According to the statistics concerning permission granted to foreigners for the operation of businesses in Thailand under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), it was found that during the 22 years from 3 March 2000 to 2022, 6,242 foreign investors were granted a business license. Most of them were in the service sector (3,128 persons), followed by representative offices and regional office businesses (1,481 persons), and the rest of them were in construction, engineering services, consultation services, wholesale and retail agents, and accounting and law businesses. This reflects how popular it is for foreigners to operate a business in Thailand.
According to the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), foreigners are not allowed to operate businesses specified in List 1, but those in List 2 and List 3 are permitted, unless there is a reasonable cause to refuse permission.
However, according to Section 17, a foreigner who wishes to operate such businesses (if they are an ordinary person, juristic person not registered in Thailand, or a juristic person registered in Thailand) is able to apply to the Bureau of Foreign Business Administration, Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce, for permission to operate businesses specified in List 2 and List 3. In other provinces, the application shall be submitted to the Provincial Business Development Office. The application fee is 2,000 baht. The consideration period of approval of the application must be finished within 60 days from the date the application is submitted. If the application is not approved, notification shall be made within 15 days. The applicant may file an appeal within 15 days. The applicant will be notified of the result of the appeal. Operation of the business may proceed after the license is obtained.
Application fees for a license are as follows:
1. License for a business specified in List 2: Ten baht for every one thousand baht of registered capital, provided that the minimum fee is 40,000 baht and the maximum fee is 500,000 baht;
2. License for any business in List 3 is five baht for every one thousand baht of the registered capital, provided that the minimum fee is 20,000 baht and the maximum fee is 250,000 baht.
A juristic person not registered in Thailand and a juristic person registered in Thailand are required to submit the same supporting documents, namely Form Tor. 2, identification document for foreigner, a certification by the applicant that he/she possesses the correct qualifications and does not have prohibited characteristics under Section 16 of the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), a letter stating the details of the type of business for which the application is made (such as the size of the operations, the intended period of business operation, the number of employees in Thailand the applicant will employ, and the expected overall benefit to the economy that Thailand will receive from the business operation), and a map indicating the approximate location of the place of business in Thailand.
Source : Office of the Council of State
Tel : +66 2221 5306
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