Keep in mind that there are multiple ways to do that. I could be out of date (I left because of this), but my experience was as follows.
Option 1. Do it "correctly". This is painful. You can be asked for a different (often irrelevant) piece of documentation on each visit. Expect to be referred from the Immigration Police (for visa) to the Labor Department (for work permit), and then back and forward as they get picky about each others' paperwork. You get there in the end and if you're semi retired and don't mind spending a lot of time in Government offices then OK, but in my view life is too short for this.
Had my first one over a decade ago, was done within 10 minutes, i provided no paperwork, company sorted it and had legal on payroll, can't say for certain whether fees were 'paid', but with the parties involved, i doubt it (sincerely).
Option 2. Pay your lawyer roughly $1000 and they magically get your visa and work permit sorted in a few days. The problem is that over the years, the "gifts" handed out by your lawyer to immigration police and MoL employees will grow substantially and if you decide to stop paying and do it legitimately, you might find it extremely difficult. This is understandable, given that those shiny new BMWs in the car park aren't affordable on Thai Police wages. It's almost as if it's in their interest to make it slow and painful when you do things "properly".
Uncle in law is a Anti-Corruption Chief, as you go up the ranks you earn more like a pyramid scheme (lower units pay for promotions etc).
You'd be surprised how much money they earn legitimately, its a police force run mainly on incentives (catch bad actors get rewards), opposed to western policing which has a budget.
Different but not criminal, when you pay a fine, a cut goes to the officer and up the chain... those cuts amount up quickly.
It's legal not criminal, its different that's it.
Seems fine then.
When i was 'working' even in country, you'd have a salary upto 150,000 THB (decade ago) 10% increase x 2 each year, and taxes paid for, then your real meaty salary would be done overseas as a consultant servicing a overseas company from a company you owed.
That was the norm then.
As for Dubai, this is seems normal, just transfer over funds and/or withdraw at a ATM, make sure the company has substance overseas and any funds transferred (transferred) are done a year after earning them (next tax year) and its tax free - do as a dividends - best approach.
Hello, thank you for your reply.
What do mean by "Thai Financial rails," Thai bank accounts, and other financial institutions?
The idea was to use UAE banks and live in Thailand.
Our company makes a significant amount of money, and I think it will also work with the UAE.
If we move substance out of the UAE, hire a director overseas, and have an office, it should work in theory. I mean to live in the UAE, with an offshore company or UAE company and PE overseas.
So you pay roughly 17K euro one off in taxes and don't have to worry about it again as long as you don't do local business. WAOW.
thanks for your story
@wellington and
@Fred - I enjoyed reading your replies here.
Just to confirm there was talk about this... never see it ratified though... actually the visa works out the cost as leaving the country every 3 months like a lot of expats do, just pay at once and don't have to leave for 5+ yrs.
Actually you have to park 400K THB in a Thai bank account 2 months prior applying then let it 1 more month during consideration period. After you get your passport stamped with the 1 year extension you are free to use your money the way you want for the remaining 9 months.
Cost of extension is 1,900 THB per year. You may want to add a multiple re-entry permit along the extension for 3,800 THB (alternative is 1,000 THB for each re-entry permit) in order to go in and out Thailand as you wish without cancelling the extension.
Same same (3 months, don't be pedantic).
Note to everybody, theres a bunch of layers that will 'facilitate' this amount for a fee.
There's a guy i know, old, hobbles around, hasn't left Thailand in half a decade, his passport however routinely does lol.
There's systems in place for servicing peoples needs, just be subtle i guess.
It's actually 600k thb (5 years) + 400k thb (15 years) the cheapest thai elite.
Do you have your personal tax residence in Thailand with tax id?
Used to be 500k - think they've just increased it.
Don't know anything about the 400k you mention (its now 600k).
As for tax residence, i pay tax in multiple countries-won't go into the specifics, but discussed on here before in prior posts (wealth tax, income tax, remittance taxes etc).
@yngmind ref: Thai Financial rails
By this i mean using a Thai bank for receiving company funds (revenues) when not registered in Thailand... would come under money laundering violations.
Structure properly like referenced above to have dividends/income but NEVER use a Thai bank for commercial activities if not registered in Thailand...
Should add as a final comment.
Almost a decade of Prayut has lead to economic instability in Thailand, and a huge debt trap.
The country is going 'digital' for tracking so as to squeeze every little drop of money into the system (barely any Thai's actually pay tax or are required to do so, something like 3% (maybe 30% now) pay tax and that provides the capital for the country, the rest is driven by corporations (expenditure/tax receipts).
Whether that system changes or not (likely) is unknown (demographics will cause it, but most elderly only get something like 10-20bucks a month from the state anyway).
So the government kinda is ok with people living in Thailand and bringing money in - as they get their tax that way - but with CRS and the debt issue, they may look towards expats etc - though unlikely because the Expats and tourism pretty much powers the country directly and indirectly so they don't want to rock that system (covid was all bravdo with statements like dirty farang, until the taps turned off with the lockdowns then the liquidity dried up).
Political and Societal upheaval is ahead of Thailand anyway, due to the nature of both 'traditional roadblock ahead- won't mention what that is as les majesty laws) and political squabbles between yellow/red and the emerging millennials wanting neither.
Factor those in before putting roots, it could easily turn into Burma, very rapidly.
The country is also aligned with China (at the highest political level) and aligned with the West at the highest ____ traditional level... so the two hands see different futures, but one hand is currently not positioned to challenge the other... yet.
