Working For My Uk Company In Thailand

[newsite12]

I need a bit of advice here. I have had a hunt around, and I think i know how the land lies, but you never know fully till you have heard all the varying comments.

I have just formed a business partnership with an active investor. We have just registered a company based in the UK. I myself am a UK citizen and my business partner is Australian.

My business partner is married to a Thai lady, and I intend to follow suit within the next 12 months. Him and his wife are currently based in Aus and I am based in Thailand, although they are returning to Thailand soon because of the partnership.

The company owns 3 websites at the moment, with many to follow very soon. One of the websites is sat on Thai servers and is in Thai language and is geared up for the Thailand user. However, all the websites' checkout systems feed to a UK business account at Barclay's Bank. So essentially this is a fully loaded UK registered company with a trading asset based in Thailand.

What i need to know, is the best route for me and my partner to take, as to be able to run our company fromThailand, in such a fashion that we are able to get work permits. Now my partner differs from me in that he is married to a Thai citizen. So I believe he is able to be here anyway on a marriage visa. However, he will need a proper work permit to legally do work for the company on Thai soil.

The same for me. Now I have already been doing a bit of work here and there on the websites, getting them ready for full launch, and I know that I should not so much as log in to my admin account, as this can see me arrested for working without a permit. But anyway, I only did what was needed to keep things barely afloat. I am ready to commit full time to the project.

I need to know what is the least frictious way to get a work permit to remain here working full time on the project. The company will be paying us the minimum salary for the first few months which I believe to be 40,000 per month for farangs. We will probably employ the services of some Thai staff also, which should be mentioned in this post.

So I would really be grateful if anyone could give us a few guiding tips so that we can operate 100% above the laws of the kingdom.

Edited September 25, 2010 by newsite12

[7by7]

Moved to Thai visas, residency and work permits, where you will probably recieve more helpful replies.

[newsite12]

Moved to Thai visas, residency and work permits, where you will probably recieve more helpful replies.

Thank you 7by7

[coolhandjoe]

I would also be interested in any advice given in relation to this topic.

[Bedrockguesthouse]

why dont you contact companies like sunbelt asia in Bangkok who will work with you on company formation, work permits etc etc.

Thats the easiest way

Thailand's Most Trusted Legal Advice & Services | Thai Visa & Work ...Quick Rates. Thai Baht. Company Registration. 2500. One Year Visa. 6500. Work Permit. 9500. Marriage Certficate. 10500. Retirement Visa. 6500. Marriage Visa ...

www.sunbeltlegaladvisors.com/ - Cached - Similar

obviously there are other similar companies

brgds Mark

[steve187]

not to be negative but - you have already set up the company, and now you are asking about work permits, should you have not done that first. Thailand is a real stickler for rules about working, and work permits will be needed. see here - and search results here - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1

all the best

[newsite12]

not to be negative but - you have already set up the company, and now you are asking about work permits, should you have not done that first. Thailand is a real stickler for rules about working, and work permits will be needed. see here - http://www.thaivisa...._1#entry3691515 and search results here - http://www.thaivisa....h&fromMainBar=1

all the best

Thank you for the positive input. I was not intending to form a company originally, however, certain problems have sent me down the investor route... Since gaining an investor, things have sort of moved ahead at an unexpectedly fast pace. A lot of work now needs to be undertaken and i would prefer it to be done under a 100% legal fasia.

I remember contacting Sunbelt about a visa about 3 months ago and the guy on the other end of the phone recomended to start with a 30 day tourist visa which they could sort out for about 10,000 baht. Since then, I view Sunbelt as a very expensive comodity. Probably brilliant at what they do, and can probably make the near impossible.. possible, however, it would cost a lot.

Call me a cheapster... But I am in a position where I do not have a lot of disposable at the moment, and all money I have (or coming to me). Is earmarked for the running of the business project..

I envisage, in about 2 months from now, that money will not be a problem, as my business will be very cash rich... But in the interim, it would be good if I can find a cheaper way than sunbelt... i am frightened to ring them for fear of their quote.

Edited September 26, 2010 by newsite12

[Phatcharanan]

Either way you are going to need the services of a lawyer. There is no 'easy' way around this.

I also believe that the minimum salary requirement is 50,000 baht, not 40,000. Can't remember where I read that though. Sorry.

AS a newly formed company in the UK I also doubt very much that any paperwork, tax invoices, memorandums etc will be of use to you. I think the company has to be established 2 years? Again, I may be mistaken.

You definitely need a lawyer for this.

[digitalchromakey]

Thank you for the positive input. I was not intending to form a company originally, however, certain problems have sent me down the investor route... Since gaining an investor, things have sort of moved ahead at an unexpectedly fast pace. A lot of work now needs to be undertaken and i would prefer it to be done under a 100% legal fasia.

I remember contacting Sunbelt about a visa about 3 months ago and the guy on the other end of the phone recomended to start with a 30 day tourist visa which they could sort out for about 10,000 baht. Since then, I view Sunbelt as a very expensive comodity. Probably brilliant at what they do, and can probably make the near impossible.. possible, however, it would cost a lot.

Call me a cheapster... But I am in a position where I do not have a lot of disposable at the moment, and all money I have (or coming to me). Is earmarked for the running of the business project..

I envisage, in about 2 months from now, that money will not be a problem, as my business will be very cash rich... But in the interim, it would be good if I can find a cheaper way than sunbelt... i am frightened to ring them for fear of their quote.

Yes, you can do it all without using a lawyer; but for sure you need someone who can speak and read Thai plus is familiar with the procedures, paper work and locations of your various local Government Departments.

You will need to set up a real Thai business address (this can be difficult to set up at a residential address, as landlords will rarely agree to this), plus a Thai Shareholder(s), who must hold more than 51% of the company's stock.

However there are still some significant company set up costs that you cannot avoid, even if you do everything yourself.

For two work permits you would need to form a Thai Company with a Capitalisation of 4 Million Baht (3.5 Million if your Partner is legally married to a Thai). Capitalisation is a Government fee and will cost you 17,500 THB (500 THB per 100,000 THB of Capitalisation).

You will a non immigrant Type B visa, which has associated travel plus visa costs and cannot be obtained inside of Thailand.

You will be asked to show evidence of your employing 8 Thais, plus provide photographs of your office and employees seated at their desks.

The initial government fee for two Work Permits would be 6,000 THB.

Aside of any company on costs, you have the annual auditing fees which are a minimum of 12,000 THB, the first audit of accounts will be due this December, irrespective of which month your company was formed in

.

Doing some quick arithmetic, you are looking at finding an absolute minimum of 35,500 THB before this December, excluding any professional fees, premises, taxes or visa costs.

[newsite12]

Thank you for the positive input. I was not intending to form a company originally, however, certain problems have sent me down the investor route... Since gaining an investor, things have sort of moved ahead at an unexpectedly fast pace. A lot of work now needs to be undertaken and i would prefer it to be done under a 100% legal fasia.

I remember contacting Sunbelt about a visa about 3 months ago and the guy on the other end of the phone recomended to start with a 30 day tourist visa which they could sort out for about 10,000 baht. Since then, I view Sunbelt as a very expensive comodity. Probably brilliant at what they do, and can probably make the near impossible.. possible, however, it would cost a lot.

Call me a cheapster... But I am in a position where I do not have a lot of disposable at the moment, and all money I have (or coming to me). Is earmarked for the running of the business project..

I envisage, in about 2 months from now, that money will not be a problem, as my business will be very cash rich... But in the interim, it would be good if I can find a cheaper way than sunbelt... i am frightened to ring them for fear of their quote.

Yes, you can do it all without using a lawyer; but for sure you need someone who can speak and read Thai plus is familiar with the procedures, paper work and locations of your various local Government Departments.

You will need to set up a real Thai business address (this can be difficult to set up at a residential address, as landlords will rarely agree to this), plus a Thai Shareholder(s), who must hold more than 51% of the company's stock.

However there are still some significant company set up costs that you cannot avoid, even if you do everything yourself.

For two work permits you would need to form a Thai Company with a Capitalisation of 4 Million Baht (3.5 Million if your Partner is legally married to a Thai). Capitalisation is a Government fee and will cost you 17,500 THB (500 THB per 100,000 THB of Capitalisation).

You will a non immigrant Type B visa, which has associated travel plus visa costs and cannot be obtained inside of Thailand.

You will be asked to show evidence of your employing 8 Thais, plus provide photographs of your office and employees seated at their desks.

The initial government fee for two Work Permits would be 6,000 THB.

Aside of any company on costs, you have the annual auditing fees which are a minimum of 12,000 THB, the first audit of accounts will be due this December, irrespective of which month your company was formed in

.

Doing some quick arithmetic, you are looking at finding an absolute minimum of 35,500 THB before this December, excluding any professional fees, premises, taxes or visa costs.

Thank you for all that info.

I think that applies to running a Thai company though... I am actually running a UK company, which will have Thai assets, also 2 Thai staff. It's a complicated one and one that stamps all over the grey areas. That is why it is so confusing.

I don't want to register a Thai company because of the obvious potential pitfalls. but there has to be some form of setup for a foreign company operating a Thailand office, with thai (taxable) interests that can qualify us for holding work permits.

This is the head burner. i think a lawyer is definately going to have to be in the mix.

[LivinLOS]

You cannot get a WP from a uk company.. And the Thi company will have to be majority owned by Thais (tho can be controlled by you / the UK company via voting shares) So you have to set up a Thai company subsidiary for this to be legal.

So you need Thai company.. Thai work permits issued on that company.. Are you prepared to still visa run ?? As to not visa run and gain 12 month incountry extensions and do this properly your going to need Thai staff, I think you also need Thai accounts and proof of taxes paid (so new company doesnt achieve this budget 1 year of flying around every 90 days for non B visas in time and money).

All in all legalizing yourself is not going to come cheap.. Working online legally, as a one or two man company, adds up fast in all the hangers on you have to employ.

I would also add.. Why on earth have you made a UK company ?? Now your going to be paying UK corporation taxes, capital gains taxes, have to do UK annual accounts, Might even need to charge VAT depending on some variables, again the costs of having a UK company, for an online enterprise and the taxes you will pay on profits are just crazy. You can have a BVI or seychelles company for +- 1000 GBP setup and maybe 250 - 300 per year in zero return annual accounts. You pay no taxes on money generated outside the company of registration and it can have offshore bank accounts and legally employ you anywhere (work permits not withstanding)