The infamous blacklist
There are a lot of lists most of us dreamt to be on (fortune list, most influent people, most eligible bachelor and so on….) but there is one you definitively don’t want to be on, Thailand immigration blacklist.
Note: I would be unfair to Thailand if I did not state that Thailand is not the only country with an immigration blacklist. All countries have one.
Another big problem in Thailand for the professional who like us provide visa services is that foreign visas applicants are often confusing the names of the visas they are having and the benefits attached to say visas. This is why we will dedicate this post and the next post to give definitions of visas terms.
This post is a continuation of our series Thailand Visas: Setting the Record Straight. I wrote this series with a “back-to-basics” kind of approach because I don’t believe that it is possible to understand Thai immigration regulations without having first an understanding of basic terms such as visa, visa class, visa exemption, passport stamp, entry visa, departure visa, multi or single entry and so on…
What is the Visa Exemption?
Pursuant to Thai Immigration Law; any foreign citizen who wishes to enter the Kingdom of Thailand is in principle required to obtain a Visa from a Royal Thai Embassy or a Royal Thai Consulate-General prior to entering Thailand.
Is it difficult to enter and stay in Thailand?
How many times did I hear foreign clients complaining about Thai Immigration policies and how difficult it is to live or stay in Thailand? Believe me we are the lucky one because Thailand gives us VIP treatment in comparison to what Thai citizens have to go through to visit our countries.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business
Our American cousins have what they call the American Dream” “first expressed by James Truslow Adams in 1931, citizens of every rank feel that they can achieve a “better, richer, and happier life” (Source Wikipedia) meaning that anyone has a chance to become one day another Bill Gate. In Thailand we have another dream, far more modest; it is called the “Bar Owner” dream or the Bar Owner illusion to be more accurate.
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-11-06 05:07:54.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business, Thailand Company Registration
In this post we will discuss the voting rights of shareholders at the shareholder meeting of a Thai limited company depending of the amount of their shareholding.
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-11-23 04:47:10.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand BOI, Thailand Business
What are the activities eligible for promotion under section 7 of the BOI list?
This post concludes our series on the BOI (9 posts in total). If you have a question I did not deal with in the BOI series do not hesitate to complete our FAQ form. It was posted first on the 5th august but had to be reposted following technical problems
Reminder: As you already know the Board of Investment is the agency in charge of promoting certain sectors of Thai economy. As such the BOI role is among other to determine:
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-08-06 03:18:47.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business, Thailand Foreign Business Act
What is the current legal definition of a Foreigner?
In this post I will discuss how the concept of “foreigner” is defined by the Thai Foreign Business Act (formerly “Alien Business Act”) as well as the changes that the Thai Government wanted to bring to this definition in December 2007. While the attempt to change the definition of the FBA definition of the term of foreigner ultimately failed the fact is that it was the second such attempt since the enforcement of the FBA and that Foreign Investor coming to Thailand should keep in mind that said matters could resurface at any time in the future. Read more…
Originally posted 2009-07-21 12:25:37.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business
Note: This post is not entirely new. This subject was first posted as a Page called “Thailand Ratings”. I’m about to modify the look of the blog and decided that some of the subjects discussed in pages would now be treated as a post. Of course I updated the content of this post to reflect the current situation.
As we all know, Thailand was one of the victims hit hardest by the 1997 crisis, and many of Thailand’s top developers and financial institutions were bankrupted by the crisis. Earlier in 2009 I was asking whether the 2008 financial crisis would see Thailand revisiting the troubles of 1997.
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-10-10 07:20:10.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business
One question that many investors are asking is whether it is expensive to do business in Thailand? The answer is mixed. On the positive side, Bangkok is according to a CB Richard Elis survey ranking 151st out of 179 markets in terms of office rental costs. Average rental costs in Bangkok for prime grade office are around 694 THB per square meter/per month (or 21 USD).
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-12-11 06:52:35.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business, Understanding Thailand
It is definitively a strange start of the year in Thailand. During the past week there has been very few legal or economical news worth to report which explain my silence. As to the political scene there have been no major developments yet but this did not keep many commentators and journalists to entertain themselves by calling out “Wolf!”or in this particular case commenting on a possible Coup and even worth “Civil War” in Thailand.
Read more…
Originally posted 2010-01-07 08:18:32.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business, Thailand Company Registration, Thailand Foreign Business Act
One thing I find interesting when blogging is that Google and WordPress have tools that permit me not only to check what articles are the most successful but also the search queries of my blog readers. Now when looking at the queries I notice that there is still a lot of confusion among readers as to definition of legal concepts such as Thai or Foreign Private Limited Company and nominees. I tried hereinafter to clarify those concepts.
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-10-07 04:38:15.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business, Thailand Foreign Business Act
The Business Development Department just announced the creation of a special unit dedicated to check companies’ compliance to the Foreign Business Act. The purpose of the new agencies is to insure more efficiency in insuring compliance to the Foreign Business Act. What does it mean for foreign investors in Thailand?
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-12-06 09:49:32.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand BOI, Thailand Business
What are the activities eligible for promotion under section 4 of the BOI list?
Reminder: As you already know the Board of Investment is the agency in charge of promoting certain sectors of Thai economy. As such the BOI role is among other to determine:
What are the activities which are eligible for promotion
What are the conditions attached to said promotion
What are the privileges attached to said business activity
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-08-05 15:03:42.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business
If you want to start a restaurant in Thailand the first question you will have to ask yourself is: May a foreign investor legally open a restaurant in Thailand? The answer is No, Restaurant and Bar business are services activities under the Foreign Business Act List 3 which activities may be exercised by foreign investors only upon applying and receiving a Foreign Business License. The only exceptions are US Citizens who benefit of the US Amity Treaty and may operate a restaurant under a 100% US form.
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-11-05 02:44:17.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Company Registration
The Business Development Department (BDB) which is the unit of the Ministry of Commerce that is handling new companies registration just issued the updated figures of new companies registration at end of October 2009. Overall 2009 was even worth than 2008 but there are reasons to expect better results next year
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-12-05 01:48:19.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business, Thailand Foreign Business Act
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Gen3:6).
This extract of the genesis sum up the story of foreign investment in Thailand.
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Originally posted 2009-08-17 06:51:07.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business
An investor that desires to buy a business in Thailand will have several options as follows:
1. Acquisition of Shares
2. Transfer of the Entire Business Assets
- with immediate liquidation of the transferor company
- without liquidation of the transferor company
3. Amalgamation
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-09-11 06:14:37.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business
Is Thailand open to foreign investment?
Absolutely, many foreigners are exempted from visas requirements and as you will see foreigners are welcome to invest in nearly all sectors of activities in Thailand without needing any prior authorization providing that they do a minority investment (less that 49% of a business shares in a few cases less than 25%).
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-07-24 07:41:19.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business, Understanding Thailand
Why it is necessary to understand the system?
The first thing you will hear when coming to Thailand is foreigners complaining about the workings of the Thai Administration. I used to work with a foreign lawyer who had what I call the “colonial state of mind”. This lawyer was so full of his own superiority and so sure that his country’s administrative system was superior to Thailand’s that he never understood the system here, which is a mistake.
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-07-23 05:40:23.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business
Is Thailand a competitive place to do business?
Never underestimates the locals, Thai businessmen are competitive and good especially at running service businesses. Read more…
Originally posted 2009-07-24 05:05:40.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand BOI, Thailand Business
What are the light industries activities eligible for promotion under section 3 of the BOI list?
Reminder: As you already know the Board of Investment is the agency in charge of promoting certain sectors of Thai economy. As such the BOI role is among other to determine:
What are the activities which are eligible for promotion
What are the conditions attached to said promotion
What are the privileges attached to said business activity
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-08-03 07:10:22.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business, Thailand Foreign Business Act
This morning in the Bangkok Post was an interesting article about the tightening of insurance shareholding rules by Sorachon Boonsong a Thai lawyer. In substance, Khun Sorachon comment on a ruling from the Council of State dated of 14 September 2009 in relation to the new shareholding requirements of the amended Life and Non Life Assurance Act.
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Originally posted 2009-09-23 04:15:46.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business, Thailand Company Registration
The second option available to a foreign investor who wants to start a business in Thailand is to register a trading commercial legal vehicle (for example a subsidiary under the form of a Limited Company or a branch of a foreign company). [this post is an updated draft that replace one of my first posts]
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-10-16 02:09:26.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business
To enhance investment confidence and apparently to facilitate their life the government has established a One Start One Stop Investment Center (OSOS). The primary objective of the center is to help investor to start their business by regrouping up to 18 different administrations under a single roof. Will it help Thailand to regain foreign investors confidence.
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-12-02 01:50:44.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business, Thailand Company Registration
The Private Limited Company is the most common legal vehicle used by foreign investors in Thailand, it is therefore useful to review its main characteristics. Note that this post do not deal in an exhaustive manner with the matter of the characteristic of a Private Limited Company. There is a lot more to say. In this post we limited ourselves to the characteristics which are a matter of concern for foreign investors.
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-10-19 02:22:16.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business
Are employees in Thailand well protected by the law and is it easy to terminate an employee with or without cause?
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-11-21 07:04:25.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand BOI, Thailand Business
What are the activities eligible for promotion under section 6 of the BOI list?
Reminder: As you already know the Board of Investment is the agency in charge of promoting certain sectors of Thai economy. As such the BOI role is among other to determine:
What are the activities which are eligible for promotion
What are the conditions attached to said promotion
What are the privileges attached to said business activity
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-08-05 15:11:55.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand
I wish you all a Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for 2010 and I hope that we will see many of you in Thailand next year. Now if Somchai (Santa) Claus was Thai what would be the wish list of the Foreign Community in Thailand?
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-12-24 07:15:15.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand
This morning was published Thailand economic forecasts for 2010. According the Fiscal Policy Office, Thai Economy will rebound next year with a growth of 3.5% next year. Not as good as the growth forecasts for other Asian countries but not so bad country that has been trough 3 years of political crisis and a world economic crisis.
Read more…
Originally posted 2009-12-29 06:58:51.
May 24 2010
Categories: Doing Business In Thailand, Thailand Business
For reason I cannot come to understand many foreign investors view Thailand as a place where you can do business as you want without having to worried of the potential consequences. Nothing could be farthest from the truth than this belief.
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Originally posted 2009-11-08 07:06:53.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business
The Pattaya Mail reported today that, according to sources from several police divisions a serious crackdown on Bar Businesses would begin next month that would target GoGo bars, Beer Bars, Gay Bars and any other bars which are charging bar fines to the customers to let their employees leave work early. Now according to the Pattaya Mail, the police “suspects that many of these rendezvous are sexually related”.
Read more…
Originally posted 2010-01-22 14:27:04.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business, Understanding Thailand
Is Thai Legal System Different?
If I had to qualify the Thai legal system, I would say that Thailand is a country ruled by Civil Law with a touch of Common Law. Civil law is one of the predominant system of law in the world. The other being common law, which is the legal system developed among Anglo-Saxons people.
The main difference between the two systems is that civil law is laid down from abstract rules and judges must apply those rules to the various cases before them. Read more…
Originally posted 2009-07-23 05:17:20.
May 24 2010
Categories: Thailand Business
This is my second post on the subject of Minimum Capital Requirement. I will discuss this time the minimum capital requirement for foreign BOI promoted companies. For Non BOI companies please refer to my previous post Doing Business in Thailand: Minimal Capital Requirements dated of 21 January 2010. Read more…
Originally posted 2010-02-05 00:50:18.
