100% farang owned, 2 million Baht company

Post by **Yung** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:29 pm

I've been told lately that you can actually own a company 100% as a farang. Is this correct or have I been misled? Sounds too good to be true (and then it probably is!). Wouldn't be a problem to buy land and house then, if you rent it to somebody parts of the year the company would be a real thing too, not only a shell. Can anybody advise on this?

Post by **Bamboo Grove** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 1:06 am

I'd say you've been mizzled. But then again I heard some strange rumours today about extending the visa. Somebody said that it would be possible to exztend your 4x3 months visa here in HH without getting out of the county. Can anybody confirm this?

Post by **Guess** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:33 am

Things have definitely changed on the visasituation. I spoke to a complete moron tonight who had somehow managed to get himself a six month tourist visa. As for being to own 100% of land, I do not believe.

More info needed.

Please cut the bollocks and lets have some facts.

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 7:34 am

Bamboo Grove wrote:I'd say you've been mizzled. But then again I heard some strange rumours today about extending the visa. Somebody said that it would be possible to exztend your 4x3 months visa here in HH without getting out of the county. Can anybody confirm this?

There was a post on here recently about what imm can do in HH.
They reckon they can issue one year extensions to non O visas on the basis of marriage and grant extensions to Tourist visas - one month - or whatever they decide, usually 10-14 days for a 30 day entry stamp.
I would imagine that they'd take care of the 90 day reporting as well if they're doing the above.
If you've got a multi entry visa already - 4x3mths, or as many entries as you like - you can apply for a year's extension to that visa on the basis of marriage during the last 30 days of any 90 day entry. That's the stage when you need to show 400,000 or 40,000 a month. When granted, you don't have to exit Thailand any more. The process of a years extension can be carried on indefinitely as long as you show the funds every year. Note, that if you intend to travel during the year, it's best to get a multi entry extension otherwise you'll be paying 1,900 for a re entry permit every time you go out the country. If you don't have that, you invalidate the extension and visa and start from scratch again. I would imagine this is what your "friend" was referring to.
I don't know of anyone who's done this in HH yet, but if it's possible and they say it is, then it's a trip to Prachuap or BKK saved.

Post by **lomuamart** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 7:39 am

Back on topic, I reckon you need to see a good lawyer, Yung.

Post by **Yung** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 6:15 pm

I've got it confirmed now from a friend who's been living in Thailand a lot longer then me and he said its no problem at all. It costs 6000 Baht in fees to set it up and it would be what we in Norwegian refer to as a personal company (directly translated, don't know the correct english term for it), which means no shareholders, one owner only. It is 100% legal, no grey zone, and you get a work permit on the deal (the one follws the other).

I had to ask him why doesn't most people know this then? His reply was that most people are to lazy to find out and go thru the actual laws on this. He is going to send some papers describing the laws and how-to tomorrow and then I'll go thru it myself.

There's nothing in it for him, would just be helping me out for free, so forget about the scam factor here. Don't need a lawyer quite yet Lomu.

Post by **Lev** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 8:01 pm

Keep us posted on this Yung as I am yet to believe it until I see it.

Post by **Yung** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:12 am

Some must-see links for those who consider establishing any kind of business/company in Thailand:

The Board of Investment:
http://www.boi.go.th
A Business guide to Thailand (Official govt. document, unofficial translated version):
http://www.boi.go.th/english/download/faq/Bizzg.pdf

All you guys who have been here for decades probably know all this already, but useful info for newbies like me.

Post by **Yung** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 5:44 pm

There is no need to point out that much of this is about promotion of industry etc. Not ALL of this is relevant for small businesses/companies but there are some things that are.

I have heard many people talking about setting up a limited company for buying a house, people on this forum have said that's a bad idea. Have a look at this and see what you think of it:

Private Limited Companies:
... Both common and preferred stocks may be issued, but all shares must have voting rights. Thai law prohibits the issueance of shares with no par value. ...

... A minimun of seven shareholders is required at all times. A private limited company may be wholly owned by aliens. However in those activities reserved for Thai nationals, aliens' participation is generally allowed up to a minimum of 49 percent. The registration fee for a private limited company is 5,500 baht per million baht of capital. ...

minimum here has to be a typo or translation error, should be maximum.

So even a limited company can be fully owned by foreigners, but then you need 7 shareholders, and one of the things foereign owned companies can't do is "dealing in land". (Whatever you make of that translation). Can't see any reason why it wouldn't be legal to have a fully owned business then as that leaves all responsibility to one owner, not only limited to the capital in a company. Haven't found much about it yet, it is barely mentioned in this document, but I might inform you when I get the facts in written form.

Those who are only looking to buy a condo might want to have a look at this (About visa, on page 29):

Foreigners may also apply for permanent residence permits for Thailand under certain conditions, such as investment in a business, or a condominium. Applications can either be made to the board of investment or the Immigration Department.

According to this, owning a condo would qualify for permanent residence. For some reason I seriously doubt it will be granted though. Might be something with the translation here too, maybe a larger investment is necessary? Condo complex?

VincentD · Post by **VincentD** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 3:46 pm

Yung wrote:Norwegian refer to as a personal company (directly translated, don't know the correct english term for it), which means no shareholders, one owner only. It is 100% legal, no grey zone, and you get a work permit on the deal (the one follws the other).

It's called a sole proprietorship, known here as ordinary partnership. You may want to look a little further into this; most people avoid ordinary or limited partnerships as the company will be liable for the full obligation, which can be a lot more than the paid-up capital.

A 'company limited' that has a minimum of seven shareholders and issues shares, is only limited to the value of the shares (paid-up capital).

In other words, you won't lose your trousers if you're sued if it is a 'company limited'

.

Check it at the 'Civil and Commercial Codes, Books 1 through 6'. I found it in book three. The copy I have is way out of date, things have definitely changed (like the wife is now allowed to keep her maiden name) but I would imagine by not too much.

Post by **Norseman** » Sun Dec 04, 2005 10:51 pm

Yung wrote:
According to this, owning a condo would qualify for permanent residence. For some reason I seriously doubt it will be granted though. Might be something with the translation here too, maybe a larger investment is necessary? Condo complex?

Hi Yung.

Any more news about this?