Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Branch Offices in Thailand. I have done another video contemporaneously with this one where we discussed Rep. Offices in Thailand. It seems Branch Offices and Rep. Offices are being viewed by some and unfortunately there are a lot of folks out there in the ether of the internet especially so-called foreign legal professionals which isn't really a thing in Thailand. Legal professionals, that moniker is reserved for Thais only; legal service is a restricted occupation in Thailand. Before anybody starts saying in the comments "well what about you", I am a Thai; I became Thai five years ago. 

That being said, the Branch Office structure, again where you have a foreign entity and then it has a Branch Office in Thailand, there may be genuinely legitimate reasons for doing that but what I have been seeing is people are looking at this like some sort of magic bullet work around for dealing with admin. fees,  dealing with taxes and things here in Thailand. That is a bad way to look at it if what you are seeking is a vehicle to maintain long term status and work in Thailand. In my opinion, it is not a good idea, especially if you are exclusively operating in Thailand set up this offshore entity and then turn around and have it have a branch of his here. The scrutiny associated with Branch Offices is higher in our opinion because of the tax liabilities associated with it. You have also got Double Tax Treaty things that come into play, Double Tax Treaty issues which come into play in analyzing Branch Office, Head Office structures that need to be understood really at a deep level.

Again major multinational corporations utilizing a Branch Office they are in a totally different position. I am talking about SMEs here and especially SMEs where the primary objective of the foreigner involved is looking to get work authorization and maintain an ongoing business in Thailand. Again, if you are going to do that, a standard limited company generally speaking and by generally speaking I mean 99.9% of the time, is going to be a better structure than trying to utilize this Branch Office in order to save on some rather nominal costs associated with maintaining status here in Thailand. Quite honestly it is just not the optimal way to do things for an SME for a variety of different reasons. On top of that, the administrative costs go up so whatever you think you are saving in terms of nominal cost, the administrative costs of dealing with audits in two jurisdictions, dealing with tax liability specifically here in Thailand where you have heightened scrutiny from the Revenue Department because they are well aware of how these structures can be utilized to mitigate or just flat out engage in evasion of relevant taxes. For those reasons, a Branch Office is oftentimes very far from being the most optimal solution for someone looking to come to Thailand, maintain a small business and maintain Business Visa and Work Permit status herein.