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As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing well Amity Certification here in Thailand for those Americans looking to do business here. For those who are unaware, The Amity Treaty does allow Americans to do business in Thailand notwithstanding the provisions of the Foreign Business Act which creates basically a requirement on many types of businesses that they be primarily Thai-owned, aka the so-called 49/51% type of company setups here that are rather common because of the provisions of the Foreign Business Act.

Now the Treaty of Amity which was ratified between the Thais and the Americans, the latest iteration in 1966, the diplomatic relationship between the two countries goes back to some 200 years with the Treaty that's about 190 years old as of the time of this video. Again that's a long relationship. The relationship between America and Thailand is Thailand is America's oldest ally in Asia, anywhere in Asia, it should be noted. Meanwhile, there are significant benefits to Americans doing business in Thailand, namely they can own their companies a hundred percent and be granted "National Treatment" pursuant to the terms of the Treaty which allow Americans to do business in a similar manner to Thais doing business or Thai companies doing business here in Thailand.

As discussed in other videos, this does not abrogate the need for Americans to get Work Permits and things in order to operate their business in Thailand but they can own their business out right notwithstanding the terms of the Foreign Business Act. There are certain restrictions even on Amity Certifications. If you are a bit confused or overwhelmed by this, probably not a bad idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed, but also check out the search function in our channel and just type in "Amity" and you'll find a number of videos regarding this where I get into more of the details about the restrictions and things of that nature. That said, the question posed by this video "is it better to Amity or not to Amity to get the company Amity certified or not?" Now many people would say well that's kind of a no-brainer, I want to own my own company, I'm going to do it under Amity. There are circumstances, most notably where for example a foreigner might be married to a Thai national. That's the one that percolates up in my mind most prominently where frankly Amity Certification might not be overly necessary under those circumstances.

Again folks doing the analysis on whether or not they need Amity Certification, you need to look at the underlying facts in your given case, ascertain whether or not an Amity Certification is appropriate and then decide if you want to seek it out. That said, again, those who feel a bit overwhelmed by this, it may not be a bad idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight the guidance into how best to proceed.