Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the path to Permanent Residence in Thailand. I had a colleague ask me to do a video along these lines and essentially what you are looking at if you are trying to get on the path to Permanent Residence, especially if you are a single foreign national, you are not married to a Thai national, although much of this applies to those married to Thai nationals although it might not necessarily have the same requirements, but in my opinion, the most tried and true methodology of gaining Permanent Residence in Thailand is to set up a Thai Company and then use that Company as a vehicle to maintain one’s Work Permit and Visa status for the requisite period of time. Generally speaking, you are going to have to do a minimum of three years although maybe look at it a little more like four, but you are going to be looking at setting something up, getting yourself a Business Visa, Work Permit set up going and just starting to count the seconds until you are going to be feasible to go ahead and file for PR. 

Now bear in mind, this isn't the only way to deal with this. Many expats that come here, they get jobs in "expat package" companies where they are getting something commensurate with a multinational salary in like a Western country or another Asian country like Japan or Korea or China, but they are here in Thailand. Those folks may be viable for Permanent Residence as well but oftentimes I found it is a little bit more straightforward if you have the option. If your circumstances are such that it is, "look I work for this company, this is what I have got to deal with" but when you own your own Company, a major upside of that is you have control over the documentation associated with getting Permanent Residence. We oftentimes when we are liaising with clients when processing Thai Permanent Residence cases, it can be rather vexing to deal with a third party. It is usually the company they are working for because you are asking for documentation, they are wanting to know why you are needing this etc., etc. and it's concerns them essentially. 

So again, the most optimal way I have seen in my time in Thailand to become a Permanent Resident and maybe even ultimately one day a Thai citizen, is by setting up your own Company and then using that Company as sort of a vehicle if you will, to get there. To be clear, this is not pretextual. It is not a pretext or a pretense. You really will need to have an operational company that is bringing in revenue and paying taxes and paying you a salary and all of this but just simply from the standpoint of optimizing the PR process, having one's own small business in Thailand acting as one's own sponsor is in my opinion about the most optimal way to deal with it.