Is It A Must To Hire 4 Employees To Start A Business?

[eden8]

Hello,

do we need to hire 4 employees in order to start a business? eg. my business is related to work from home.

[tombkk]

You don't need to hire employees to start a business, but you need to have at least three shareholders, and the majority (51%) of the shares must be Thai-owned.

However, if you want to work in this business, you need to hire four Thai staff in order to apply for the work permit for yourself. You also need capital of 2 million Baht per work permit. Without work permit, you are not allowed to work even if you own the business.

[mccw]

Unless you are married to a Thai and then its just two employees?

[Spoonman]

Unless you are married to a Thai and then its just two employees?

And 1 million baht capital.

[tombkk]

Unless you are married to a Thai and then its just two employees?

And 1 million baht capital.

I believe that's correct but don't have the practical experience with that.

There are other exceptions. for example if you are a US citizen, you can apply for 100% foreign ownership, or if you have a certain minimum investment in certain industries. There are so many exceptions we cannot list here, the OP did not say much about his business.

[NHJ]

you don't really need to hire 4 thai employees but at least on for which you'll pay social security, at least until you have your work permit.

Edited May 5, 2013 by NHJ

[BrianCR]

Crazy post - what kind of business, are you married, who is the boss, what experience do you have?

[maprao]

Unless you are married to a Thai and then its just two employees?

And 1 million baht capital.

I would like to see this one in writing. I believe you buy before I was always told 2 mil and 4 Thais for a WP. 2 mill for US citizens under the treaty of Amety

[Arkady]

Unless you are married to a Thai and then its just two employees?

And 1 million baht capital.

I would like to see this one in writing. I believe you buy before I was always told 2 mil and 4 Thais for a WP. 2 mill for US citizens under the treaty of Amety

1 m in capital is correct but I think you still need the 4 Thai employees, even if married to a Thai. Can you show this in writing?

I believe that US treaty companies need 3 m in capital. They also need to apply for an alien business licence.

[shiroboi]

Need 2 Thai employees for the first year and 4 the second year for a work permit.

[Tatsujin]

4 x Thai staff still for each 1 x Work Permit.

http://www.pricesanond.com/knowledge/work-permit-and-visa-rules-in-thailand.php

[Tywais]

1. REGISTERED CAPITAL. The minimum amount of registered capital
required per work permit in the company is dependent upon the status of
the company and the work permit applicant. If your company requires one
work permit and the applicant is married with a Thai national, then the
required amount of registered capital is 1,000,000 Baht. If your company
is registered with BOI (Board of Investment), you can obtain multiple
work permits without needing to increase the registered capital,
depending upon the agreement reached with BOI. However, it is important
to note that BOI companies need to be set up with a minimum of 1,000,000
Baht of registered capital. If your company does not have BOI approval
and your foreign employees are not married with Thai nationals then you
will require 2,000,000 Baht of registered capital per work permit
holder.

2. THAI EMPLOYEES. There are requirements for minimum numbers of Thai
employees per work permit; this is dependent upon the status of the
company. BOI approved companies usually have a relaxed ratio of Thai
employees to foreign work permit holders. However, other companies will
require 4 Thai employees for every work permit. It is important to note
that there is an exception to this rule. If the company was formed less
than one year prior to submitting the work permit application, the
officer will accept 2 Thai employees per work permit. However, when
coming to renew the work permit, the usual regulations will be enforced
and the company will therefore require at least 4 Thai employees per
work permit. Whereas, when applying for the visa Extension of Stay, the
immigration requires the company to have at least 4 Thai employees
(listed in Social Security Fund 3 months prior to the application). This
is a compulsory requirement from the Immigration.

Read more: http://www.expat-visa.com/business-banking/thailand-business-information/applying-for-a-work-permit-in-thailand/#ixzz2STnS9Hpj

[Sunbelt Asia]

Labor Department regulations state that you must pay into the social welfare fund on four Thai employees to obtain one work permit.

If the foreigner is on a non-O visa extension married to a Thai national then capitalization requirements are relaxed from the required 2 million baht to 1 million baht, however, this does not apply to the number of Thai employees that is required. Previously, during the flood, this was relaxed to 2 employees the first year and 4 for the renewal but our experience in Bangkok since then has been that four are required.

While we have heard some reports from upcountry that some officials may relax that regulation but we wouldn't recommend to our clients to rely on that as the regulations do require 4 Thai employees

[sunbeltlegal][/sunbeltlegal]

[Arkady]

I have just been digging around in my archives and found the DOE's regulations for work permits dated 2004. There is a clearly stated provision for some one with a Thai spouse to obtain a work permit with 2 instead of 4 Thai employees. Unfortunately this provision seemed to drop away in the current 2011 regulations pursuant to the 2008 Working of Aliens Act. I guess the reason that a lot people post about the 2 Thai employees needed for foreigners with a Thai spouse is that they are not up-to-date with the current regulations (just like some people still post that Thai wives with foreign surnames can't buy land, based on the pre-1999 regulations!). The only privilege for those with Thai spouses that remains in the regulations is the discount in the amount of registered capital needed from Bt 2 million to to 1 million and who knows how much longer that will last, as they continue slowly but surely to crack down on foreigners.

One question that remains in my mind on this issue is this. Is there any way for a Thai spouse who is a director and major shareholder to be counted as one of the 4 Thai employees for work permit applications? The problem seems to be that the DOE (Labour Ministry) asks only for the Social Tax payment record as evidence of the number of Thai employees, whereas directors and shareholders are not eligible to pay social tax. I wonder if they can accept the PND 1 record of salaries tax deduction in the case of a director/shareholder who is also an employee paid a monthly salary or, like the SSO, do they consider directors and shareholders as non-employees, even though they are paying monthly salaries tax?

Edited May 10, 2013 by Arkady