Are juristic persons not registered in Thailand able to apply for a business license?

        A foreigner who is a juristic person not registered in Thailand and wishes to operate a business in Thailand must follow the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999). According to the ministerial regulation prescribing rules and procedures for the application for a license to operate a business under Section 17 B.E. 2546 (2003), a foreigner who intends to apply for a license to operate a business under Section 17 must submit an application for a license in accordance with the form prescribed by the Minister of Commerce in a notification together with the following evidence and documents: 

1. Copy of the certificate or evidence of juristic person status, containing particulars of the name, capital, objects, place of business, name list of directors, and signatories who are authorized to bind the juristic person;

2. A letter of appointment of an agent issued by the authorized signatory under (1) as the appointer of an agent to be in charge of the operations in Thailand on behalf of the juristic person; 

3. Copy of the passport, identification document of foreigner or the identification card of the agent appointed under (2); 

4. Copy of house registration, a certificate of residence in the Kingdom, or evidence of permission to enter the Kingdom for a temporary stay under the law on immigration of the agent appointed under (2); 

5. A certification by the applicant that the applicant, director, manager, or agent that is appointed possesses the correct qualifications and is not under a prohibition under Section 16 of the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999); 

6. A letter stating details of the type of business for which the application is being made: 

6.1 The type of business for which the application is being made, including the stages of the operations;

6.2 An estimate of the expenditures as regards the amount of funds that the applicant will spend in Thailand for the acquisition of fixed assets and covering the cost of operating the business in each year over a period of 3 years or over the actual period of business operation, in the case where the business will be operated for less than 3 years; 

6.3 The size of the operations;

6.4 The number of employees in Thailand the applicant will employ;

6.5 A plan for the importing of foreign technology and the transfer of technology (if any);

6.6 A plan for research and development, in which there must be an explanation of the working plan for research and development (if any);

6.7 The intended period of business operation;

6.8 The expected overall benefit to the economy that Thailand will receive from the business operation. 

7. A map indicating the approximate location of the place of business operation in Thailand. 

        The applicant must complete the application form in print, which must also be signed by the applicant or an appointee in the case where a power of attorney was made to appoint another person to act on his/her behalf. If such evidence or documents are in a foreign language, a Thai translation must be provided. The application must be submitted at the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce, in Bangkok or in another province, for the purpose of consideration.

Source : Dharmniti Law Office Co., Ltd.
Tel : +66 2680 9777