Hello Everyone 

 

I have Thai permanent residence (Blue and Red Books) status in Thailand since 1992.

 

I have been approached by a US based company that has been trading is various commodities globally. They wish to appoint me as their official "Marketing Representative". to do marketing for their products in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.  However, they do not want to form or establish a company in Thailand.  They will of course pay me a monthly salary + commission in a proper legal manner for which they can issue salary slips etc from their Head office in the US... that will enable me to file my personal income taxes here in Thailand.    

 

In this regard, I have couple of questions as follows :

  1. Will I need a work permit ?   If yes, is it possible to make one based on their US Head office ?

  2. If work permit is not required,  then how do I file my yearly form 91 tax return ?

 

Any advice in the right direction will be truly appreciated.. thank you 

2 minutes ago, Navin said:

1. Will I need a work permit ?   If yes, is it possible to make one based on their US Head office ?

  2. If work permit is not required,  then how do I file my yearly form 91 tax return ?

1. Yes and no. It is has to company registered here in Thailand. 

    They could set up a representative, regional or branch office here and you could get a work permit with only one Thai employee (receptionist or secretary and etc) and you.

You need a work permit to work.

As Ubonjoe pointed out a representative office would be you best option, possibly the only option without registering a Thai Company. 

 

Just be aware it is quite restrictive in that you can only do certain non-revenue-raising activities. For example you can supply information about various products sold by the head office to local distributors or consumers however you can't actually sell the product yourself - theoretically. 

This is difficult because Thai law is not very forgiving for people in your situation. Technically, if you are being paid in the U.S. from a U.S. company, you are working illegally in Thailand if you are living here. You need a work permit, and be hired from a company that is a registered Thai company in Thailand. The "sales office" approach is a sketchy one, and unless you are Thai, it could cause problems for you if someone investigates.

  

The solution I recommend is find a local employment agency who will sponsor you and take care of the work permit, salary, payslips, benefits, etc. (There are many and not hard to find.). Your U.S. company will have a contract with them and pay them directly. This is how it is done. 

9 hours ago, scoutman360 said:

You need a work permit, and be hired from a company that is a registered Thai company in Thailand. The "sales office" approach is a sketchy one, and unless you are Thai, it could cause problems for you if someone investigates.

I did not writes sales office anywhere in this topic.

22 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

They could set up a representative, regional or branch office here and you could get a work permit with only one Thai employee (receptionist or secretary and etc) and you.

The above are all legitimate options for a person that is not Thai.