Setting up a 2M baht company trying to get a Work Permit for a foreigner

we have 5 Thai shareholder with one main shareholder being sole director.

4 other minority shareholders (all 10%)

Can those 4 minority shareholders be used as 4 employees needed to apply for the WP?

or shareholders can not be employees? or only Director can not?

The short answer is: Your four Thai shareholders who are not company directors may serve as the four Thai employees required to support your work permit, as long as they are not identifiable as family members of a company director.

What counts for work permit - and for Immigration extensions - is the number of Thai employees who appear on the most most recent months' Social Fund tax reports, with payment receipts. Company directors, and family members of company directors, are not eligible for the Social Fund program, so they cannot appear on the reports.

MS

so it doesnt realy matter if they are shareholders or not?

So family members can never be identified as employees when they are just family or only when they are shareholders as well?

How far back family does this stand for? daughters and sons from sisters for example or how far in line should they go?

I wrote (very carefully): "....as long as they are not identifiable as family members of a company director....".

Every word there matters. The key word is "identifiable". By having the same surname, by being on the tabiehn bahn - those are "giveaways".

It appears that you are one of these guys who is trying to do everything yourself, "to save money". I suggest that you get some competent help from someone who provides professional services to start-ups.

MS