"business Visa"

[HeijoshinCool]

I've always been on a retirement set up, never had a problem, but the GF and I are considering getting married and opening a small business; restaurant with a few bungalows.

What do I need to know about owning or co-owning a business, and the best visa options? Or, perhaps not having a legal stake, and just working it?

Suggestions?

[beano2274]

You would need to invest a lot of money, you can not own it and you would require a work permit.

Do a search on here about "Work permits" or "opening a business" to get more info

[HeijoshinCool]

You would need to invest a lot of money, you can not own it and you would require a work permit.

Do a search on here about "Work permits" or "opening a business" to get more info

Thanks, but no thanks.

I didn't ask about the amount of investment. I am not interested in info on how to open a business.

I asked if there is such a thing as a business visa and if it would be appropriate for the above scenario and what it entails. I believe I can "own" it, and I know about work permits.

If you don't know about business visas, or know and wish not to take the time to answer, fine. No prob. But I have no intention of spending hours working through threads where one in ten people know what they are talking about, or post non-helpful responses.

Nor do i want outdated information.

Now, having taken the time to write that, does anyone have authoritative info, who would like to share it? I'd be glad to answer any appropriate questions as I am able.

[PoorSucker]

If you are getting married, just get a visa or extension based on your marriage.

[HeijoshinCool]

If you are getting married, just get a visa or extension based on your marriage.

How would I then have a security in the land and the business?

[PoorSucker]

How would I then have a security in the land and the business?

For that you'll need to start a company.

Else you can write it on your wife, everything you get when married is divided 50-50 if divorced anyway (except land)

[HeijoshinCool]

I've finished the first three pages of topics that came up after I searched "business visa" in topics.

Nothing.

Anyone who has purchased land, started a business, and obtained a business visa that cares to share the basics, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

[PoorSucker]

I've finished the first three pages of topics that came up after I searched "business visa" in topics.

Nothing.

Anyone who has purchased land, started a business, and obtained a business visa that cares to share the basics, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

As told before, you don't need a business visa.

Visa or extension based on marriage gives you exactly the same status when it comes to purchase land and start a business.

[ljerams]

May I recommend you ask a Lawyer. There are too many possible answers i..e. Company law, marriage laws etc. In most cases you cannot have absolute security.

[Soutpeel]

You would need to invest a lot of money, you can not own it and you would require a work permit.

Do a search on here about "Work permits" or "opening a business" to get more info

Thanks, but no thanks.

I didn't ask about the amount of investment. I am not interested in info on how to open a business.

I asked if there is such a thing as a business visa and if it would be appropriate for the above scenario and what it entails. I believe I can "own" it, and I know about work permits.

If you don't know about business visas, or know and wish not to take the time to answer, fine. No prob. But I have no intention of spending hours working through threads where one in ten people know what they are talking about, or post non-helpful responses.

Nor do i want outdated information.

Now, having taken the time to write that, does anyone have authoritative info, who would like to share it? I'd be glad to answer any appropriate questions as I am able.

Well if you are taking that tone....instead of trawling on an forum looking for free advice, my I humbly suggest you retain a reputable lawyer who will gladly answer all your questions with...."authoritative info"...and seeing as you will be paying him/her you can be as pompus as you wish...its your money..

Edited December 29, 2012 by Soutpeel

[ubonjoe]

You can have a look at this A Business Guide to Thailand (English) (September 2011) from BOI website. It has a lot of useful information on company formation and etc.

A non immigrant B visa is for business or working. But you still would need a work permit with this visa and probably have a problem getting a multiple entry or extension of stay.

But if you get married you would not need it and have other options for company/business formation and work permit that others don't have.

[innerspace]

A business visa gives you no right to work or extend it unless you have a work permit.

You can own a business but without a workpermit you cannot even sign company papers.

So the advice on looking into work permits was 100% correct. You may know about them but you have a lot more to learn about them still.

You will get more help by appreciating advice than rejecting very useful advice!

[beano2274]

It seems to me that loads of people come on here, thinking that marrying a Thai gives them loads of benefits, but it doesn't give you much at all, just a bigger bill at the end of the month.

[ubonjoe]

I think not having to show but half the money in the bank or 25K baht less income compared to a retirement extension is an advantage.

Also there are some work permit rules that are a big advantage also.

[Hedghog]

There sponsors of this site could point you in the right direction.

Considering the potential financial investment,a professional would give alot better,advice,

Rather than the random advice,dished out by the barrack room lawyers,of this site.

[lopburi3]

Actually paid for advise is not always better and members here are very often right (and they are most often quickly told otherwise when not). The reason for forum is to exchange current information.

[monty]

A business visa does not give you any rights towards the business, nor property ownership. A visa is only a document entitling you to enter Thailand for certain purposes.

If you wish to work in Thailand, you cannot remain on your retirement extension.

Your 2 viable options are, after having established the business:

1) * Get married, and change your extension to being based on your marriage. The only change being you then only need 400,000 Baht in the bank, plus a bunch of paperwork related to your marriage.

* Apply for your work permit.

2) * Do not marry yet and apply for work permit right now (will not be issued yet as on retirement), with application paperwork and company papers in hand leave Thailand, apply for non immigrant B visa, come back, and with the B-visa in hand Labor Department can then proceed to issue the work permit.

Option 1 is by far the best one, as your 1 year extension will not be in any way related to your business, i.e. something goes wrong with your business/work permit, you will be able to remain in Thailand until the end of your extension.

Option 2 has several drawbacks, one being that as you will work for a newly established company, you will not qualify for a 1 year extension based on employment as your employer needs to be able to show at least 1 full year's worth of audited book keeping. So until that time, you will need to leave the country every 90 days!

Also, if you do have an extension based on employment, once you lose your job for whatever reason, you will have to leave the country the very same day, or apply for a 7 day extension @ 1900 Baht!

Again, whatever you do visa/immigration wise, will not have any influence on your status as investor/owner of your business!

[HeijoshinCool]

You can have a look at this A Business Guide to Thailand (English) (September 2011) from BOI website. It has a lot of useful information on company formation and etc.

A non immigrant B visa is for business or working. But you still would need a work permit with this visa and probably have a problem getting a multiple entry or extension of stay.

But if you get married you would not need it and have other options for company/business formation and work permit that others don't have.

Thank you.

[HeijoshinCool]

A business visa gives you no right to work or extend it unless you have a work permit.

You can own a business but without a workpermit you cannot even sign company papers.

So the advice on looking into work permits was 100% correct. You may know about them but you have a lot more to learn about them still.

You will get more help by appreciating advice than rejecting very useful advice!

I haven't rejected useful advice, I appreciate it. Telling me to "do a search," is not useful. Telling me I can not own a business, is inaccurate.

[HeijoshinCool]

I think not having to show but half the money in the bank or 25K baht less income compared to a retirement extension is an advantage.

Also there are some work permit rules that are a big advantage also.

Now, that is an interesting tidbit! Could you explain the "money in the bank," and the "25k baht?"

Thanks.

[HeijoshinCool]

There sponsors of this site could point you in the right direction.

Considering the potential financial investment,a professional would give alot better,advice,

Rather than the random advice,dished out by the barrack room lawyers,of this site.

Another brilliant post! That's exactly why I posted here. If a sponsor wants to whet my appetite, I'd be more inclined to consult them.

However, there have been a few bits of good (read: pertinent) advice.

[HeijoshinCool]

Actually paid for advise is not always better and members here are very often right (and they are most often quickly told otherwise when not). The reason for forum is to exchange current information.

Thanks.

Current info is why I don't want to do a search. Member experience is why I'm here. And, I've paid for a lot of bad advice in the past.

Here, bad advice is free.

[HeijoshinCool]

A business visa does not give you any rights towards the business, nor property ownership. A visa is only a document entitling you to enter Thailand for certain purposes.

If you wish to work in Thailand, you cannot remain on your retirement extension.

Your 2 viable options are, after having established the business:

1) * Get married, and change your extension to being based on your marriage. The only change being you then only need 400,000 Baht in the bank, plus a bunch of paperwork related to your marriage.

* Apply for your work permit.

2) * Do not marry yet and apply for work permit right now (will not be issued yet as on retirement), with application paperwork and company papers in hand leave Thailand, apply for non immigrant B visa, come back, and with the B-visa in hand Labor Department can then proceed to issue the work permit.

Option 1 is by far the best one, as your 1 year extension will not be in any way related to your business, i.e. something goes wrong with your business/work permit, you will be able to remain in Thailand until the end of your extension.

Option 2 has several drawbacks, one being that as you will work for a newly established company, you will not qualify for a 1 year extension based on employment as your employer needs to be able to show at least 1 full year's worth of audited book keeping. So until that time, you will need to leave the country every 90 days!

Also, if you do have an extension based on employment, once you lose your job for whatever reason, you will have to leave the country the very same day, or apply for a 7 day extension @ 1900 Baht!

Again, whatever you do visa/immigration wise, will not have any influence on your status as investor/owner of your business!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. A very concise primer that got me primed!

[monty]

I think not having to show but half the money in the bank or 25K baht less income compared to a retirement extension is an advantage.

Also there are some work permit rules that are a big advantage also.

Now, that is an interesting tidbit! Could you explain the "money in the bank," and the "25k baht?"

Thanks.

If you are married to a Thai national, you qualify for a 1 year extension by having 400,000 Baht in the bank. Which is half of what you need when you want to apply based on retirement!

Or alternatively, you can get the 1 year "married" extension when you have an income of 40,000 Baht/month or more, which is 25,000 Baht less then what you would need to get a retirement extension based on monthly pension income (65,000 Baht).

In your case there are more advantages when being married to a Thai national. In that case your employing company only needs 1 million Baht registered capital (as opposed to 2 million Baht for foreigners not married to a Thai national), and the employing company only needs 2 Thai workers instead of 4.

[HeijoshinCool]

I think not having to show but half the money in the bank or 25K baht less income compared to a retirement extension is an advantage.

Also there are some work permit rules that are a big advantage also.

Now, that is an interesting tidbit! Could you explain the "money in the bank," and the "25k baht?"

Thanks.

If you are married to a Thai national, you qualify for a 1 year extension by having 400,000 Baht in the bank. Which is half of what you need when you want to apply based on retirement!

Or alternatively, you can get the 1 year "married" extension when you have an income of 40,000 Baht/month or more, which is 25,000 Baht less then what you would need to get a retirement extension based on monthly pension income (65,000 Baht).

In your case there are more advantages when being married to a Thai national. In that case your employing company only needs 1 million Baht registered capital (as opposed to 2 million Baht for foreigners not married to a Thai national), and the employing company only needs 2 Thai workers instead of 4.

Thanks much!

I now have everything I need to cogitate for a while.

[NeverSure]

I'm not sure one thing was clear. You can't own real estate in Thailand. You can lease it for 30 years and build on it, but you can't own it. Your Thai wife could own it. If it was acquired after the marriage, you'd be entitled to half of the value upon divorce, if you could sell it and that gets sticky sometimes with a 1/2 partner who might like to have it all rather than help with a sale. You can get legal assistance, but it's drawn out and expensive.

Some might think that too often, if a Westerner goes to court against a Thai, the Thai might just win. Just sayin'. Might not be true either.

Many Westerners have found a beautiful wife in Thailand, invested money with her, and then later gone home with head hanging and pockets turned inside out not believing that the gal had that in mind from the beginning. Those stories are legion. Westerners are often referred to as an ATM machine. There are many Thai women, even very young ones, whose whole goal in life is to marry a Westerner to improve their lot in life. They know others who did and that's their career path. The Westerner is blindsided and broken hearted and broke.

Many men have found wonderful Thai wives, but you should spend some time reading the Divorce In Thailand forum here on this forum. The Thai women are smarter than we are in that area and they can play you like a fine violin. Go ahead. Invest some time reading that forum and the sad stories.

Good luck in your business. Most farang owned businesses fail, but some are very good. TIT = This Is Thailand. It's hard to build a business which Thais frequent, and the tourist industry is seasonal. Many smart men have lost their tails in Thailand.

Walk softly and carefully, keep both hands on your wallet, and think. Think.

[HeijoshinCool]

I'm not sure one thing was clear. You can't own real estate in Thailand. You can lease it for 30 years and build on it, but you can't own it. Your Thai wife could own it. If it was acquired after the marriage, you'd be entitled to half of the value upon divorce, if you could sell it and that gets sticky sometimes with a 1/2 partner who might like to have it all rather than help with a sale. You can get legal assistance, but it's drawn out and expensive.

Some might think that too often, if a Westerner goes to court against a Thai, the Thai might just win. Just sayin'. Might not be true either.

Many Westerners have found a beautiful wife in Thailand, invested money with her, and then later gone home with head hanging and pockets turned inside out not believing that the gal had that in mind from the beginning. Those stories are legion. Westerners are often referred to as an ATM machine. There are many Thai women, even very young ones, whose whole goal in life is to marry a Westerner to improve their lot in life. They know others who did and that's their career path. The Westerner is blindsided and broken hearted and broke.

Many men have found wonderful Thai wives, but you should spend some time reading the Divorce In Thailand forum here on this forum. The Thai women are smarter than we are in that area and they can play you like a fine violin. Go ahead. Invest some time reading that forum and the sad stories.

Good luck in your business. Most farang owned businesses fail, but some are very good. TIT = This Is Thailand. It's hard to build a business which Thais frequent, and the tourist industry is seasonal. Many smart men have lost their tails in Thailand.

Walk softly and carefully, keep both hands on your wallet, and think. Think.

Thanks for the post.

Don't worry, I follow two rules: I think with the small head (ha, ha) and I treat Thailand just like I treat Vegas -- I put zero in that I can't afford to lose.

Having said that, I'm recently beginning to think I'm tiring of this paradise, and the GF is agreeing with my observations. So maybe after the marriage, we'll head out.

[simon43]

For my small hotel businesses in Phuket, I lease the land in my name only, paying no key or upfront money, and paying the rent each month. The building permit is in my Thai wife's name only. The business that manages the hotels is a registered partnership between my wife and I.

After 10 years of living in Thailand, I now live and work in Myanmar, and my wife looks after our hotels. But should we ever divorce, then that business asset wil be equally divided between us - there being no land ownership issue.

So being legally married can give you some useful legal rights which Thai Courts wil recognise in the event of divorce. (Older TV members may recall this very issue with my first Thai wife and hotel - I was able to obtain 50% share of this asset when we divorced, even though my name was not on any ownership documents).

Simon

Edited January 2, 2013 by simon43