How to Register Your Business under the Treaty of Amity?
If you are an American, you can have a majority shareholding to its company and branch office in Thailand. And this is possible under the US-Thai Treaty of Amity of 1833. The treaty grants a special economic relationship between Thailand and the US, willing to establish the business. Therefore, the American companies get national treatment, which means they are allowed to do businesses as the Thais. Most importantly, they are exempted from the majority of the restrictions imposed on foreign investment by the Alien Business Law of 1972.
If you are willing to set up a business in Thailand, being an American you will need to know about the laws. Like, the Alien Employment Act requires the non-Thais to get a work permit first prior to getting engaged in any kind of works. Well, then you won’t be allowed to invest in occupations like engineering, legal professions, and accounting. On the other hand, the Immigration Act of 1979 allows Americans 30-day visit in Thailand without the requirement of having a visa. But for businesses, staying for a longer duration will have to obtain a non-immigrant visa (category B). And then there is the Alien Business Law that puts a lot of restrictions on the business activity of non-Thais.
However, if you are seeking protection under the Treaty of Amity, you should make an application. Follow these;
Obtain Issuance Letter by the US Commercial Service from the US Embassy in Bangkok:
This issuance certificate is provided to confirm that the applicant is qualified to start a business under the treaty. But for that, the applicant must obtain documents that verify the company’s registration in compliance with the Thai Law. On receiving the documents, the US Commercial Service office will certify to the Thai Department of Commercial Registration that the applicant is a US national who owns and manages the company.
Application to Ministry of Commerce:
Once you have obtained a certification letter from the U.S. Commercial Service, you must submit the requested documents and a properly filled application form, to the Ministry of Commerce, the Bureau of Foreign Business Administration and the Department of Business Development.
Registering your business under the Treaty of Amity will approximately take at least four to five weeks. If you have your papers righty it will take three working days for the US Commercial Service to issue the certificate followed by 2 to 3 weeks of wait to receive an approval from the Ministry of Commerce.
