Starting Small Business As Couple

[IsabelleBeunckens]

Hello,

Can anyone give us some advice. We are a couple from Belgium and we want to start a small business (resort) in thailand.

Do we need two workpermits? How many staff? Is it possible that one of us have workpermit and one just stay in Thailand with B-Visa?

tnx

Isabelle

[seekingfriends]

hi . this subject has been covered before .western couples starting resorts and visas ect . just put the words into search .good luck james hat yai

[Sunbelt Asia]

It is possible for western couple to form a company (with the appropriate Thai and foreign shareholders) to run a resort. However, leasing the property is recommended as it would be difficult for the company to be able to accept transfer of the land. Renting the land and registering the lease would be much simpler. Additionally, you would need to be certain of the title status of the land.

Basic requirements for one work permit are 2 million Baht in registered capital and 4 Thai employees. If your partner/spouse were to be involved in the day to day operation then he or she would also need a work permit requiring a further 2 million Baht and 4 more Thai employees.

The resort would also require a hotel license and the size of the facility would determine which government sector that you have to apply to for the license.

Sunbelt Asia has formed numerous companies of this kind and obtained the necessary work permits and licenses for many businesses.

http://www.sunbeltlegaladvisors.com

[keestha]

Would very strongly recommand to buy and not to lease the land, if doable. Investment on rented land is thin air: your lease would be max 30 years, and for selling the resort after having run it a long time, you would be fully dependant on the landlord being willing to give the buyer a new long lease.

[CharlieH]

How to make a small fortune in Thailand ?............By spending/investing a BIG one !........

Edited March 16, 2011 by CharlieH

[homeslice]

The first thing to clearly understand is taking the advice of a "legal advisor" is like taking a knife to a gun fight. Always use a qualified lawyer! I like a Canadian woman named Michelle at Siam legal. She has worked in a reputable firm in Manhattan, where they don't f%&k around. Her office is in Phuket but Siam has an office in Bangkok also. Good luck!

[simon43]

Would very strongly recommand to buy and not to lease the land, if doable.

As leasee of land where my resort is consructed, I would politely suggest the opposite of the above.

As Sunbelt as suggested, for a foreigner to buy land, or for them to control the Thai company which owns the land is laden with pitfalls and risks. Thai law is very clear on this - any attempt by a foreigner to circumvent the land ownership rules, regardless of whether the method used is specifically stipulated in Thai law - is considered to be a breach of Thai law!

Furthermore, suitable land for your resort can be very expensive to buy, especially if it's near to a beach or popular tourist location.

If you lease the land, then Thai law allows a foreigner(s) to lease the land in their own name, without any requirment for a Thai leasee. (Note that I am talking about the land lease, not the hotel business that will be constructed on the land). The lease must be registered with the local land office if it is for more than 3 years, and this registration gives the lessee security, since the terms of the land lease contract cannot be altered unless both leaser and leasee agree.

Yes, 30 years is the maximum period that the land can be rented for, but how old are you now? I rented land for 15 years on which I built my little resort, and I always assumed that the lease would not be extended. Do not go into the resort business if your financial projections do not indicate a healthy profit early into the lease term.

You can minimise your risk by constructing resort buildings that are made of hardwood - in the Thai style and very attractive to tourists. If your lease is not renewed, then simply dismantle your wooden guest rooms and move them to another location!

Your lease contract should stipulate the monthly rental that you pay, for each and every month of the lease term, including annual increases. The lease should stipulate that the business that you construct on the land is entirely your business, and you are entitled to sell the business as a going concern to another person(s), or to remove the business from the land, or to change the nature of the business. (Ie, you are simply renting a piece of land from the leaser, and what you do on that land is - within reasonable constraints - up to you.)

Simon

[sbk]

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