Transcript of the above video:

In the past few weeks there has been a lot of discussion regarding work authorization in the ether that is the internet. I have done a lot of discussion on my thoughts on work authorization as well as tax policy and things related to various visas in Thailand. I have gotten a lot of correspondence from folks, people who are kind of confused and I thought I would make this video. 

Look I am a big believer in 'old tricks are the best tricks', and especially when it comes to immigration matters here in Thailand, you want to be looking at options that are based on long-standing if you will, bureaucratic tradition if you will, and are based on actual promulgated law. So what are we talking about? The Immigration Act of 1979, which specifically creates the Business Visas. These aren't a creation of some government agency that sort of did it by regulatory Fiat effectively and then it can be changed on a whim. The Business Visa itself is mentioned by name in the Immigration Act of '79. For this reason, it is my concerted opinion that the Business Visa is one of the best and most certain types of visas here in Thailand. And when coupled with the Work Permit, it is the most ironclad, certain way for foreigners to come to Thailand, maintain lawful status and maintain unequivocally clear work authorization status here in Thailand. 

Now generally speaking, and it depends on the circumstances in a given case, you might have a sponsoring company, but this means you have to - if you are going to be self-employed - set up your own company here in Thailand, utilize that and depending on the circumstances, depending on your circumstances or the underlying circumstances, the structure of that company can kind of vary. There are various ways to set it up as we have discussed in other videos. For Americans, there is The Amity Treaty which allows for American 100% ownership; there may be BOI concessions out there. If you are in the Eastern Economic Corridor, there may be concessions under that body; you may set up under a 49/51 type setup, with 51% Thai ownership. Again it depends on the circumstances in your case.

But at the end of the day the outcome with regard to the Business Visa and the Work Permit, that to my mind, especially in light of the Immigration Act of '79, is the most certain option for folks who want to come here, do business and have the certainty of peace of mind in knowing that they have lawful status here in Thailand, and aren't subject to the whims of these various bodies that just sort of make up these visas, frankly kind of on a whim, and then you can kind of see them either wildly changed and fundamentally changed on a whim, or they can just be effectively mothballed and it doesn't work out either. 

So the point I am trying to make with this video is, standard company set up here in Thailand with a Work Permit and a Business Visa, is really the most certain way of maintaining long-term immigration status as well as work authorization here in the Kingdom of Thailand.