Hi,

maybe these questions have been covered a million times before. But if some one could shed some light for me it would be a great help. I dont really understand what is the best route to follow to establish a business in thailand with my partner( Thai).

I dont really like the idea of setting up a company with shareholders etc as this seems over the top for what we are aiming for. We are planning to open an tourist information office or small cafe/restaurant with internet service.

I am a british citizen if it makes any difference.

If my partner was sole proprietor of a business where would i stand if i wanted to be involved. Would i have to be registered as an employee?

Or can we form a partnership. If so which is normally the best to setup?

give me some clues if you can.

bangmatt

I assume from this post, that you and your partner are not married. thus a Sole Proprietorship formed to run your Tourist Information Office/ Internet Cafe would need 4 Thai employees before it could hire you as a foreign employee.

When you are thinking about how many employees your partner will need, it's also worth being aware of the job functions that are restricted to Thai people only. Check the following link Royal Decree Stipulating Work in Occupations and Professions Prohibited to Aliens (see list on page 18). Foreigners, amongst other restricted professions, cannot do secretarial, clerical, agency, brokerage, or shop front sales work.

If you partner does not intend to employ four Thai people, them a better route, if you specifically want to be employed, is to establish a Thai Limited Partnership. Such a limited partnership does not need 4 Thai employees, just 2 million THB Capitalisation per WP. The 2 million capitalisation can be initially set up for a few thousand baht.

Note that the capitalisation is the limit of liability for the company and does not have to be sitting in your bank (ever).

Using a reputable law firm, your initial company set up costs for such a partnership may be in the 10,000 to 30,000 THB range.

Your partner would be the Thai Managing Partner, the partnersip's director and would have unlimited liability. Your liability would be limited to the extent of the partnersip's capitalisation. The ongoing running costs are similar to those of a Thai Limited Company.

You then have the costs for a Work Permit application, plus visa run costs. You would also need to obtain the correct visa in your passport.

Also you have running costs, taxes to pay and annual audited accounts to produce as well. All in all these costs are not that much different from those of a full Thai Limited Company, but are much more than the cost for a sole proprietorship.

Hope that this information is of some help to you.

I assume from this post, that you and your partner are not married. thus a Sole Proprietorship formed to run your Tourist Information Office/ Internet Cafe would need 4 Thai employees before it could hire you as a foreign employee.

When you are thinking about how many employees your partner will need, it's also worth being aware of the job functions that are restricted to Thai people only. Check the following link Royal Decree Stipulating Work in Occupations and Professions Prohibited to Aliens (see list on page 18). Foreigners, amongst other restricted professions, cannot do secretarial, clerical, agency, brokerage, or shop front sales work.

If you partner does not intend to employ four Thai people, them a better route, if you specifically want to be employed, is to establish a Thai Limited Partnership. Such a limited partnership does not need 4 Thai employees, just 2 million THB Capitalisation per WP. The 2 million capitalisation can be initially set up for a few thousand baht.

Note that the capitalisation is the limit of liability for the company and does not have to be sitting in your bank (ever).

Using a reputable law firm, your initial company set up costs for such a partnership may be in the 10,000 to 30,000 THB range.

Your partner would be the Thai Managing Partner, the partnersip's director and would have unlimited liability. Your liability would be limited to the extent of the partnersip's capitalisation. The ongoing running costs are similar to those of a Thai Limited Company.

You then have the costs for a Work Permit application, plus visa run costs. You would also need to obtain the correct visa in your passport.

Also you have running costs, taxes to pay and annual audited accounts to produce as well. All in all these costs are not that much different from those of a full Thai Limited Company, but are much more than the cost for a sole proprietorship.

Hope that this information is of some help to you.

Thanks, we plan to marry soon within the next few months, how does this change things? am i right in thinking that the requirements are halved. 2 thai employees and 1 million baht?

bangmatt

I assume from this post, that you and your partner are not married. thus a Sole Proprietorship formed to run your Tourist Information Office/ Internet Cafe would need 4 Thai employees before it could hire you as a foreign employee.

When you are thinking about how many employees your partner will need, it's also worth being aware of the job functions that are restricted to Thai people only. Check the following link Royal Decree Stipulating Work in Occupations and Professions Prohibited to Aliens (see list on page 18). Foreigners, amongst other restricted professions, cannot do secretarial, clerical, agency, brokerage, or shop front sales work.

If you partner does not intend to employ four Thai people, them a better route, if you specifically want to be employed, is to establish a Thai Limited Partnership. Such a limited partnership does not need 4 Thai employees, just 2 million THB Capitalisation per WP. The 2 million capitalisation can be initially set up for a few thousand baht.

Note that the capitalisation is the limit of liability for the company and does not have to be sitting in your bank (ever).

Using a reputable law firm, your initial company set up costs for such a partnership may be in the 10,000 to 30,000 THB range.

Your partner would be the Thai Managing Partner, the partnersip's director and would have unlimited liability. Your liability would be limited to the extent of the partnersip's capitalisation. The ongoing running costs are similar to those of a Thai Limited Company.

You then have the costs for a Work Permit application, plus visa run costs. You would also need to obtain the correct visa in your passport.

Also you have running costs, taxes to pay and annual audited accounts to produce as well. All in all these costs are not that much different from those of a full Thai Limited Company, but are much more than the cost for a sole proprietorship.

Hope that this information is of some help to you.

Thanks, we plan to marry soon within the next few months, how does this change things? am i right in thinking that the requirements are halved. 2 thai employees and 1 million baht?

bangmatt

That is correct, if you are married, then your wife would only need two Thai employees before she could employ you as a foreigner.

A Thai Limited partnership would only require 1 Million Capitalisation to employ you as a foreigner, if you are married to a Thai.