Work Office in Bangkok: Is Registration Actually Necessary?

[songhypnosis]

I'm a foreigner with a business in Myanmar, but I stay in Bangkok most of the time because the connectivity is better, which allows me to stay in touch with investors in the EU and Americas. I'm thinking of renting out office space here, as work space, where some of my employees (most of them are from the United States) can work; mostly doing research and writing. None of my employees are Thai.

I don't need to have any signage. I only need a few tables with computers, a couple of printers, and some office supplies. The office space would really just be like a glorified library with 24 hour access. Do I really need to register as a business in Bangkok and get permits/licenses? What is the bare minimum needed? Will authorities ever visit to check on compliance?

Any advice or information would be deeply appreciated--thanks

[Gulfsailor]

The business registration is very straightforward and doesn't cost much. The problem are your on site foreign workers; They need a work permit. To be eligible for foreign work permits you need to register the company as a limited liability with 2 million registered capital per work permit and 4 Thai employees per workpermit. Also note that unless you are American you cannot own the majority of a Thai company (BOI notwithstanding).

[Gutenberg]

Of course you can do it but it is 100% illegal. But you are not the only one doing it. So my advise, don't do it and if you still do it, be ready to pay heavy fines or big brown envelopes. Also a risk getting blacklisted for ever.

Do you need your staff around you or locally? If not, establish an offshore company (HK, Seychelles, etc.) and give them freelancer contracts so they can work wherever they want but are responsible for themselves regarding visas, taxes, etc.

You could just do it in Myanmar, you can even own the company (no 49% anti foreigner business polices) and do not need to hire any locals.

[Gulfsailor]

Oh, and apart from the risk of being rounded up by authorities, I hope you don't intend to run a 'boiler room' type of business. You would be run out of the city or worse within a week by established boiler room scammers.

[kingstonkid]

Why not everyone get together and rent or buy a house. Then you can set up a room for working and everyone has a place tostay

[kkup]

They need to re-structure the way the current system is. There are many people in your situation and the amount of hoops you need to jump through in order to send some emails / do some writing "legally" is ridiculous to say the least. There should be a simple fee to pay in order to work for an overseas company within Thailand.

I'd go with the house idea, setup a bed or two upstairs and work areas downstairs. Keep it quiet and don't rustle any feathers you should be fine. Just don't talk about what your doing on TV. Some people have too much time on their hands and probably try and do you in.

[Suradit69]

They need to re-structure the way the current system is. There are many people in your situation and the amount of hoops you need to jump through in order to send some emails / do some writing "legally" is ridiculous to say the least. There should be a simple fee to pay in order to work for an overseas company within Thailand.

I'd go with the house idea, setup a bed or two upstairs and work areas downstairs. Keep it quiet and don't rustle any feathers you should be fine. Just don't talk about what your doing on TV. Some people have too much time on their hands and probably try and do you in.

In which other countries can a foreigner open an office and conduct an unregulated investment related business with other foreign employees, all of whom are essentially working without the correct visa or permission to work?

[Tomtomtom69]

Try this:

iglu.in.th

However, if Thailand proves to be a pain (I don't see any problems with simply sending emails and the like though, but do it either from home, a hotel or well, a set-up like iglu if you don't mind handing over 30% of your income for work permits etc.) then you better just stick with Myanmar or another regional country where it is easier to do business.

Thailand, just because it has better infrastructure and all is not the place it once was. Myanmar is catching up fast, you can get KFC there, Starbucks and McDonalds etc. will probably all open up fairly soon, it's simply a matter of time. Other local enterprises are already there and offer very good food and drinks. Unlike Thailand there are no anti-alcohol laws, you can buy drinks whenever you want. Not sure what else is supposedly better in Bangkok, OK so you have some "naughty" bar areas, but those are disappearing fast and are not what they used to be. Anyway, maybe you better leave such experiences to when you come here on business or holidays.

Just stick to Yangon. It really isn't such a bad place and over time you might actually end up enjoying it more than Bangkok.