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What are the requirements for starting a business in Thailand while on a family visa?

Family Visa Business Setup Work Permits Starting a Business in Thailand Expat Life in Thailand

Apr 20, 2025

25 days ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

Hello community 👋, I’m currently living in Bangkok as an expat with a family visa. I would love to start a small business and open an online shop—just like I used to do in my home country. Does anyone here have experience with this or know how the process works in Thailand? Many thanks in advance! 🫶✨

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TLDR : Answer Summary

A user in Bangkok is looking to start a small online shop while on a family visa. Community responses highlight potential constraints related to work permits tied to visa types, where a dependent visa generally does not allow work, but a spouse of a Thai citizen may have other options. Members shared experiences of business profitability challenges, indicating that starting a business can come with various obstacles.

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Robert **********

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Robert **********

You may wanted to check this list too

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Kathrin ****

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Robert *********

yes I’ve already came across this. thank you 🙏 I think my plan is something not in the list 😉

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Robert **********

I would maybe check that with a lawyer

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Robert **********

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John **********

What do you call a family visa?

If it's a dependent visa you can't work on that visa

If you're married to a Thai you can start a company and get a work permit

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Kathrin ****

ORIGINAL POSTER

@John *********

thanks John for asking, my husband works and we „just“ accompany him. He’s not Thai. I got to know that I would need a Thai partner right? Actually I used to run a shop quite successful and it was sooo easy 🥲😏

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Kathrin ****

ORIGINAL POSTER

Yes 🙌 there has to be a way

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Kathrin ****

ORIGINAL POSTER

@John *********

hmmm too bad. Thanks so much John. There have to be options… I will do more research 🤗😅

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John **********

your only option is to change your visa to one that allows you to work

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John **********

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John **********

you can't work inside Thailand on that visa

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John **********

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John *********

Sounds good. Plenty of obstacles along the way. My Thai wife and I considered opening a restaurant in our village, but we can see she would earn maybe 500 to 1,000 THB a day after expenses and a 10 hour day. We had a Thai restaurant in North America and we each earned $300 - $500 USD (10,000 - 17,000 THB) per day. We earned a good retirement nest egg and are not even considering working for peanuts in Thailand.

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Matthew *********

so true, you would be lucky to make 1000 baht a day. I am always trying to think of something for my wife. Very little business have a return. I am thinking a boutique online for my wife. One thing Thai woman love is online shopping 555

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Kathrin ****

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Matthew ********

thanks so much. I was thinking about that digital nomad thing too…

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Kathrin ****

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Matthew ********

😁 could be true. And for many women 😉 I used to sell vintage and decor items. Some of the earnings I donated. It worked well but in times of COVID the whole process of buying and shipping became complicated. Here in Thailand there would be fantastic options. But I need to find out how it’s possible in a legal way 🤗

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Matthew *********

I have seen many others do it but it doesn't mean it was legal. I wonder if you could do that under the digital nomad . You could change VPN to show store was in America and you would be bound to pay taxes since it was income generated in Thailand. I think it's a loop hole that could work

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Matthew *********

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Kathrin ****

ORIGINAL POSTER

I see. Thanks so much. I used to run a shop at home and it was quite successful. I would be happy if here it would just be a hobbyplus 😌☺️🙏

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Kathrin ****

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