Permanent Resident starting new business with Thai wife

[Peter58]

I am a PR in the process of starting up a new business in Thailand with my Thai wife.

The lawyers and accountants seem unable to agree on the requirements for paid-up capital, staff numbers or minimum salaries where the foreign partner is both PR and married to a Thai national.

Some say the paid up capital required is 50% for a WP (THB 1 million) if married to a Thai but then another says it reverts to THB 2 million if I want to be a company signatory!

Some posts on TV say no staff required at all, others say it is the full 4! I have been told in the past that a PR counts as a Thai in the staff count (therefore no extra Thai staff required).

Are there no breaks for PRs / spouses of Thais in this process? Can anyone shed any light on these issues?

[ubonjoe]

The 1 million baht if married to a Thai has not changed. There have been reports that some offices still only require 2 Thai employees.

The regulations were changed in late 2010 or early 2011 but have not seen them posted anywhere in Thai or English.

[gamini]

They can not deport you or do much if you have a PR. I operated a commercial farm with my wife and sold its produce. I had no work permit and no problem.

[Mario2008]

They can not deport you or do much if you have a PR. I operated a commercial farm with my wife and sold its produce. I had no work permit and no problem.

A criminal conviction can be reason for revocation of PR.

[Arkady]

It used to the practice of the Labour Ministry to require no Thai staff at all for a WP. It was only Immigration that required them for stay extensions of NON B visas based on having a WP. That left a loophole for people to get a WP without Thai staff and just leave the country every 3 months, rather than apply for a extensions of stay. Of course this also applied to PRs because they don't need stay extensions. The Labour Ministry decided to close that loophole when they revised the regulations a couple of years ago by requiring everyone to have Thai staff without exemptions for PRs, even though it seems unlikely that PRs were the target. So now there is no privilege for PRs in applying for WPs. It even makes no difference that you have PR, if you apply for a two year WP. That depends entirely on the size of your company or your salary (B1m a month and up will certainly get two years) and not on your immigration status.