Until today, Ministerial Regulations have been neither promulgated nor even drafted. So far, foreigners may operate the businesses prescribed in Annex 3 in the case of receiving permission by the DirectorGeneral of the Department of Business Development with the approval of the Committee. This means that foreigners who want to operate a business which has been prescribed in Annex 2 or 3 in Thailand need to seek permission from the Minister with the approval of the Cabinet or from the DirectorGeneral with the approval of the Committee, as the case may be.
How to Get a Foreign Business Operating License
Foreigners operating businesses in Thailand can be divided into 4 groups as follows:
Group 1: Foreigners operating a business in Thailand with a temporary permission granted by the Government
Group 2: Foreigners operating a business under a treaty to which Thailand is a party or by which Thailand is obligated to abide, such as the Thai American Treaty of Amity and Commerce
Group 3: Foreigners operating a business that is promoted under the Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520 (A.D. 1988) or permitted in writing to operate the industry or trade for export under the law governing the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand or under other laws
Group 4: Foreigners operating business in all other cases.