New company requirements and visas

[Nigel71]

Hi All,

Recently traveled to Thailand and fell in love with the place the culture and the people. I'm a property developer here in the UK and whilst in Thailand In could see some opportunity to set up a company and build in Thailand. But I know nothing of the legal requirement to set up a company, working visa, building regulation, etc. Are there any links to sites that can give me all / part of the information I need. I'm sure all the information is here on the forum but I don't have the time to go through all the post.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Nigel 

[elviajero]

Don't do it! At least not until you've spent more time in the country, and reality has set in.

 

If you want to set up a company it will need to be 51% Thai owned. Partnering with a trusted, and ideally connected, Thai will be the biggest hurdle. You will need to be employed by your/a business to get a work permit, and the work you can do will be limited. You wont be able to own land yourself, even a share of it. You could only own the land through the company.

[KittenKong]

44 minutes ago, Nigel71 said:

I'm a property developer here in the UK and whilst in Thailand In could see some opportunity to set up a company and build in Thailand.

Lambs to the slaughter.

[Nigel71]

On 12/17/2018 at 4:36 PM, KittenKong said:

Lambs to the slaughter.

Thanks for the constructive comment. 

[Nigel71]

On 12/17/2018 at 4:15 PM, elviajero said:

Don't do it! At least not until you've spent more time in the country, and reality has set in.

 

If you want to set up a company it will need to be 51% Thai owned. Partnering with a trusted, and ideally connected, Thai will be the biggest hurdle. You will need to be employed by your/a business to get a work permit, and the work you can do will be limited. You wont be able to own land yourself, even a share of it. You could only own the land through the company.

Thanks Elviajero, i will take your comments on board, I do have a couple of connection in Thailand so will start with these and see where it leads. At the end of the day it all comes down to how much risk i'm willing to take and accepting that I could lose everything i invest. 

[KittenKong]

22 minutes ago, Nigel71 said:

Thanks for the constructive comment. 

You're welcome. I hope for your sake that you take it on board.

[ThomasThBKK]

On 12/17/2018 at 11:15 PM, elviajero said:

Don't do it! At least not until you've spent more time in the country, and reality has set in.

 

If you want to set up a company it will need to be 51% Thai owned. Partnering with a trusted, and ideally connected, Thai will be the biggest hurdle. You will need to be employed by your/a business to get a work permit, and the work you can do will be limited. You wont be able to own land yourself, even a share of it. You could only own the land through the company.

 

While you can only own 49% of the company, you can still control it via prefered shares (voting rights).

 

 

OP, there are reputable english speaking lawyers that have offices in the UK and in Thailand, talk to them instead.

[tjo o tjim]

Lambs to the slaughter isn’t far off.  I looked at some old receipts last week and what I was charged in 2007 to start a company which fell through before being completed— it was 150,000 Baht (Amity Treaty company)!  That is what desperation and urgency do to you.  Spending more time first is wise advice and don’t jump in with both feet.

 

There is money to be made, but if you squander at first it can be a challenge to survive. 

[kuma]

On 12/17/2018 at 11:36 PM, KittenKong said:

Lambs to the slaughter.

Indeed, K Kong is on the mark.

As others have posted here, given you have no experience with Thailand, professional services are most definitely required. PM if you want more info.

On the subject, do others here have any experience yet with the latest SMART visas for Thailand 4.0 / EEC promotion?

I am on year 15 here, was working, now retired. Thinking of perhaps setting up a firm to do some work. Will visit EEC office in a few weeks, then the One Stop in Bkk and while I am at it the DBD / MoI to find out what is the latest if the business fell outside of those programs.

Wondering if anyone has had success with SMART S at this point?

Cheers

[blackcab]

I think you will find that very few SMART visas have been issued.

[kuma]

11 hours ago, blackcab said:

I think you will find that very few SMART visas have been issued.

Yes correct. The published stats so far say only a handful have been issued, with about a ~80-90% rejection rate, iifc.