Legal Services & Resources 

The recent crackdowns in Thailand have seemingly caused some anxiety for expats which should not be necessary, especially for those who abide by the laws in Thailand.

Certain issues regarding bank accounts in Thailand have come up, especially with regard to one main Bank, whereby "seasoning funds" has been introduced in the context of maintaining a Thai O Marriage Visa.

Retirees in Thailand who use Wise for money transfers should be aware that Wise is securing a Thai licence which means that inward transmittances via Wise will not show as a transfer from abroad.

Expats in Thailand will have noticed the crackdowns which have arisen due to a number of foreigners found using nominee companies to own land and also to circumvent laws regarding working in restricted occupations.

Anti-nominee crackdowns have been happening all over Thailand whereby in some cases law firms have been found using Thai nominees to set up companies to hold land and operate real estate businesses for foreigners.

Thai visa-free entry was recently reduced from 60 to 30 days, but authorities feel that significant vulnerabilities still exist which may result in an end to the policy which would not be good for tourism in Thailand.

Thai Immigration will commence using e-passport gates in Phuket for passengers who hold electronic passports with the aim that this will increase convenience and speed for travellers.

Thai Immigration is planning to introduce a new application which has been designed to modernize and speed up immigration even though most of the digital systems used nowadays have not proven to be overly efficient at all.

Thai Immigration is planning to develop an Immigration Management System whereby a private company will hold every Thai person's data which is already recorded on the Thai ID cards.

Thai Law Enforcement is concerned about foreigners buying land by using corporate structures that have set up with Thai nominees which if discovered could result in company dissolution and the land being seized.