Company setup coordination in Thailand
Setting up a company in Thailand involves decisions that shape your business for years. Most foreign owners make them based on whichever lawyer they happened to find first. We sit between you and the legal process, explain your real options in plain language, and coordinate the right specialists to set things up properly the first time.
Talk to us before you commitFrom THB 15,000. See full pricing
Seven ways in. One is right for you.
The decisions you do not realise you are making
A foreign business owner walks into a Thai law firm and says “I want to set up a company in Thailand.” Within 30 minutes they have been quoted a price, handed a list of documents to collect, and put on a path toward a specific company structure the lawyer has decided is right. That structure shapes their tax obligations, ownership rights, ability to hire foreign staff, BOI access, property rights, and exit options for years.
The problem is not that the lawyer is dishonest. Most Thai corporate lawyers are competent and well-intentioned. The problem is that lawyers default to the structure they know best, and they default to it fast.
Whether you might qualify for BOI promotion, which would change the foreign-ownership rules and open up significant tax holidays.
Whether you actually need a Thai company at all, or whether a representative office or branch would suit your situation better.
What nominee shareholder structures actually mean, and why some setups that look fine on paper are quietly illegal under Thai law.
Most foreign owners do not know enough to ask the right questions. By the time they realise the structure was wrong, restructuring costs more than getting it right would have cost in the first place.
Company structure options in Thailand
A simplified map of the options most foreign businesses are choosing between. In plain English, with the practical implications named honestly.
Thai Limited Company
The most common structure: you own up to 49% of the shares as a foreigner, Thai shareholders own 51%. Workable when you have genuine Thai partners. Risky and often illegal when "nominee" Thai shareholders are used. Thais who hold shares on paper but have no real economic interest. Many foreign-owned businesses are operating under quietly illegal nominee structures right now without knowing it.
BOI-promoted company
The Board of Investment grants promotions to businesses in priority sectors: manufacturing, technology, certain services, regional headquarters. If you qualify, you can own the company entirely, receive significant tax holidays, and get streamlined work-permit and visa processes. The application is involved but worthwhile when you qualify.
Foreign Business License company
Available for specific business activities that fall outside the Foreign Business Act restrictions, or with an FBL granted on a case-by-case basis. Specialised situations.
Representative Office
Allows you to do market research, source goods, and represent your parent company in Thailand. Cannot earn revenue locally. Useful when you are exploring or coordinating but not yet trading here.
Branch Office
Allows a foreign parent company to operate in Thailand under specific restricted business categories. Less common, but right for some scenarios.
Treaty of Amity Company
A bilateral treaty allows US persons to own Thai companies majority or fully in most business categories. Often overlooked.
No Thai company at all
Sometimes the right answer is to keep operating from abroad and use other structures: local partnerships, sales agents, distribution agreements. A Thai entity has ongoing costs that some business models simply do not justify.
The right answer depends on your business model, sector, ownership preferences, visa situation, tax residency, expected revenue, and exit horizon. Picking it from a default list is how foreign businesses end up restructuring two years in.
What we actually do, and what we do not
We are not a law firm. We do not draft your Articles of Association or file your registration documents. That work is done by licensed, regulated Thai lawyers and accountants. What we do is everything around it.
Decide the right structure
We sit with you and walk through the options in plain language: your business model, priorities, concerns, and situation. We help you decide what actually fits. Not the default. The right one.
Coordinate vetted specialists
We brief vetted lawyers and accountants on your situation so you are not paying for an introductory consultation, negotiate their scope and pricing, and review their proposed structure before you sign, telling you honestly if anything looks off.
Stay in the middle during setup
Across the four to eight weeks of setup, the lawyer sends Thai documents; we translate and explain. The accountant asks for information; we help you assemble it. The DBD needs clarifications; we handle them. You never chase or wonder where things stand.
Coordinate the operational side
After setup we coordinate the bank account (an ordeal of its own for foreign-owned companies), tax ID, VAT registration, payroll and social security if you are hiring, and the ongoing accounting and compliance you will need.
Specialists we have vetted over years
People we use ourselves, refer to clients, and remove from our network the moment standards slip.
Corporate lawyers
Across the spectrum: affordable practitioners for straightforward Thai Limited setups, mid-tier firms for BOI applications, senior counsel for complex or sensitive structures.
Accountants
Ongoing compliance for foreign-owned businesses, with English communication and clear monthly reporting.
Immigration specialists
Work permits and long-term visas, handled by people who do it daily.
Banking contacts
People who can actually open accounts for newly registered foreign-owned companies — which sounds simple and is not.
Insurance brokers
Cover for the company, its assets, and staff, matched to your actual exposure.
IT & office setup
Systems, connectivity, and office-space contacts for the operational basics that come after setup.
Use any of them through us, or choose your own and we will coordinate with them. The network is a service to you, not a requirement.
From inquiry to operational entity
Discovery & structure decision
A 60–90 minute call to map your situation and recommend a structure, followed by a written summary of your options and our recommendation, with reasoning.
Specialist briefing & engagement
We brief the recommended lawyer and accountant, gather quotes, and present you with engagement terms. Once approved, work begins.
Setup & registration
Articles of Association drafted, capital structure finalised, registration with the Department of Business Development, tax ID issued. We stay in the loop on every step.
Operational setup
Bank account opening, VAT registration if applicable, signature card and tax authorities, work-permit application if applicable, social-security registration if hiring.
You receive a fully operational Thai entity with all documentation organised in a single handover folder, plus a clear summary of your ongoing monthly and annual obligations.
What you receive
Continued advisory access for the first 90 days after setup, at no additional charge. The first three months are when the questions actually start.
When this is the right service
You are setting up a company in Thailand for the first time and want it done right rather than fast
You have been quoted by a Thai lawyer and want a second opinion before you commit
You are uncertain whether BOI promotion applies to your business and want it properly assessed
You operate under a structure you suspect may not be optimal or fully legal — particularly nominee arrangements — and want to evaluate restructuring
You are bringing a foreign business into Thailand and the local presence needs to integrate cleanly with your overseas entity
Why us versus going direct to a lawyer
Going direct to a lawyer
Works when you already know the structure you want, the lawyer is genuinely the right specialist for it, and you are comfortable with no one in your corner during the process. For most foreign owners, none of those three conditions hold.
Going through us
Costs more upfront: our coordination fee sits on top of the lawyer's. It costs less over the life of the company, because the right structure does not need restructuring, the right specialist does not need replacing, and a foreigner who understood what they were signing does not end up in the situations our restructuring engagements are usually fixing.
What it costs
Initial structure consultation
approx. USD 450 · written recommendation included
Full setup coordination (Thai Limited)
approx. USD 1,050–1,800 · on top of lawyer & accountant fees (typically THB 40,000–80,000 combined)
BOI application coordination
scoped by sector & complexity · on top of legal fees
Restructuring & nominee unwinding
per situation · always with a written assessment first
In context: a typical foreign-owned Thai Limited costs USD 4,000–8,000 all-in to set up correctly through us. A botched setup that needs restructuring two years later costs three to five times that, plus the cost of whatever business you transacted under the wrong structure in the meantime.
Before you sign anything, talk to us
Send us a short description of your business, your situation, and what you are trying to set up in Thailand. We will reply quickly with a recommended first conversation, what we would cover, and what it would cost.