Marriage Effect On Work Permits

[Megasin1]

Does being married to a Thai help in obtaining a work permit?

[Megasin1]

anyone know?

[2008bangkok]

It is on the wp application form along with children...

Im sure if you had a thai family and are looking to support them then the labour department might look favorably even if they dont say it, i think also if the person submitting the application took along a nice bottle of perfume or aftershave like my mr fixit did then that also helps the application process

[lopburi3]

Believe it only changes the company requirements (capitalization/Thai employee numbers)- it still has to be a job that a work permit can be issued for.

[bifftastic]

Believe it only changes the company requirements (capitalization/Thai employee numbers)- it still has to be a job that a work permit can be issued for.

Interesting, do you know how it changes these requirements? I'm assuming it lowers the amounts necessary, dangerous assumption?

[lopburi3]

Believe in this case it is correct - from 2 to 1 mil and from 4 to 2 Thai employees as I recall (but am not up-to-date on employment matters so others should be able to answer better).

[Mario2008]

Correct, it lowers it (the requirements are cut in half).

Note that some requirements regarding working in Thailand are not from labour, but from immigration. For example most jobs immigration require that you have an income of 50,000 a month (depending on your nationality). Labour does not have such requirement for a work permit. When you are married and apply for a marriage extension you only need 40,000 a month or 400,000 in a bank account in Thailand to get an extension of stay from immigration.

[bifftastic]

thanks

[ParadiseLost]

Hi

I work in the IT industry (as a consultant, always outside of Thailand). I have now been offered a contract to work inside Thailand as a project manager on an IT implementation. The duration of the contract will be around 6 months.

I have just renewed my extension of stay (reason Thai Wife) for 1 year, for the second year running.

So, my questions

1. Is it possible to work as a Sole Proprietor in Thailand - I do not have a need for employees.

2. I cannot find mention of IT related jobs in the list of prohibited occupation - is this field prohibited or not?

The (large multinational) company is telling me I can just work as a freelancer but I don't buy this at all; apparently they regularly use foreigners from other countries and it seems these guys come out here and work with no permits. While I guess it would be easy to do that I live here so I want to be legit.

Edited July 29, 2010 by ParadiseLost

[Mario2008]

You would need to set up a Thai company and have Thai employees.

You cannot just work as a freelancer, you will need a work permit, for which you need to work for a Thai company. Best might be if they hire you as an employee and help you get a work permit.

[ParadiseLost]

I found the following comment provided by Sunbelt:

He does not need any Thai employees to get a work permit unless he sets up a sole propriorship or his wife does. Even with the extension of stay, he would simply get the extension of stay based on being married to a Thai national rather than the extension of stay based on business. It does not require 4 Thai employees to get the extension of stay based on being married to a Thai national. The company would not have to make a profit as well.

(http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__1395548)

From what I gather it may be possible for a foreigner to be a sole proprietor?

Sunbelt?

Edited July 29, 2010 by ParadiseLost

[ParadiseLost]

You would need to set up a Thai company and have Thai employees.

You cannot just work as a freelancer, you will need a work permit, for which you need to work for a Thai company. Best might be if they hire you as an employee and help you get a work permit.

Thanks Mario, just as I expected.

The employment option may be open to me but it will cost me my freedom and a substantial amount of money

[Mario2008]

That is a business decision you would need to make, as it will also cost you to set up a Tai company. But as an employer but you might be under Thai social security and health care. The healthcare you can continue after your job ends.

[ParadiseLost]

I found the following comment provided by Sunbelt:

He does not need any Thai employees to get a work permit unless he sets up a sole propriorship or his wife does. Even with the extension of stay, he would simply get the extension of stay based on being married to a Thai national rather than the extension of stay based on business. It does not require 4 Thai employees to get the extension of stay based on being married to a Thai national. The company would not have to make a profit as well.

(http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__1395548)

From what I gather it may be possible for a foreigner to be a sole proprietor?

Sunbelt?

Hi Mario

Could you comment on this? Now I think it should read "if he sets up a sole propriorship"

Thanks for your time

[Mario2008]

I think you need to find the original text where the quote was taken from, but indeed I read it as in "if" as well. You nationality is also of importance, as there is an agreement with the US making certain things a bit easier for a US national. But I'm no expert regarding businesses.

[ParadiseLost]

I have done a bit more digging and found the following sources of info:

http://www.thaivisa.com/314.0.html

What I understand now is that while an alien can possibly register as a sole proprietor, obtaining a WP could be a problem (without the capital and thai employee requirement of a company). Even if the WP were issued, it would most likely not be renewed if there was no profit.

But does this rule out SP if you intend to realise a profit? I invoice my time as a service; have almost no expenses...

[ParadiseLost]

A very promising find: Sole proprietorships

Definition A sole proprietorship is a business owned by a sole natural person whose liability is unlimited. A sole proprietor can engage in virtually any business permitted by law, unless there is a special law to the contrary. For example, a sole proprietor may not engage in finance or insurance activities, because these are restricted by law to limited companies. Generally speaking, there are few restrictions on sole proprietors.

Tax benefits Sole proprietors are entitled to certain tax benefits. Whilst they are taxed at the progressive natural person tax rates of between 10%-37%, a sole proprietor can, in most cases, choose to be taxed on his gross receipts, less a standard deduction. Although a proprietor must keep a record of his gross receipts, he need not keep a record of his expenditure.

For example, if the sole proprietor is engaged in the sale of goods, the proprietor can elect to pay income tax on gross receipts less itemized expenditure, or to pay income tax on gross receipts less an 80% standard deduction, regardless of what his actual expenditure is, and then pay personal income tax on the remaining 20%.

The fact that a sole proprietor pays income tax at only one rate and can choose between itemizing expenditure or applying a standard fixed deduction can be a substantial benefit.

Restrictions on foreign ownership For foreigners, the difficulty with a sole proprietorship is that it cannot engage in any business restricted under the Foreign Business Act (see Chapter 1 Foreign Business Restrictions), unless a license is first obtained. Americans, who usually do not need such licenses, can easily establish a sole proprietorship under the provisions of the Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations (see Chapter 2 The United States - Thailand Treaty of Amity).

Commercial registration Sole proprietorships engaged in a number of activities, including the sale of goods, auction sales, transportation, money lending, quasi banking services, handicraft manufacturing and hotel keeping, must effect commercial registration with the Ministry of Commerce. Most service-related occupations are exempt from commercial registration.

Source: www.bia.co.th/008.html

I intend to go down this route, watch this space...