BOI & Foreign Business Setup Lawyer in Bangkok — Incorporation, FBL, Treaty of Amity, EEC
Setting up a foreign-controlled business in Thailand routes through one of several systems: a Thai limited company with up to 49% foreign ownership (the default under the Foreign Business Act), a BOI-promoted company that can be 100% foreign-owned for promoted activities, a Foreign Business Licence (FBL) for activities outside BOI scope, the US Treaty of Amity (for US persons), or an EEC-zone structure. Each carries different timelines, costs, tax positions, and ongoing reporting. We help foreign investors pick the right path before anyone signs a lease, and we then run the incorporation and post-incorporation compliance.
Scope of BOI and foreign business setup lawyer work in Bangkok
- Pre-incorporation structuring — match the right vehicle to your industry, ownership, and tax goals
- Thai limited company incorporation (with or without foreign minority)
- BOI application — eligibility review, business plan, post-promotion compliance
- Foreign Business Licence (FBL) application for non-BOI activities
- US Treaty of Amity registration for qualifying US-controlled entities
- EEC-zone setup for manufacturing and S-curve industries
- Post-setup: tax registration, work permits, employment compliance, accounting setup
Process
- 1Free structuring consultation — review business model, activities, ownership goals
- 2Choose the right vehicle and draft the constitutional documents
- 3Reserve name and incorporate at the Department of Business Development
- 4Apply for BOI promotion, FBL, or Treaty of Amity registration as applicable
- 5Set up tax registration, VAT, social security, work permits, and bank accounts
Documents to prepare
- •Passport(s) of foreign founder(s)
- •ID and household registration of any Thai co-founder(s)
- •Business plan / activity description (for BOI / FBL applications)
- •Proof of registered office address — lease agreement and landlord consent
- •Proof of paid-up capital (minimum thresholds vary by structure)
About our team in Bangkok
Service for Bangkok and its metropolitan area — Thailand's capital and its financial and industrial hub. We have a Bangkok branch office in Lat Phrao and appear at the Civil, Criminal, Central Labor, Central Tax, and Central IP & International Trade Courts. We cover factories and operators across Bangkok-area industrial estates such as Lat Krabang, Bang Chan, Gemopolis, Nava Nakorn, Bang Kadi, Bangpoo, and Bang Phli — labor and wrongful-termination cases, import-export customs, BOI investment, and commercial-contract advisory.
We specialize in Bangkok's specialized courts — IP, Central Tax, Central Labor, and Central Administrative — plus M&A, foreign investment, and advisory work for factories in industrial estates: labor and termination disputes, factory and environmental compliance, customs procedures, and BOI privileges. We keep a Bangkok branch office in Lat Phrao and our partners travel to Bangkok regularly, serving clients at lower cost than a downtown-capital firm.
Courts we appear at in Bangkok
- •Bangkok South Civil Court
- •Civil Court
- •Criminal Court
- •Central Labor Court
- •Central Tax Court
- •Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court
Bangkok and metro (Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan), including the Lat Krabang, Bang Chan, Gemopolis, Nava Nakorn, Bang Kadi, Bangpoo, and Bang Phli industrial estates
Past matters in Bangkok
- International IP case at CIPIT Court
Contact our Bangkok attorneys
We serve clients across Thailand. Initial consultation.
Further reading — related guide
Everything foreign investors need to know about doing business in Thailand — entity types, BOI, FBA, work permits, taxes, and pitfalls. 4,000+ words from a 39-year Thai law firm.
22 min readFrequently asked questions — BOI and foreign business setup lawyer in Bangkok
3 questions answered