Doing Business in Thailand

If you are working without a work permit the first thing you must understand is that you are at risk of a control either from the Labor Officer or the Immigration Officer.

The Random Visit

The first type of control is the random one when officers from the Labor Department or Immigration come to visit a company on their own.

Contrarily to what people may think those controls are quite rare actually. My company has been registered in 2002 and we have several work permits on them and we never had a random visit from the immigration. To date none of my clients ever had one yet.  In other words, Thai officials are not out to get you.

The Denunciation

The second type of visit is the visit the visit that will result from a denunciation. The denunciation may come from a former Thai employee that has a grunge against the company, a former girl friend or a wife on whom you recently cheated, from foreign customers or from a foreign competitor. This type of control is more frequent because once they have received a denunciation Labor or Immigration officers are bound to act.

Therefore if you find yourself in a situation where you have to work without a work permit be careful to keep a profile as low as possible for as long as possible.

When Do You Need a Work Permit

If you have doubt as whether you should have a work permit or not let me remind you that the definition of work according to Thai Labor Law is to exert a physical or intellectual effort with or without remuneration. Such definition is so vague that there is no place for any loopholes at all. Therefore our advice is. If you intend to stay in Thailand for a long time do it the proper way and get legal

Note: This post is an excerpt of Rene Philippe Dubout next book: “How to Invest Safely Into Thailand” to be published in January 2010

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

© Copyrights 2009 – Rene Philippe Dubout – This article may be reprinted if information about the author, the websites, and the URLs remain intact

Originally posted 2009-11-25 04:22:54.

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