Which Visa / Work Permit?

[Mestizo]

Hello All,

I am hoping that someone may be able to shed some light on a couple of questions I have. I have not yet been able to locate any answers that are applicable to my situation.

I am a 29 resident of the US. I am currently employeed by a US company and I would like to relocate to Thailand in the next few months. I would continue to work remotely for my US company, which does not have an office in Thailand. I would continue to be paid out of the US and pay income taxes to the US government. I plan to stay for approximately 2 to 3 years.

So, becuase I would not be working for a Thai company (or a company with an office in Thailand), I am not sure if I would need a work permit or not. I am not opposed to obtaining one, but I dont think that I meet any of the criteria. Any ideas on this?

Also, my job will require me to occasionally travel back and forth to AUS, Europe, and the US. I assume that I will need a multiple entry non-immagrant visa, but I am unsure about the visa category. Would I be able to get a B or EX category, if I am not performing work for a Thai company?

Thanks In Advance

-Mestizo

[Indo-Siam]

Fora 29 year old American, unmarried, without an employer in Thailand, the only provision to allow you to stay here longer than 30-60 days at a time is to get an investment visa, for placing designated amounts into fixed deposits at government designated banks here.

If you can live with making border runs every 30 days (taking an out-and-back daily bus), then you could effectively come here and work via Internet for your overseas employer, and Thai officialdom would generally not bother you. But - this is not a guaranteed solution - Thailand can modify short-visit rules and impose new restrictions whenever they see fit.

Wht you could do (if your overseas employer agreed) is set up a company here as a consultancy - with one and only one customer - your overseas employer. By registering 2,000,000 baht capital,you world be able to geta work permit. With work permit, you can then get a one-year, multiple-entry visa in Penang. You could then persist here for several years, just needing to leave the country once every 90 days.

What you could do is bill the US company from your Thai company for US $2,500 per month - enough to pay yourself a 60,000 baht per month salary, pay office and bookeeping expenses, Thai taxes, and some overhead expenses. Have the rest paid to you as salary to your regular US bank account. You could then operate for a long time, fully legal - and still accrue US credit for Social Security.

I don't know if your US employer would go along with this.

My company could help you put this all together.

Another option would be to marry a Thai - you then get a long-term visa, based on just bringing over US $10,500 once per year - which you may them spend. That's how I originally got here - working for a US employer, paid to a US bank, but based here, married to a Thai, traveling frequently throughout Asia.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

Skype: sykesbkk

[Mestizo]

Steve,

Thanks for your input! Its greatly appreciated. Quick question, can you define "registering 2,000,000 baht capital" for me? Does that mean that I am paying the Thai government that money, opening a bank account with that money in it, or just proving that I have access to those funds?

Also, I was browsing your website and noticed a section regarding Establishing a Thai Representative Office or Regional Headquarters Office in Thailand. Would that be an option? Is that more or less feasible than the consultancy setup you described?

One last question, the 30 day stay with visa runs, does that only apply to ono-immigrant Investor visas, or can that be done with a 30 day tourist visa as well?

Again, thanks for your assitance.

-Mestizo

[Indo-Siam]

Setting up a Thai Representative Office or Regional Office is a monumental pain in the rear end - a long, painful process. If your overseas parent company has high registered capitalziation, it can get expensive - the fee is 5 baht for every 1,000 baht of parent company's registered capitalization, with a cap of 240,000 baht.

a TRO must remit in from overseas 2,000,000 baht the first year, and 1,000,000 baht each of the following three years - and you must document these pay-ins at the Department of Business Development in Nonthaburi.

The process to register a TRO is really arduous these days - much, much easier to form a Thai Private Co. Ltd.

Registered capital means that you issue "x" number of shares at par value of

"y" baht - and distribute these among at least seven shareholders. A typical structure is 20,000 shares, with par value of 100 baht each - yielding a company with registered capitalization of 2,000,000 baht. Thai law requires that 25% of registered capital be paid in (in practice, to a Thai bank account in company's name) within 90 days.

Under current policy (subject to change at any time), you can do 30 day border turns forever - that's the main business at http://www.jackgolf.com/eng/visaService/cambodia.asp

As an American, what you get is simply a 30 day entry permit upon arrival - no visa involved.

Cheers!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

[Mallika]

Sorry to hijack an old topic, but this is pretty much exactly the same situation that I have with my boyfriend -- except that, for him, instead of it being "I am a 29 resident of the USA and employed by a US company," it would be, "I am 26, resident of Spain, and employed by a Spanish company."

He wants to try his hand at living in Thailand for a year before we decide to get married and move to Spain (besides, it'd be nice to have him get to know the country that I was born and that I live in, and to taste a different culture -- and hey, who knows, he might end up liking it). He'd continue to work remotely for his company (he does software programming / IT consultation), as well as receive a monthly salary from it.

His company probably wouldn't want to go through the trouble of setting up something here, and he's only going to be here for a year.... I know it's possible for him to come here on a 60-day tourist visa, then get a 30-day visa extension, but I'm still kind of hazy about what he's supposed to do after that for the rest of the time. Visa runs every month, for the rest of the year?

Edited February 23, 2005 by Mallika

[Mallika]

Never mind, decided to start a new topic here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=28093