Hello,

I need to know what visa I need when I want to move to Thailand and buy a bar with my Thai GF (wife some time after).

And also, do I need a workpermitt to work in my own bar?

Thank you very much in advance.

Luuk

Definitely.

You need a work permit to do any type of work in thailand, so would need a Non immigrant B visa.

If you don't actually do any work you maybe can get away without the work permit, but then if you so much as wipe a table you can be in trouble.

Do you really want to buy a bar anyway? I should think about it very carefully if I were you.

If you have not visited Thailand many times and then only in the high season, visit in the low season and check things out b4 committing yourself.

The best way to make a small fortune in Thailand is to start with a large one

A side-bar to this thread is a warning to anyone wanting to buy a bar if it is outside of the known entertainment zone. In Chiang Mai, at least, no new licenses are being issued to anyone wanting to open a bar outside of the yet to be disclosed entertainment zone. If you already have a license, you are grandfathered. Some enterprising individuals are requesting a restaurant license instead. There have been so many requests that the city has stopped issuing restaurant licenses to anyone. The specific warning is that if someone wants to buy out the lease on the bar and not the name (which is on the license) then they may be in for a surprise. The owner of the license will take it with them to their new location and the new lease holder can't open, legally.