No More Business Visas ?

[seagullvacations]

I hear on thai language news today1-11-06 that the gov is not issuing business visas any more as well as from a couple of people on vacation that can't get back in !!! has anyone heard of this????

[Maestro]

has anyone heard of this????

I have not.

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Maestro

[sriracha john]

Interesting development...

[terryp]

sounds like rubbish./..only a couple of weeks ago the 3 year non imm b was started

[seagullvacations]

I thought the same but my wife is sure she heard right on the news I quized he a couple of times about this and my friends are having a time of it out of Thailand we are glued to the tv now to see if we can hear this again

[Maestro]

I hear on thai language news today1-11-06 that the gov is not issuing business visas any more as well as from a couple of people on vacation that can't get back in !!!

Leaving out the part about the Thai language news I understand you are saying that you heard “from a couple of people on vacation” that they cannot get back into Thailand because the Thai “government is not issuing business visas any more”.

It is usually best to disregard rumours based on hearsay but let’s humour you just this once and dissect your statement:

– a couple of people: at least two persons

– on vacation: they normally live in Thailand but are currently on vacation, i.e. outside Thailand

– government not issuing business visas any more: these persons previously entered Thailand on a non-immigrant visa type B (non-B visa), but when applying again this time the Thai consulate refused them this type of visa

– can’t get back in: they were refused a new non-B visa for travel to Thailand

– heard from a couple of people: you talked with them on the telephone

Does the above accurately describe the situation? Are you sure of all the details?

Have you considered the possibility that these particular people did perhaps not have the necessary supporting documents to qualify for a non-B visa? I believe it is true that today most consulates require more documents than they did a year ago, e.g. invitation letter from a company in Thailand, various documents relating to the inviting company, etc. I seem to remember reading something about it in this forum recently.

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Maestro

[Hublet]

There has been a lot of debate about the new visa requirements for foreign nationals that came into effect on October 1, although mainly with regard to tourist visas, with quite a few letters from disgruntled "visa runners" and with some pretty smug responses from, for want of a better description, "legal tourists".

One of the new requirements for an extension of a business visa is that the sponsoring company must have Bt1 million positive equity in the audited accounts.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/10/29...s_30017405.html

The above coomes from an article I read. For the full story follow the link. If this is true then there will be quite a few people leaving Thailand rather soon. Does anyone else know any more?

[seagullvacations]

yes the above is accurate and it is possable that they don't have the proper paperwork but they have lived here a good long time and know what is going on

[ovenman]

I hear on thai language news today1-11-06 that the gov is not issuing business visas any more

That simply cannot be true as such. If so, the bigger story would be that Thailand has suddenly closed itself off to foreign investment rather than just simply not issuing a particular type of visa.

[Hublet]

Okay seagullvacations thanks.

So to clarify this. This means that you whilst you might own the regulated 49% say of a 2M Baht company that company still needs to show 1Mil Baht cash in the bank????

[Firefan]

Not cash in bank only. The estimated value of the company (not Incl. goodwill) should be 1M. I.e. car/computers/stock Etc. count too. Cheers!

[Maestro]

...they have lived here a good long time and know what is going on

...lived in Thailand continuously on repeated multiple-entry non-B visas?

This could be part of the problem. Perhaps with their reason for living long-term in Thailand they need a different type of visa, then if possible annual extensions in Thailand. This is what the new rules and new instructions to Thai consulates appear to be all about: get people who have the wrong type of visa to change to the correct type of visa.

I am sure there is a way for them to surmount their problem and return to Thailand.

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Maestro

[seagullvacations]

both own businesses in Samui and have for 6 years Ijust wanted to know if anyone had heard of this possible problem today

[Hublet]

A little bit more information. It appears that companies need not only to be capital registered but also have an extra 1mil Baht.

Chinapat Visuttipat, BDO Richfield Advisory's manager, outlined some of the changes to rules for obtaining other types of visas as follows:

Business non-immigrant visa. There is now a requirement that a company wanting to hire an expat worker must have minimum paid-up capital of two million baht. The employer's shareholder equity also has to be at least one million baht and the employer must submit an income statement showing sufficient income to pay salary and benefits to the foreign worker for at least a year.

"For example, if a company registers a big loss this year, next year it might have problems hiring an expat without first improving its financial position, such as by increasing its capital," he said.

[percy2]

"For example, if a company registers a big loss this year, next year it might have problems hiring an expat without first improving its financial position, such as by increasing its capital," he said.

[/color]

Unless the loss is billions of Baht and then you'll probably be ok.

[kudroz]

Before, you could get away with having only 25% of the registered capital paid up. Now it seems 100% has to be fully paid up by the shareholders. Also, the balance sheet must show a shareholder equity of 1 Million THB.

AFAIK, your Registered Capital doesn't necessarily needs to be paid up with 100% cash, but can be constituted of intangible personal property or equipment - as long as it is reasonable and justifiable in the course of your business.

Edited November 2, 2006 by kudroz

[Martin_F]

The term equity generally implies share capital and earnings (retained and current profit and loss).

So what they are saying if the balance sheet of the company consists of

share capital 2,000,000

earnings -1,500,000

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total equity 500,000

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there may be problems in getting the visa.

The company would need to increase it's share capital by at least THB500,000 with an injection of cash and also there should be enough cash to cover the salaries.

Note the process for increasing share capital is quite a lengthly process and not a simple task.

It also raises questions on ownership of the shares for smaller companies.