can't compare Thailand to Japan, Singapore or Korea. Should be compared to Myanmar, Cambodia or Laos. This is the hub for these countries.

 

[varun]

12 hours ago, sukhumvitneon said:

Why would "tech talent" move to Thailand with shitty pay, red tape on everything from immigration to car ownership, and crumbling infrastructure when they could move to US/Canada/UK/EU/Singapore or a ton of other places where they can make waaaaaaay more money and stand the chance of owning a car and a house with minimal hassle, with citizenship and a decent passport to boot? 

 

I love it there in LoS but for young people with in-demand skills it's the last place they should look for work.

I think you've missed the point.

Maybe it's an incorrect translation,

but I don't think this visa is intended to lure "tech talent" to come to Thailand for seeking employment.

 

There's regular/BOI visas & WP's for that, so why would they need this?

Seems this visa is intended for tech entrepreneurs who're in the region to register their companies & get their startup(s) off the ground.

 

Don't see what is the point of this new scheme anyways - companies can apply for BOI promotion and get similar benefits.

 

Finding tech talent locally is a different, but related problem.

Edited April 30, 2018 by varun

[AntDee]

I reckon this visa scheme will die a quiet death like so many other poorly planned projects. There have been pronouncements by the government that the visa scheme will help attract tech talent, but, as others have said, it takes more than a silly visa scheme to attract true world class talent. 

 

As for local talent, there is little. 

[AntDee]

9 hours ago, Expatthailover said:

Nice to see someone recognising this initiative for what it is as opposed to sneering, mocking etc.

Sure it may not turn out as expected or intended but it sure beats doing doing and wallowing in apathy and mediocrity.

Well done thailand

Thailand relies on a steady stream of westerners who are routinely fooled by Thai ability to pretend to be doing something nice. If you think they are trying to something to help outsiders, then I would kindly suggest you look carefully at Thailand's recent century of history. This scheme is either incompetence (as is true with MANY actions here) or it is squarely for the benefit of Thailand and Thais. 

 

For example, what legal recourse do you think wronged tech entrepreneurs will have in a country notorious for little foreigner access to legal judgements??

[thhMan]

Wont work
We started as a Startup and first problem was work visa

Getting qualified Thai Staff was a nightmare and Fluent English speaking is even harder

For us, the infrastructure was sort of there, but grossly deficient

The only people that would profit, is the Thai staff who with their better salaries can go an buy a home, while the owner of the "Smart S" visa continues to rent and never becomes a part of Thailand, except for those invisible leg shackles, reporting to immigration on a regular basis, like a criminal on parole... etc

[Kieran00001]

4 minutes ago, thhMan said:

Wont work
We started as a Startup and first problem was work visa

Getting qualified Thai Staff was a nightmare and Fluent English speaking is even harder

For us, the infrastructure was sort of there, but grossly deficient

The only people that would profit, is the Thai staff who with their better salaries can go an buy a home, while the owner of the "Smart S" visa continues to rent and never becomes a part of Thailand, except for those invisible leg shackles, reporting to immigration on a regular basis, like a criminal on parole... etc

 

What sort of business was your startup?

I understood that the visa was very easy for startups as long as there was a decent amount of investment, and doesn't that also go for owning property, isn't the restriction only on small investments?  I am sure all the big hotel chains own their property. 

And why would you be reporting and not on an extension of stay? It only take three years on extensions of stay before you can apply for residency anyway, how many countries can you just waltz in and start business and not have to entertain immigration for your first few years?

[Dinobot]

I needed the laugh today.... kobkhun!

[AntDee]

1 hour ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

What sort of business was your startup?

I understood that the visa was very easy for startups as long as there was a decent amount of investment, and doesn't that also go for owning property, isn't the restriction only on small investments?  I am sure all the big hotel chains own their property. 

And why would you be reporting and not on an extension of stay? It only take three years on extensions of stay before you can apply for residency anyway, how many countries can you just waltz in and start business and not have to entertain immigration for your first few years?

You addressed only one of the issues raised, and you added Permanent Residency as a potential upside. Some of the older posters here would tell you that

 

1) Permanent Residency in Thailand provides questionable cost-benefit and

 

2) while you may qualify after 3 years, getting it may actually take a decade depending on the lottery and other factors. 

[samsensam]

 

the eticket system for bangkok buses which was due to go live, i believe, in december 20017 and is now not only not implemented but increasingly looking like a white elephant abandoned project.

[seancbk]

10 hours ago, mommysboy said:

Also, wherever I've been in Thailand the internet has been somewhat crap!  Wouldn't this be a tad detrimental?  Maybe this can be overcome!

 

Internet in Bangkok has been very good for the past few years.   Still depends slightly where in Bangkok you live, but any of the A grade buildings on Sukhumvit between Asoke and Udom Suk will now have Fibre.

 

[seancbk]

10 hours ago, shady86 said:

Which countries are you comparing to? You can't compare Thailand to Japan, Singapore or Korea. Should be compared to Myanmar, Cambodia or Laos. This is the hub for these countries.

 

I lived in HK for many years before coming here 10 years ago.  My internet in HK was amazing and when I came here the internet was terrible.   Now however, my internet speed in Bangkok is comparable to what I'd get if I was in HK.   

[janclaes47]

16 minutes ago, seancbk said:

I lived in HK for many years before coming here 10 years ago.  My internet in HK was amazing and when I came here the internet was terrible.   Now however, my internet speed in Bangkok is comparable to what I'd get if I was in HK.   

Or should that read, comparable to what you got in HK 10 years ago?

[Kieran00001]

15 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Of course it does, you have no idea what you are talking about here, as usual.

 

As I already posted, in a study of 103 startups, only 3 had less than 5 employees, it is certainly very unusual for a startup to start with only a couple people, only 1 in that group of 103 did, and anyway, you failed to address the point I made, which is what would be the advantage to Thailand to encourage tiny startups without employees?  As for your billionaire mate, sure you have one, we all believe you.

[Kieran00001]

18 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

My friend started a business with a couple of others, now it is a multi-billion dollar company.

 

How do you think successful startups manage to get started? Start off with 100 staff?

 

 

Name one successful startup that has started with less than 4 staff.

[Kieran00001]

1 hour ago, AntDee said:

You addressed only one of the issues raised, and you added Permanent Residency as a potential upside. Some of the older posters here would tell you that

 

1) Permanent Residency in Thailand provides questionable cost-benefit and

 

2) while you may qualify after 3 years, getting it may actually take a decade depending on the lottery and other factors. 

 

You only addressed one of the points I made, irony might be a strong point for you.

The fact is, any decent sized investment gets a visa without issue, and a work permit, and the right to own property, address that issue, this is not about retirees struggling to get residency but serious investors.

[seancbk]

10 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

30 minutes ago, seancbk said:

I lived in HK for many years before coming here 10 years ago.  My internet in HK was amazing and when I came here the internet was terrible.   Now however, my internet speed in Bangkok is comparable to what I'd get if I was in HK.   

Or should that read, comparable to what you got in HK 10 years ago?

 

No.  Comparable to what my friends in HK have now.   I get 85 Mbps down and 25 Mbps up here in Bangkok, which in real world use is just as good as the 100 Mbps I would have in HK.   



 

[shady86]

I don't think HK is that slow now. 100Mbps is considered snail in Singapore. 1000Mps is common now.

 
No.  Comparable to what my friends in HK have now.   I get 85 Mbps down and 25 Mbps up here in Bangkok, which in real world use is just as good as the 100 Mbps I would have in HK.   



 

[seancbk]

9 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

As I already posted, in a study of 103 startups, only 3 had less than 5 employees, it is certainly very unusual for a startup to start with only a couple people, only 1 in that group of 103 did, and anyway, you failed to address the point I made, which is what would be the advantage to Thailand to encourage tiny startups without employees?  As for your billionaire mate, sure you have one, we all believe you.

 

A startup may be 'started' with just the founders (2-3 people typically) but will very rapidly (ie as soon as they start doing any coding) start hiring people.   

Back in the Mid 90's two guys I knew in HK started a web design company, and they became friendly competitors of the web design company I was Managing Director of.    A few years later they made me an offer to leave the company I was running and join their company.   They planned to go public and their offer was substantial as I'd be a member of the executive team.  So I joined their company in about 1996.

We became the first Chinese company to list on Nasdaq in 1999 and raised 750 million USD.    So although my friends didn't become USD billionaires they did very well.

[Kieran00001]

11 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

I know for a fact there are many. All companies start somewhere. 

 

I would consider a company with 40+ employees no longer a startup, especially if it is over 36 months old. 

 

Those with one foreigner and four Thais to achieve legal status in Thailand will rarely succeed if ever, most of the capital will be required to pay non-essential Thais who are incapable, incompetent and burdensome while your business withers and dies on the vine.

 

But the rules here are antiquated and ridiculous, and successful foreign businesses are often stolen by the locals through the typical deceitful methods I see exhibited daily. 

 

So you cant actually name one and so instead launch into a barrage of unsubstantiated attacks on Thais, i'm starting to see a pattern in your posts.

[janclaes47]

10 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

So you cant actually name one and so instead launch into a barrage of unsubstantiated attacks on Thais, i'm starting to see a pattern in your posts.

Well, I know of one that started with only 5 people, not sure if it ever was successful but have a read.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

 

 

Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service company based in Menlo Park, California. Its website was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.

[CLW]

 
No.  Comparable to what my friends in HK have now.   I get 85 Mbps down and 25 Mbps up here in Bangkok, which in real world use is just as good as the 100 Mbps I would have in HK.   



 

Another question, can you utilise this bandwidth?
I don't know any application for a normal user at home that requires such a high speed.

[Kieran00001]

3 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

Well, I know of one that started with only 5 people, not sure if it ever was successful but have a read.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

 

 

Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service company based in Menlo Park, California. Its website was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.

 

But they did not take those 5 people off to another country to start there, by the time they were moving they had a veritable army.  The question is, what sort of startup would be thinking to move to Thailand when they are at such a small size and why would Thailand want them?

[AntDee]

1 hour ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Name one successful startup that has started with less than 4 staff.

Name 10 globally successful tech companies who are started by Thai entrepreneurs. Actually, name 2.

 

The point is not the number but the ratio of Thais to others and the appalling education system here which produces barely functioning workers. 

Edited May 1, 2018 by AntDee

[seancbk]

1 hour ago, CLW said:

2 hours ago, seancbk said:

 
No.  Comparable to what my friends in HK have now.   I get 85 Mbps down and 25 Mbps up here in Bangkok, which in real world use is just as good as the 100 Mbps I would have in HK.   



 

Another question, can you utilise this bandwidth?
I don't know any application for a normal user at home that requires such a high speed.

 

 

Which was my point if you are following the thread.  Bangkok's internet is now very good and doesn't really need to get much better.