I want to move to bk

[Blackandwhite]

I would like at some point to live in thailand. please can some of you people out there give me a breif description of how you have done it. Info that would be good is Age, where you stay, line of work or business, married ect. just basic info would be great.

Thank you

[simon43]

Simon - this is what i have done...I run a UK internet business which generates my salary.  I can 'manage' this business from anywhere in the world, via the internet.

I got a 1 year, multiple entry B visa from the Hull consulate by requestiung it to allow me to travel to Thailand and check out running a business from there.

I came to BKK and rented a flat.

I then rented an office for my business

Now i am ready to 'run' my business from Thailand!  Of course, i don't necessarily need the office or Thai ltd company.  I could probably get my 1 year visa renewed every year on the basis of investigating/setting up a Thai business.

I now spend 2 weeks in BKK and 2 weeks in England every month.  (Right now i am sitting in a Starbucks at Oxford Circus using my laptop via their wireless internet access - great! - and later today i'll fly to BKK to work for 2 weeks from my new office.)

By the way, I fly as an air courier so i can get pretty cheap (£300 return) British Airways tickerts...

The only reason i come back to the UK is to see my children!!

Best of luck!!

[Bob Chittie]

simon43, was setting up the Thai company here as complex as it sounds? Or if you have a few million baht and a good lawyer, is it pretty simple?

[simon43]

I'm actually coming to BKK this time to establish that company...using our good friends at Sunbelt Asia. I think the process seems pretty straight-forward (as far as setting up a company in most countries is concerned:) - But I'm also aware that it will cost a few million baht (in terms of demonstrating funds available etc).

But i'm establishing a Thai ltds company because i actually want to do some business in LOS.  If I just continued to run my UK business from BKK then I don't think that wopuld be necessary.

So the best scheme seems to be to get some form of European business going which earns european-level revenues, and then live/manage this from LOS (living at Thai cost of living levels...)

And internet businesses seem the best for this!  But you do need a good business idea.  Selling some sort of goods or services over the internet is ideal.

To give you an idea of how I make my money, I basically advertise premium rate phone and text services (smutty chat!!). All I do is run some adverts in smutty mags and wait to be paid my share of the call revenue each month...That's my business at a very simple level and I employ just a few people in Europe to design the adverts, manage the business etc. It makes over 6 million baht every month!!  But you could run a similar business single-handed and with much-reduced costs compared to mine.  

Now you might be able to understand why I'm hounded by pretty girls when i go to the BKK bars!! They just see money money money......(And i don't look the part, no Rolex and just scruffy jeans...)

Best of luck!!!

[MaiChai]

simon43:

By the way, I fly as an air courier so i can get pretty cheap (£300 return) British Airways tickerts...

How does that work? Do you carry something important and get cheap flights for doing it? Would be interested in cheap flights to/from the UK.

[sevinnow]

Simon43.

You make 6 million baht a month?  That equates to 72 million baht a year, in Uk terms that is 1,107,692 Pounds a year!!!!

And yet you travel as a courior for BA?

Guess some one is telling "porkies" here, or some one has very vivid dreams!

As I fall off my stool laughing, but good luck anyway.

Sev

???

[simon43]

Your reply speaks for itself!! I have worked very hard to earn that level of money. Why should I waste it on travelling business-class or 1st class?!  No way! I'm not being tight with my money, but jewish people have a saying 'look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves'

I've been asked before why I still do the hard graft - up at 5.30am and working till 7pm with no lunchbreak.  Why don't i just employ a manager and sit back and relax.  The answer is because I like working hard!!

The only luxuries I have are a nice big Mercedes 4x4 and I just love techie gadgets.  But in the UK I live in a 1 bed apartment... (my wife lives in my 'big' house...). But I'm happy!!!

[sevinnow]

Well again Good Luck to you.

Regards

Sev

:cool:

[NathanV23]

I got a 1 year, multiple entry B visa from the Hull consulate by requestiung it to allow me to travel to Thailand and check out running a business from there.

So based only on the idea that you needed to travel to Thailand to check out running your business from there, you were granted a non-im B visa? Was it single entry or multiple?

According to tall the consulate websites, you need documentation from a thai company to get that visa, but are there exceptions?

Can anyone else comment on this? It seems like in general it couldn't work or else everyone would say they need to go look into running a business in thailand and we'd all be on non-im b visas!

[simon43]

Yes, that seems to be the case, but don't forget that I had to support my application by detailed company accounts for my 'parent'company in the UK.  Furthermore, I don't suppose I would get this visa extended next year if I cannot actually demonstrate that I have investigated setting up my business and then actually set it up in Thailand!

So now I have investigated this, have opened a physical office and am going through the paperwork stages of establishing my Thai limited company etc.

But good luck to anyone else who wants to try this route!

[pschef]

You are the same Simon who recently talked about setting up a mediator to monitor internet content for a certain fee ???

Seems to have lost track slightly, I remember you never answered my questions Oh well from Rags to Riches

[simon43]

?? I thought I DID answer your questions! There is a whole thread on this topic

And I have not lost direction at all!!! The content mediation is all about mediating content from mobile phones, which is exactly what my business is - mobile phone services! But in order to (legally) launch such a venture I must have a Thai ltd company, office etc etc.  And that's the bit I'm doing right now.

In the thread I spoke about the problems of employing non-Thais (eg work permit, higher minimum salary etc).  Those are all sound commercial reasons for only employing Thais

After all, it seems only right if I set up a business here in Thailand, to employ Thais, not 'farang'! I will not work in this business and will draw no salary etc.  The only people employed will be Thai nationals, whilst I will be a 46.5% share-holder in the venture. (The rest of the share-holders are Thai...)

[sevinnow]

Nathan,    They (the consulate) would at least want to see proof of 2 million baht in a Thai Bank account before they would consider giving a "B" Visa under these circumstances?

Regards

Sev

[pschef]

Sorry Simon you seem to be upset by my questions, I wonder if you are working from internet or home. How would anyone know, if Thai or Farrang. I wait in hope that someday it wont be like this ???

[NathanV23]

Hi Sev,

I figured there had to be a catch, although it seems that for whatever reason, some consualtes will issue non-im visas more easily than others.

[Butterfly]

I would like at some point to live in thailand. please can some of you people out there give me a breif description of how you have done it. Info that would be good is Age, where you stay, line of work or business, married ect. just basic info would be great.

Thank you

Living in Thailand is not the same as being a "tourist" there. You might find out a lot of "ugly" details that you don't see as a tourist. Even though I know Bangkok for quite a long time, living and working there was for me much more stressfull than working in my country of origin. It's difficult to explain with words but life in Bangkok is "tough". I don't know how the locals do it. That would explain why the locals like to party that much all the time and take a lot of drugs. Somehow this is the only way to forget what there is below the surface. Take all that away like Thaksin is trying to do and the locals might feel like Neo when he wake up from the Matrix: confused, lost and looking for answers.

[Butterfly]

?? I thought I DID answer your questions! There is a whole thread on this topic

And I have not lost direction at all!!! The content mediation is all about mediating content from mobile phones, which is exactly what my business is - mobile phone services! But in order to (legally) launch such a venture I must have a Thai ltd company, office etc etc.  And that's the bit I'm doing right now.

In the thread I spoke about the problems of employing non-Thais (eg work permit, higher minimum salary etc).  Those are all sound commercial reasons for only employing Thais

After all, it seems only right if I set up a business here in Thailand, to employ Thais, not 'farang'! I will not work in this business and will draw no salary etc.  The only people employed will be Thai nationals, whilst I will be a 46.5% share-holder in the venture. (The rest of the share-holders are Thai...)

I think you are heading to a lot of troubles (you won't be the first). You seem to be a little bit naive about the place. Welcome to Thailand. I have a bar to sell you.

[Butterfly]

Simon43.

You make 6 million baht a month?  That equates to 72 million baht a year, in Uk terms that is 1,107,692 Pounds a year!!!!

And yet you travel as a courior for BA?

Guess some one is telling "porkies" here, or some one has very vivid dreams!

As I fall off my stool laughing, but good luck anyway.

Sev

???

yeah, you are right. I call "troll" !!!!

[Butterfly]

I got a 1 year, multiple entry B visa from the Hull consulate by requestiung it to allow me to travel to Thailand and check out running a business from there.

So based only on the idea that you needed to travel to Thailand to check out running your business from there, you were granted a non-im B visa? Was it single entry or multiple?

According to tall the consulate websites, you need documentation from a thai company to get that visa, but are there exceptions?

Can anyone else comment on this? It seems like in general it couldn't work or else everyone would say they need to go look into running a business in thailand and we'd all be on non-im b visas!

yeah, it's possible if you do have a parent company in your home country asking you to do a visit to Thailand for business oppurtunities. It's a single entry 3 Months visa

[simon43]

Hi Butterfly - 3 replies to my comments and all of them pretty dumb:)

My comments about only employing Thai nationals is absolutely sound. I run a commercial business, not a charity.  Why should I have to pay higher farang salaries (as required by Thai law?). My commercial business model is only sound if I employ Thai nationals and pay them a (reasonable) Thai national salary.

I won't lose a minute's sleep about your troll comment. That's why I'm doing fine with money and you maybe are not

For my non-immigrant B visa I contacted the Hull consultate for their advice prior to applying.  Perhaps my financial status helped me to get the visa without problems!!

If I wanted to drop out the UK then maybe I would come to Thailand to run a bar:)  My presence in Thailand is an expansion to my profitable UK/European mobile telecoms business.

'Real' businesses can work in Thailand too, you know...

[pschef]

Not that long back Simon was asking about how or would it be possible to set up this kind of business, I think the post was titled business Idea Weird but possible? Now he is a jet setting Business man who seems to have it all sewn up. The reason all the girls jump on me when I walk into a bar in BKK, because I look like I have nothing. But of course all the Bargirls know I have, is it like perfume Simon? I refer to this six million Baht per year??? I know what I would be doing if that was my income

[simon43]

The bit about the mobile content mediation was something that a business colleague in the UK asked if I could offer - since my business was already working in mobile phone content.  And I think it does sound feasible to offer such a service from Thailand.  But it is a bit of an aside to my primary business aims within mobile comms (any good business-person knows not to be 'pulled' off-track by seemingly tempting work...)

I need first to actually establish the Thai company, paperwork etc etc before I can pursue or offer any work within Thailand.  All takes time:)

As to the income, well maybe I am mad but I do like working hard!! I cannot imagine sitting on a Pattaya beach all day with my arm round a pretty girl. (Well maybe the last bit is ok...).

Back in the UK my 85 year old dad who used to be a university lecturer still works every day at the same subject, but of course not for salary.  He does it because he enjoys it and it keeps his brain active.

I think in the 7 months that I have been coming to BKK, I have seen plenty of drop-out, doped-up farang.  Good luck to them if that's what they want. And good luck to me for pursuing my own form of happiness:)

[Butterfly]

Not that long back Simon was asking about how or would it be possible to set up this kind of business, I think the post was titled business Idea Weird but possible? Now he is a jet setting Business man who seems to have it all sewn up. The reason all the girls jump on me when I walk into a bar in BKK, because I look like I have nothing. But of course all the Bargirls know I have, is it like perfume Simon? I refer to this six million Baht per year??? I know what I would be doing if that was my income

You are wrong !!! it's six million Baht per month  :laugh:

Definitely a "troll". What a better place than here to show off.

I have met in Bangkok a lot of these "dillusional" type. They all ended up leaving the place in disgust or completely washed up and drunk from failing to accomplish their dream. It usually involves a bar or a disco but the mobile thing could be a new twist.

[sevinnow]

Hey guys give Simon a break,

He believes himself EVEN if non of us do!

Sev

:laugh:

[pschef]

Okay Simon, I love your speal. But not even one person is convinced I think I met you once, selling time share in Phuket towers. You must be a Hull kingston rovers fan, Leeds and, back to the room for a good sleep with xnaaz? snozoose my friend we are on your case. I know you are quite sure of your dream.  :cool:

[D80]

Simon,

Just interested (not trying to pick on you), what's your company's name in the UK?  I am in the UK as well and from the sound of your post, your business must be pretty reasonable in size.  Would I have heard of it?  

You don't have to answer if you don't want to.

It's just that my partner is also working in the telecom business, especially with mobile phone in the UK & Europe.  We're looking to get him a job in telecom in Thailand as well but still not sure which route we should take.  We don't really expecting to earn as much money as you though.

We've got a few friends in the telecom biz in the UK but haven't heard of anybody making the move to places as far as Thailand yet.

We're just doing research at the moment.  That's why I'm interested to know.

Thanks.

[simon43]

I'm wetting myself at the great replies to my postings:)

But here's some brief info to demonstrate why I'm not telling porkies...

My company is called Link77 (www.link77.com), but it's a small business, 5 people in the UK and about 10 at my office on the Costa del Sol.  I write the software to operate text-chat and dating services, and a lot of this is adult content - all licensed in the countries of operation.  The services run in the UK and 5 other countries in Europe.

Here's the maths. Each text message costs the user about 1-50 GBP (don't ask me why they are willin to pay so much for a single text message...), and I receive anything from 50p-100p per message from the mobile networks.  At present I do about 6,000 messages every day.'Get the idea?

It's very similar to the companies who sell ringtones and logos. These cost them about 50p each (including copyright payments etc), but each ringtone typically costs about 3.00 GBP. Now you can understand why those companies can afford to run full-page colour ads in magazines - they are making a fortune:)

As far as Thailand is concerned, I certainly will not launch any adult content.  And the revenue-share per message is far less of course. Typically one can charge a text message at around 8 bht and I get 4 bht. I think there is a market for fun chat services, as well as english conversation etc.  Same for mainland China.  Not much revenue per message but an awful lot of Chinese out there:)

[Butterfly]

My company is called Link77 (www.link77.com), but it's a small business, 5 people in the UK and about 10 at my office on the Costa del Sol.  I write the software to operate text-chat and dating services, and a lot of this is adult content - all licensed in the countries of operation.  The services run in the UK and 5 other countries in Europe.

How long did it take you to google that one ?

6000 SMS per day ? 6 millions per month ? you surely like that number 6

What are you selling with your SMS ? exctassy ?

I think you should unplug from the Matrix Neo

[singa-traz]

How long did it take you to google that one ?

Well Butterfly, try to use google harder ...

Even managed to get a video of him ... talking about Privacy !

Case closed ... let's go back to the thread where some Farangs get a pay rise ... 50K ...

[Zendesigner]

this from mobile commerce net

 

   

UK wireless venture Link77 has launched a new service that allows users to browse the web, select an image, and have it sent straight to their mobile phone. Clicapic resolves the problem of using Premium Rate Services (PRS), where a premium rate telephone number is called from a mobile phone. Many mobile networks block access to these high-cost numbers. The Clicapic solution widens availability with reverse billing, whilst also offering a very simple purchasing process.

Simon Luttrell, Chief Executive Officer of Link77, is keen to emphasise that users must verify the copyright restrictions of an image before they download it to their phone: "With our Clicapic service, virtually any web image can be sent as a picture message or operator logo. If the copyright allows it, you can download any one of millions of picture messages."

Link77 will license this service through Europe enabling new users to benefit from this industry.

  great work simon. Not by any change need a IT specialist/partner in your biz in Bkk?

Bart