Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing whether or not company set up is the best way to work here in Thailand. 

Well we've seen a lot of nonsense quite frankly in the ether that is the internet; we've seen a lot of talk about the Destination Thailand Visa for example and work authorization pertaining to that. As we've discussed in other videos, it can't have anything to do with the Thai economy so you're not work authorized on a Destination Thailand Visa to work in Thailand. You can work for somebody else; you're on a phone or on a laptop and doing something remotely, you cannot work in Thailand. Meanwhile there's all kinds of talk that the Long-Term Residence Visa - which isn't even a Residence Visa nor is it for all that long of a term - that it is somehow inherently work authorized. Well, BOI just came up with the notion that they can issue work authorization and I have never seen the legal basis for how they are able to do that. I understand their visa sort of capabilities pursuant to the Immigration Act of 1979 but where were they ever granted the authorization unilaterally to grant work authorization to people inherent to their visa. I have never seen a legal basis for that. Meanwhile people will say "well anytime I go down to One Stop I get my Work Permit sorted there." Yeah, that's how One Stop was designed. They have an Immigration Officer there; they have a Labour Department Officer there. They just happen to be in the same place, so it's all more convenient, it all gets done at once. That doesn't mean BOI unilaterally has the ability to certify people to be able to work in Thailand. That's the Ministry of Labour's bailiwick directly, so I don't see where they get the legal basis for that. Meanwhile they say "oh you don't need the 4 to 1 ratio”, I've seen various folks outside on the internet saying "oh if you use that kind of visa, you don't need the 4 to 1." That's a problem, and I could see Thai Immigration and the Labour Department definitely coming down on that in the longer term. Meanwhile, again I don't see the legal basis where they make these claims. Don't forget when they first started talking about the LTR, they talked about "oh you can own land too". That quickly fell by the wayside. They have talked a lot of nonsense when it came to the issue of the LTR. In my opinion work authorization inherent to that Visa is just one more example of that nonsense. 

Meanwhile, what is the best way if you want to work in Thailand? Well traditionally the most straightforward way of doing it is setting up a Thai Company, using that Thai company as a vehicle to maintain Work Permit and Visa status here in the Kingdom. Meanwhile you can set up a company with what's called Amity Treaty Certification if you are an American citizen and this can allow someone to avail themselves not only of the ability to own their company outright here in Thailand notwithstanding the Foreign Business Act which generally requires 51% Thai ownership, 49% foreign ownership, an American, so long as the company is certified, an American company is granted national treatment in Thailand which means that notwithstanding the fact an American may own the majority of the company, they can do business as if they were a Thai company notwithstanding the provisions of the Foreign Business Act. Meanwhile, as I've discussed in other videos, there are a number of possible tax benefits associated in an American context with an Amity Treaty Company. So, from that context yeah it can be very beneficial for Americans. For non-Americans, the 49/51 set up may be optimal; there may be other methods through for example the Board of Investment as well as through the Eastern Economic Corridor to go ahead and be able to own your company 100% as well. Meanwhile, the thing that must be kept in mind is the standard Thai Business Visa and Work Permit remains the only path to Permanent Residence and Citizenship here in the Kingdom of Thailand.