Gary100 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Hello, We are 3 friends moving to Thailand in 2016, we have visited and are sure this will be our new home. We are considering Koh Chang, Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi. We will be early 30s in 2016 and intend to set up a bar/restaurant/hotelor as yet undetermined business Could someone kindly point out the basics to get us going: 1. How do you go about becoming a permanent resident in Thailand 2. Buying a property 3. Laws in relation to setting up a business Any help/input would be appreciated, we intend to arrive in a position to buy outright hence the 6 year wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizzi39 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 (edited) 2016? Well you certainly have plenty of time to scan this forum. A lot can happen over 6 years. Opening up a business as a foreigner isn't easy. The start up is costly and the bureaucracy is a bitch. Koh Chang and Samui are very expensive. Opening a successful business in these areas are getting harder. What nationality are you? This makes a difference when it comes to registering a business here. Long term lease on land maybe. Owning land? Not! Who knows what the next 6 years will bring. Take a step back and do your homework. Chok dee. Edited June 1, 2010 by mizzi39 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charger770 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 You'll be four years to late mate. It all ends in 2012, remember? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrier123 Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Bancrupcy, disaster in the making, big fortune becoming a small fortune, not the paradise you imagined or dreamt about. "The Beach" was only a movie BUT more realistic than most people think. JUST DO NO NOT DO IT is the best advice -- unless you can afford to lose everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahtin Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 How about Montmorency? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiangmaibruce Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 For a good general introduction can I suggest you get hold of the book "Your Investment Guide to Thailand". Some basic details can be found at www.silkwormbooks.com/catalog/info/investment-guide-thailand & you can order it online there also if you want to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taninthai Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 6 YEARS a long time many things cuold change in that time maybe you might be able to own land by then i very much doubt it though seriously you could probably come over tomorow and rent a bar but i tell you this you will not make money ................................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardog Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 With the fail rate so astronomically high in LOS I think you would be way better off making a killing in your own country first & worry about how to make your visa requirements here later. At 30 years old you are at a true disadvantage with regards to a Visa as a OA visa is not available till you hit 50 years old. And to make a nickle & spend a dollar doing it would not be a sound investment. IMHO. Good luck if in 6 years you go for it your going to need it! If your thinking about Asia do some more homework. I would think other countries would have more room to make money & less stringent visa requirements & on top of that a stable government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBD Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 IF I was in your position I'd be thinking more along the lines of what you can do in the next 6 years at home that will make you enough money to get set up and hopefully give you some income once you get here. You can live pretty cheaply in Thailand, so if you can get yourself an income about around say 50,000 baht a month, or it's equivalent in pounds/dollars/euros, that you can maintain from here then it's a lot less hassle and likely to be a lot more profitable than trying to make money here. Of course plenty of people do it, but many more fail. If you are determined to go down the road of making your living in Thailand, then I'd use your time advantage. Look at sites you could buy now, and try to buy something that you believe will rocket up in the next 6 years, even if it might not be a viable site at the moment. Good luck and let us know how you get on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beano2274 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 look up about what Visas are available to you. Find out about Work Permits, and how many Thais you must employ. Use this Forum to help you, get all your ideas and plans together, then add a new topic and let others assist you with ideas. Best to come back 1 year before you plan to do it, and post again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I love it when people have a solid, well defined and well thought out plans "We are considering Koh Chang, Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi" "intend to set up a bar/restaurant/hotelor as yet undetermined business" Go for the Bar chaps a proven, cant fail business plan in Thailand...you going to make a fortune..!!!!...LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahtin Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 (To Say Nothing of the Dog) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmine Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Six years is a lifetime away. Forgive me for saying this but you are sounding rather naive. Those questions you have asked are ones that you should already know the answer to in order to make a rational decision. You are bound to see and experience many different places over the next few years, so just keep saving the money and keep a very open mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daewoo Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 OK the basics in answer to the OP - A business needs to have majority Thai ownership (e.g. 51%) or have a substantial capital in a Thai bank... like $USD500K or something... So if there are 3 of you as directors of a company, you need to have 4 other Thai directors. At the moment, you can use 4 Thai Citizens, and then dump them as soon as the company is formed, but this loophole is under scruitiny... You can not own land, or the building on that land, but if you really really need to, you can buy the land in the name of a Thai, and then get a mechanism that allows you all rights until your death... the land then has to be handed over to the Thai... To get residency in Thailand is almost impossible... You can get various types of short stay visas, but a working visa requires you to have a work permit... To get a work permit as the owner of the business you need to employ a certain number of Thai staff (10 I think)... not sure if to get 3 work permits your business would need to employ 30 Thai staff... The land in all of the areas you described are owned by very wealthy Thais, they think nothing of screwing over poorer Thais, and even less screwing over foreigners... if renting expect your costs to go up dramatically with each renewal... It is my opinion that the only truely successful hospitality businesses are the large scale ones, owned by Thais who own the land... small bars and restaurants are a licence to burn money, and rarely cover the bar tab of one foreign owner, let alone 3... I have one mate who has made a good success owning a tourist attraction (managed entirely by his Thai wife)... and another who seems to be doing pretty well owning a pharmacy (managed entirely by his Thai wife)... Any mates who own bars substitute the income by working abroad... Much better off are guys working for large multinational or local companies, but that means living in Bangkok or Rayong... Working in the hospitallity industry somewhere (hotel management, scuba instructor etc) is little more than subsistance living... you do it because it allows you to live and work in The Kingdom, but it is a short term thing... eventually you will have a falling out with your employer, or need more money, and will have a hard time finding that locally... everyone else I know who isn't living hand to mouth is doing so on income from abroad (pension or income from investments)... Obtaining permission to live in The Kingdom when living on income from abroad is almost impossible unless you are over 50 (eligable for a 'retirement visa'), and even then it is always jumping through hoops... Hope the realistic information helps with your decision making... Cheers, Daewoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mizzi39 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 quote: A business needs to have majority Thai ownership (e.g. 51%) or have a substantial capital in a Thai bank... like $USD500K or something. Unless you are an American then the 51% Thai majority does not apply. Do a google search for the "Treaty of Amity". A friend who no longer needed his American business license to operate here in LOS, offered it to me ans another friend at a cost of the transfer fees, since it can only be transferred to another American. Like i said in an earlier post, do your homework. Residency status is possible if you hold the correct long term visa(non B or non.O), but not sure if it is 3 or 5 years without a break in the visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi007 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 1. How do you go about becoming a permanent resident in Thailand2. Buying a property 3. Laws in relation to setting up a business 1. you must live in Thailand for ten consecutive years, be able to speak Thai at a 6th grade level, recite the national anthem and several other things. You can read about in Thai Visa forums... 2. You cannot own land as a foreigner. As others have mentioned you can set up a corporation and be a 49% shareholder, etc. 3. It does depend on what country you are from, as also mentioned. A few have given some good advice here. My answer is, vacation here, work in your country. I live here and have been leasing the same house for four years. I work i n the US about three months, but I have a job that allows me that freedom. I am over 50, so I get the retirement visa, which allows me to stay one year before extension. But I must report to the local immigration office every 90 days. The only one I know that owns a restaurant here has a Thai son and has been here 30 years. He leases the building and land and gets by. But he bought his house many years ago and put it in his son's name. It's a nice dream you have, I'm not sure it's possible, depends on how much money you have and are willing to part with... I personally would never try to own or run a business here! It's just a big headache... Ask anyone who has tried... Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naam Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I love it when people have a solid, well defined and well thought out plans"We are considering Koh Chang, Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi" "intend to set up a bar/restaurant/hotelor as yet undetermined business" Go for the Bar chaps a proven, cant fail business plan in Thailand... you going to make a fortune..!!!!...LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBD Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Have you thought about doing something like teaching English here? It actually pays ok for where you're living (if it's outside Bangkok anyway) More importantly though, you get to live in Thailand, spend a few months learning the language and the way things work (or not) before you invest a lot of time and money in something you might grow to hate. There's a world of difference between going on holiday somewhere and living there, never mind trying to make money there. Remember also that the places you mention are very touristy, hence very stitched up. To get a piece of land in a good spot you will pay enourmous money. If you're not in a good spot then you will still pay good money but the returns might not be there, or you will have to spend even more on promotion. Then if you are succesful you will find you have 10 copy cat places spring up on the same street, and the local police and mafia wanting a piece of the action as well. I would use your time to explore the rest of the country. There's a hel_l of a lot of really nice towns all over Thailand, and IMO there are some worthwhile money making ventures here too, but unless you have huge start up capital and something very special to offer that is not being done already then forget the big tourist spots. Get out there, look at the kind of businesses you can see youself running and talk to the owners. Most succesful farang business owners I have met are in fairly quiet towns, with few or no competitors, and manage to get custom from both Thais and foreigners. They still don't make their fortune and still have plenty of headaches but they do get to live and work here usually in quite nice circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tso310 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 By 2016 you shopuld be getting 3 euro for 1 baht. Buy a bar in Benidorm. Air Asia will be running flights from most Thai cities to Alicante or Perpignon if your're coming in on Ryanair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary100 Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 (edited) Thanks for all the answers....... I think setting something up here in the UK is the answer......I already have a successful company here, its just a case of getting it to a stage where it can run itself/be run by me in Thailand............ If I just come to live there, and not work as my income will be from UK, do I have to cross the border every 3 months or is there a way I can reside and not work on a permanent basis........? I appreciate the bar idea is a pipe dream that many fail on......but with my income from the UK I would enjoy having a bar even if it broke even/made a slight loss. Edited June 2, 2010 by Gary100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary100 Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 I love it when people have a solid, well defined and well thought out plans"We are considering Koh Chang, Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi" "intend to set up a bar/restaurant/hotelor as yet undetermined business" Go for the Bar chaps a proven, cant fail business plan in Thailand...you going to make a fortune..!!!!...LOL No one said it was a "solid plan".....hence 6 years away........as for the bar making a fortune, we are not idiots, we just want a bar for fun...........we intend to have a significant "pot of money" from the uk when we go and don't intend to buck the trend and make a fortune selling jaegerbombs Thanks for your "help" though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe666 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Get a teaching licenses, a real one and come and get a job teaching at a international school. A friend makes 120,000baht a month teaching 1rst graders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pallister500 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I love it when people have a solid, well defined and well thought out plans"We are considering Koh Chang, Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi" "intend to set up a bar/restaurant/hotelor as yet undetermined business" Go for the Bar chaps a proven, cant fail business plan in Thailand...you going to make a fortune..!!!!...LOL I'm one of the three going and I thought 90% of bars failed in thailand hence why we are considering different type of businesses and places in which to set. As two of us are trainee teacher we did intend to work here in the UK for several years and use that experience to begin teaching in an International School in thailand in about 6-8 yrs, with a view to investing in a business. However now you've confirmed I can make a fortune opening a bar, anywhere in thailand I shall book my flights post haste and buy the cheapest establishment I can find sound in the knowledge I will be rich all because of your advice! Alternatively I wont and you should note some people only list a small amount of their plans on here looking for some general guidance. We are not stupid, on the contrary some of us may even be deemed intelligent so just because we do not list every facet of what we intend to, do not presume we are naive about what we intend to do. So feel free to apologise and in meantime don't be so presumptious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe666 Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 All people have to go by is what you post. Joking with the Thai girlfriend, I told her I would lease a shop house in Kanchaniburi and open a small bar and make big money she burst out laffing, all you do is lose money, she says. She has tried one business after another and typically she makes more money for the person she has to lease from or pay kick backs to and she is Thai, no special treatment for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWheelMan Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Do what most other Farangs do. Use a Thai to front the business, keep a low profile and renew your visas at the borders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExpatJ Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 Good for you guys to have a plan/dream- thats important in life. I was in a similar position- 7 years ago i decided i wanted to live in bangkok on an expat package- took me 7 years of applying for jobs, interviews, rejections until i finally got a job with a full expat package and all the trimmings here in Bangkok last year. For a bar to work- you need something abit different- i suggest you travel to Bali and check out some of the bars over there e.g. ku de ta, hu'e bar etc which are beach bars but alot more classy, upscale than what you find in thai resort areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepanicandthevomit Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 How about Montmorency? He has Housemaid's Knee... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaka Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Get a teaching licenses, a real one and come and get a job teaching at a international school. A friend makes 120,000baht a month teaching 1rst graders. Please do not lure these guys into believing they can come here, get a TEFL and suddenly they are quaalified teachers. There is a reason why the education in Thai schools is miserable. We do not need any more people who think they can teach just because they can barely speak English, American or Australian, Irish, Welsh or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumball Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Tanaka' date='2010-06-08 23:51' timestamp='1276015910' post='3674524'] ='moe666' date='2010-06-02 15:03' timestamp='1275487424' post='3661799'] Get a teaching licenses, a real one and come and get a job teaching at a international school. A friend makes 120,000baht a month teaching 1rst graders. Please do not lure these guys into believing they can come here, get a TEFL and suddenly they are quaalified teachers. There is a reason why the education in Thai schools is miserable. We do not need any more people who think they can teach just because they can barely speak English, American or Australian, Irish, Welsh or whatever. Very well said , the incompetent teaching the even less competent . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted June 9, 2010 Share Posted June 9, 2010 Could we say a case of the blind leading the blind perhaps ?? ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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