Does anybody know what the visa and work permit requirements are for a sales representative whose territory is all of Asia including Thailand? I live in the states and have been approached by an american company to represent their products in Asia. That being said, If I'm going to relocate I figured BKK is a good hub.

I know that if I work in bangkok, even just answering emails, then a work permit is required. Fine.

If the company that I work for doesn't have any holdings Thailand nor Thai national employees then how the heck can I get a work permit? Without the work permit I'll never get a visa.

I'd be paying tax to Thailand but most of my work would be elsewhere in Asia.

I would need to come and go from BBK two to three times/week. There have got to be other people in this position. What if i lived outside of the Thailand and visited Thailand on business? Would I need a work permit then?

In summery, I just want to rent a flat off the airport link and call it home. That's all.

Any help is most appreciated.

have you considered Singapore? costs are higher but their rules/regulations are more straightforward, govt services are pretty quick and potentially your frustration level will be lower.

1. Living in Thailand as regional representative for foreign company
   Does the US company already have an importer/distributor in Thailand? In such situation, I have seen that the US company makes an arrangement for the regional representative to be employed by the Thai company and advances or refunds all relevant expenses to the Thai company, which puts the representative on its payroll, with a work permit.
   
2. Living outside Thailand and making frequent business visits to Thailand
   In this situation, the correct thing would be to get a multiple-entry non-B visa from the Thai consulate in your country of residence and should be obtainable easily with a letter from your US employer confirming that you are their regional representative and as part of your job you need to visit the Thai importer/distributor several times every month, plus perhaps also a letter from the thai company.
   

Hi build6, funny you mention this The company has an office(that's about it) in Singapore. I've never been but I've done months of research in a different industry in Thailand and feel comfortable there as does my spouse. I need to learn more about other options in the region such as, Singapore. Strictly from a taxation perspective it might make sense.

Maestro, the company does not have anything going in Thailand. Huge potential. But, without a stake, that's a hollow fact, isn't it. I will perform further research into the multiple-entry non-B visa. My concerns being working while in Thailand on said visa.

Folks, the funny thing is I'm not hunting paradise. I just want to work. I have an opportunity and want to seize it. I'm Hawaiian and have all the tourist glam one could want. That being said I truly appreciate the real advice you offer. All this reminds me of working on a car or old house. "Just move to Thailand," they say. or "Just change the steering pump." Sure. At the risk of being cliche`e things are not as simple a they seem...

I'm strongly considering retaining a law firm. To give, at least, a point in the right direction. Who then? Siam legal, Sunbelt? Others???

Mahalo

My company is in the U.S. as well. My boss and main office is in Singapore. I live in Phuket and was required to get a work permit through our local distributor. Although you are a sales rep for the company, we found it easier to be listed as a "product specialist" for the local Thai distributor. The boss in Singapore paid all the costs for the Thai work permit and visa. There hasn't been any problems yet.......yet.

if you're not looking for "tourism" then Singapore looks even better for you.

"I just want to work" makes it sound like SG is a better option, honestly.

Infrastructure/services are better overall, government interaction is pretty smooth/fast.

Thailand IS nicer to be in than Singapore, but efficiency-wise... if you're gonna be doing a lot of flying, if the additional in-air hours to Singapore aren't an issue then you'll find your life much easier operating out of the Singapore airport than either of Bangkok's. I've never had much of a queue at immigration to enter Singapore; Thailand in contrast... if you have to do a lot of flying around the region I think it will wear you down.

Except if your trips take you further south to Indonesia or Australia, operating out of BKK will involve less in-air flight time, but I think this is outweighed by the overcapacity issues. Just thinking of some of my experiences of the waiting and crowds at Suvarnabhumi makes me blanch.

Good input FireMedic. The company is in the process of trying to set up a distribution network. I would be participate in the implementation. My concern with this being the difficulty getting a visa and work permit prior to having the network in place. Kind of a what came first- chicken/egg situation I suppose. From what I understand setting up the distribution network would require the business visa and work permit. If I want to use the distributor to sponsor me then someone else is going to have to do it.

That being said, FireMedic, is your distributor/sponsor part of your company or does your company's relationship with them strictly contractual?

I really appreciate your input.

I can really use this job. If I can sort this out then, I'm much closer to a decent paycheck. Work here is slooow...

build6, Singapore is sounding more appealing. The cost of living seems much higher. When considering costs, services, and weekends off from a stressful job. BKK seems to be the sweet spot. China and India are the major markets I'd visit. I'm unsure wether want to live in either. Do I? Perhaps starting in Singapore is the most viable option. I may present this to the company. Thoughts?

Many mahalos folks

Setting up a distribution network in Asia and as part of this travelling to Thailand to talk to companies who are interested in becoming a distributor does not need a work permit. A non-B visa is all you need for this.

Singapore is now tougher for work permits because the PAP made themselves unpopular with the voters by importing so many foreign workers. With no establishment there it might hard to get a wp there.

I don't think Thailand would have any problem with you coming in frequently on a non-Imm B visa between work stints in the region. You could probably even do it on transit visas, if necessary.

Theoretically you can get a WP working for an overseas based employer in Thailand and the applications forms cover that possibility. It might be worth asking the Labour Ministry what happens if you take them at face value. There must have been some reason they designed the forms like that. Maybe you will be the first one. I was one of the first who got a 2 year WP after the law changed to permit it in 2008 when everyone said it was impossible - just because I asked. Nothing to lose.

Singapore is now tougher for work permits because the PAP made themselves unpopular with the voters by importing so many foreign workers. With no establishment there it might hard to get a wp there.

I don't think Thailand would have any problem with you coming in frequently on a non-Imm B visa between work stints in the region. You could probably even do it on transit visas, if necessary.

Theoretically you can get a WP working for an overseas based employer in Thailand and the applications forms cover that possibility. It might be worth asking the Labour Ministry what happens if you take them at face value. There must have been some reason they designed the forms like that. Maybe you will be the first one. I was one of the first who got a 2 year WP after the law changed to permit it in 2008 when everyone said it was impossible - just because I asked. Nothing to lose.

Singapore costs - definitely much higher than Thailand. The tradeoff is in lack of frustration when dealing with anything "official". You can click around the rest of this forum to see the kinds of problems people have to deal with (there seem to be many catch-22 situations re: paperwork/permits etc.. Dealing with SG officialdom, if you DO run into such catch-22 situations, if you point it out it WILL get escalated and it WILL get dealt with. I would not really expect this with Thai officialdom).

My understanding re: foreign work permit new restrictions in SG is that fears about it are overdone - (1) it's targeted more towards the low end of the scale re: employment and someone handling "regional business" per the poster is probably not within the ambit of the new restrictions, and (2) you'd be getting employed by what is essentially a foreign business (even if a local branch), not a local business, yes? The restrictions are geared towards preventing local businesses from replacing local headcount with PRC employees at much lower salaries; from what I understand of your situation, you're not in the relevant categories. No harm just trying to apply for it and seeing what they say?

Hands down Thailand is a better place to live. But operating in Singapore does not prevent you from holidaying there. And if it involves a lot of flying (unless you miraculously always arrive at "empty" hours), you might seriously regret operating out of BKK.

I'm not opposed to operation out of Singapore. Ultimately it comes down to money. Renting a condo in BBK is reasonable. thb 60K gets decent digs. Close to everything. From what I can tell an equivalent unit in Singapore is over three or four times that. If the company pays, then this is less of an issue and Singapore gains appeal. However, all things being equal then the balance is tipped towards BBK. Suffice to say, such a cost disparity would buy a lot of rice. Then again, one can never discount the benefits of paying for convenience.

By the bye, I would like to thank everyone for providing so much input on this. I know how valuable one's time is. From my own digging and everyone's advice I am in stronger position to negotiate with said company. We shall see...

Aloha

If you have no Thai clients, no Thai employees, no registered office/company in Thailand - and do your work regionally (outside Thailand) - you do in practical terms not need a work permit for Thailand.

If you DO (and who doesn't?) work on your computer in Thailand - you technically DO need a work permit (any work performed in Thailand) - but for people having contacted lawyers like Sunbelt about obtaining such a "work permit" - it has not been possible - even when they were willing to pay taxes Etc. Only route there is to set up a Thai company.

Reading your message you seem to be in above situation - and your main issue is to obtain a visa so the 3rd option is to arrange for a sponsored visa which I know Sunbelt does too. You basically have them sponsor(they supply documentation) you for a fee, it will give you a yearly multiple entry non im visa - gotta leave the country every 3 months. I believe Sunbelt still do those visas - but it could have changed.

Cheers!