Creative (but Legal) Ideas.

[Doro22]

Dear All,

I am seeking some advice. I have a job in Thailand today, with W/P and a multi Non-B

I have a job offer on the table that I can hardly refuse. It will cover the whole of Asia, which means a lot of travel. The potential employer does not have a company in Thailand; the nearest office is in Singapore. I would like however to stay and live in Bangkok.

Due to the instability that’s been going on for years the company doesn’t want to invest or have a Thai registered company.

Some of the work will be in Thailand though (sales meetings, trainings & events etc).

I am aware that even if you only work one day a month in Thailand you need W/P. I will not (nor the company) get involved in any illegal activities such as doing work without W/P.

So, anyone have any ideas how I can accept this job offer, and still can do some work and be based in Thailand. Or is leaving for Sing (or other country) the only option?

I am under 50, not married and no kids.

Thanks in advance.

Edited May 10, 2010 by Doro22

[LivinLOS]

Form a company, and employ yourself and contract it to the company you wish to work for.

[jazzbo]

Sure... you could form a company and all the overhead that would entail.

Another thought is that you actually do no work in Thailand but hire an English-speaking Thai man or woman as a 'straw man' to do all your sales meetings, training and events, etc. in Thailand which most likely will be in Thai language anyway.

Then you apply for a 2.1(2) 'Conducting Business in Thailand' visa which does not entail a work permit.

http://www.mfa.go.th/web/2482.php?id=2492

[richardt1808]

Hi,

Difficult situation for you and I have a friend who has the same problem, so I know all about your dillema. In the end, my mate chose to live in Cambodia and commute to Bangkok for his meetings etc. The Visa requirements are so much easier there and he seems to be happy with the way things are working out for him.

If you are really set on staying in Thailand, then you have your work cut out for you. As mentioned above, forming a company yourself is definitely an option, but may be prohibitively expensive because in order to support a WP, it would need to employ people and have a registered capital of 2M.

Let's assume for a moment that you didnt live in Thailand: If you then arrived for a business meeting and were in town for a few days or a few weeks for that matter, visiting random offices, then I think you could safely ignore the work permit scenario. I'm sure there are hundreds of businessmen in town under these circumstances on any given day. For a longer period of work, say an exhibition, I believe that you can apply for a short-term permit. I'm a bit sketchy on the exact details, but I have read about on some other posts here. Now, with the above in mind, factor that you do live in Thailand and that you rent a condo here as your base. If there was any query about your work status, you would be required to explain the above, ie that you are doing a business meeting or training course in an ad-hoc manner and I'm sure that you would have no problem. I've never heard of Immigration raiding a conference venue and asking for WP etc. The crux of the matter is that you would not be travelling to an office every day and doing work there. No one is going to question you about work that you do in your own home and the issue of where you sleep each night is not an issue.

Now, if you are travelling regularly, you could utilise a normal 30day entry visa which you would get arriving by air anyway. If you would be staying for periods of longer than 30 days, then you would start to have problems and the hassle of getting a longer visa prior to each entry and longer stay.

There is no magic bullet in this case and I think you will either have to figure out for yourself whether you can afford to open your own company here or jump through the hoops for temporary permits for long events and multiple visa options each time you leave the country.

Best of luck

[Doro22]

Guys,

I really appreciate the inputs and insights.

I am not bitching here and its a bit of a headache (luxury problem), but at least a good one.

Forming a company would be a way to go. Need to look into that. Another way might to check the possibility if one our local work partners might "hire" me as an employee.

I also heard that some companies in the region sets up a representative office in Thailand (not a real co,. ltd), but I guess that might be for Thais working for a company like that.

Thanks again for comments and advices.