Hi there. Hopefully someone on here has experience or knowledge in this specific area : I have a work permit tied to my Limited company, which owns my small guesthouse. It authorizes me to be in my guesthouse and "look after my investment". However, I want to buy another small company that is in a slightly different business, and possibly also open a real estate company with my wife, and have those as subsidiaries of my limited company. So my question is : I don't want to run afoul of the immigration people by doing work that i'm not authorized to do. So does anyone know if it's possible to apply to amend the conditions of your work permit to allow additional activities?

it's still all going to be under my original company name, just with additional business areas.

The usual process involves getting approval from the original employer to apply for additional authorization. In your case, that should be easy since you control the companies.

The usual process involves getting approval from the original employer to apply for additional authorization. In your case, that should be easy since you control the companies.

thanks for that. so i would just go thru a lawyer to make that application i suppose? the visa firm that set me up in the first place a few years ago has gone bankrupt lol

Yes, I think you will be served best by using a lawyer. An accountant with experience company acquisition and company registration and with work permit application might also be able to help you.

A few points about your OP:

...work permit tied to my Limited company, which owns my small guesthouse. It authorizes me to be in my guesthouse and "look after my investment"...

I doubt that either your work permit for the existing company (let's call it ALPHA) or the job description you submitted with the application for it states your yob job title is "look after my investment". Therefore, for a start, you should look at what it says.

...buy another small company that is in a slightly different business, and possibly also open a real estate company with my wife, and have those as subsidiaries of my limited company...

I don't know if Thai law knows the concept of "subsidiary company" and if it does I wonder what you hope to gain from this constellation. Certainly, ALPHA can buy 100% of the shares of another existing company (let's call it BRAVO) and thus make it de facto a subsidiary of ALPHA, but each of these two companies will need to continue doing separate accounting, reporting, and tax payments. Your current work permit will become valid for working at BRAVO only if BRAVO is added as an additional employer in your work permit, with a job title for your position at BRAVO.

Regarding the registration of a new company (let's call it CHARLIE), I believe a minimum of three shareholders are needed and therefore ALPHA would not be able to own 100% of the shares of CHARLIE and make it a de-facto subsidiary of ALPHA. Recently, I also saw, on the website of a Thai law firm, that for a new company registration the shareholders must be natural persons, but I don't know how true this is because I know a company of which one shareholder is a Thai juristic person, where this juristic person could of course have bought the shares after the company registration.

Isaan Lawyers if in the Korat area, they also have a second name with website. The Lawyer is Canadian speaks French and English, and has Thai staff. Sebastian is more than helpful and his staff represent clients throughout the country. He has helped me with my first W.P. nearly 4 years ago and then with threats from wife/exwife. Good free advice and reasonable rates.