Doing Business in Thailand

Once again the foreign community is busing with rumors of a next hike of work permit fees that would soon increase up to 7,000 THB. Of course as a foreign investor I regret any increase of fees or anything which will make the situation more difficult for foreign investors in Thailand.

Imposing an increase on work permits fees at a time when many of us have been suffering from the economic crisis might not be the smartest move but there is not a lot we may do about it anyway but try to adapt.

This work permit fee increase is however not a surprise and there are a lot of more things to come.

Indeed, among others, the new Working of Aliens Act that was enacted in February 2008 but that is still not fully applicable contains among other a few unpleasantnesses as follows:

(1)  New work permit fee of 20,000 baht. The same amount will be applicable to a work permit renewal. Note however that the new 20,000 THB fee will be for a 2 years work permit (i.e 10,000 THB per year) instead of one year maximum now.

(2)  An employer applying to hire foreign employees who are not deemed skilled or expert will be charged a 10,000-baht fee per non-skilled foreign worker.

(3)  Finally the last unpleasantness to come are the several provisions of the 2008 Working Alien Act which are dedicated to the creation of a fund which purpose will be to finance the cost of deporting guilty working foreigners and illegal immigrants. For this purpose Employers will have to withhold from the income of foreign workers an undetermined amount which will be paid to this fund. While the act was enforced in February 2008, the Department of Employment has not applied any of those new dispositions yet but the day will come were the ministry regulations will be ready and where it will.

In this context and while not pleasant, an increase of the work permit fees up to 7,000 THB is the least of our problems.

About the Author:

The author Rene-Philippe DUBOUT is a lawyer since 1990 when he was admitted to Geneva bar (Switzerland). He practiced as a litigator there for 10 years until he moved to Thailand in 1999. In 2002 he founded with a group of Thai lawyers Rene Philippe & Partners Ltd a local law firm that specialized in Cross Borders Investments and Real Estate. He has been lecturing in several Thai Universities and a speaker to numerous conferences and seminars. He is the author of a must read book:”How to Purchase Real Estate Offshore Safely: The Case of Thailand”.

http//:www.renephilippe.com

Originally posted 2009-09-01 10:50:05.

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