Can a foreigner who has a 1 million baht registered capital company and only 2 Thai staff get a work permit?
There are a number of rules in Thailand for foreigners which change slightly if you happen to be married to a Thai national.
One of these is the amount of capital you are required to invest in a Thai company in order to get a work permit.
Normally a company employing a foreigner must have at least 2 million THB of registered capital and 4 Thai staff.
If you are married to a Thai national you can use a Non O visa based on marriage to stay in Thailand. This also means that in order to get a work permit the company only needs to have 1 million THB registered capital and a minimum of 2 Thai employees per work permit instead of 4.
If the company employs 1 foreigner who is married to a Thai national then they need 1 million THB registered capital and 2 Thai employees.
If the company employs 2 foreigners who are both married to Thai nationals then they need 2 million THB registered capital and 4 Thai employees.
If the company employs 2 foreigners, one of which is married to a Thai national and one which isn’t then they need 3 million THB registered capital and 6 Thai employees.
If you want to use a Non B visa instead of a Non O visa then the same rules apply as though you were not married to a Thai citizen.
There are not many rules which are different for married and non-married foreigners. Some of the requirements for permanent residency are slightly easier if you have a Thai husband or wife but apart from that most things are exactly the same!
Labour offices in different provinces may interpret the rules differently and some may require that it is a family business.
If you need advice regarding any of the information provided here please contact [email protected]
