Lawyer Recommendations For Work Permit

[nephilim]

I need to apply for a foreign representative work permit here in Thailand and would be grateful if anyone could recommend a good lawyer?

And if anyone has any idea of how much this should cost, that would be useful too.

Thx.

[bino]

Sunbelt Asia, who is one of the ThaiVisa sponsors, can certainly help you in this regard. Follow any of their links on this site.

[Indo-Siam]

Hi -

If you have a Thai employer qualified to sponsor a work permit, and your job location will be based in greater Bangkok area, my company can also help you. And - my company is also a sponsor of this forum/website.

Including government fee and professional services fee, the cost for obtaining an initial work permit typically runs 6-9,000 baht, accross various service providers. Thgat initial work permit will only be good for as long as your entry permit will be valid (typically less than 90 days), so you will most likely also be talking about:

1) Entry permit extension

2) Extension/revalidation of work permit to mactch entry permit extension

3) Re-entry permit, to allow travel in and out of thaiuland during period of extended stay.

There are additioanl costs associated with each of these steps.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

[nephilim]

Hi Steve

I don't have a Thai employer. This is a UK company and they want me to be based in Bangkok, solely as a representative. I've heard from someone in a similar position that they got a work permit by setting up a foreign rep office. Is this something you do?

[Indo-Siam]

Hi -

Yes, we have set up a Thai Representative Office (TRO) before. It is not a happy process. Long, arduous, expensive. One of my least favorite processes.

First question (because the Thai government fee is based on this factor): What is the registered capitalization of your overseas parent company?

In most cases, anyone contemplating setting up a TRO should consider setting up a Thai Private Co. Ltd. (TPCL) instead. It takes one eighth the time, one twentieth the expense (if your overses parent company has signifcant capitalization), and gives you much more flexibility to operate here.

For a TRO, all money to operate the entity must be remitted from overseas head office. If you form a TPCL, and operate it as a consulting business with just one customer - that being you overseas Head Office - then you effectively accomplsih the same thing - all money to opertae comes from parent company - except that now you send an invoice, and the Thai government gets a piece of the remittance as corporate tax.

If you want to sit down and go over this, contact me via conventional e-mail, and I will set up a meeting. I will also send you a copy of the rules for a TRO - which are very restrictive.

Good luck!

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com