Thai Business Help: the work permit and company agent we use in Pattaya

A good number of the people who buy property through us do not come to Pattaya only to retire. They come to work, or to start something: a restaurant, a consultancy, an online business run from a spare bedroom with a sea view. The first question is always the same. How do I do this legally? For a work permit in Pattaya, and for setting up and running a Thai company, we send people to Thai Business Help.

This is part of a series on local businesses we are happy to put our name beside. Nobody has paid to be included, and we do not take a commission for sending you there.

Who they are

Thai Business Help is a visa and business services firm on Siam Country Club Road in East Pattaya. It was founded in 2010 by Mam, who owns and runs it.

Mam and her husband Matt are good friends of mine, and I have known them both for over twenty years. You should know that when you read this. You should also know that the friendship is not the reason for the recommendation.

How I know their work

We are clients. Mam is who we use for our own work permits.

An estate agency with foreign staff needs every one of those permits to be right, and to stay right when it is renewed. A mistake does not only affect the person whose name is on the permit. It affects the company that employs them. I trust Mam with that, and have done for years, which is the most useful thing I can tell you about her.

Why we recommend them

They are trusted. That is the word I would use first. With work permits and company paperwork you are handing over passports, company documents and a good deal of faith. I have never had cause to regret it.

Mam knows the system and is known within it. After more than fifteen years of doing this work every day, she has a very good relationship with the immigration office. That does not mean rules get bent. It means she knows exactly what is required, her applications arrive complete, and questions get answered quickly because the people on the other side of the desk know her work.

They cover the business side as well as the visa. A work permit does not exist on its own. It sits on a company, a visa and a set of accounts, and all three have to agree with each other. Thai Business Help handles the lot under one roof.

What they can help with

• Work permits and business visas.
• Company registration, and later changes to directors, shareholders or the company itself.
• Accounting and bookkeeping, including monthly books, payroll and social security, VAT and withholding tax, and the annual audit.
• Thai bank accounts for a company.
• Business licences.
• Certified translation and notary services.

They also handle personal visas, 90-day reports and a long list of other paperwork. Their website sets it all out.

What it costs

Thai Business Help publish guide prices. At the time of writing, their starter package covering a new company, a visa and a work permit is listed from 85,000 baht, with government fees charged on top at cost. Every case is different, so ask for a quote for yours.

If you are buying property through a company

Some buyers ask us about holding property through a Thai company. It is an area where the rules are strict and where bad advice is expensive. A company has to be a real one, properly set up and properly run, with accounts filed every year. If that is the route you are considering, take proper advice before you commit, and make sure whoever looks after the company afterwards is someone you can rely on for years, not only for the day of the transfer.

A word about Matt

Matt runs his own business from the same office, doing website and graphic design. He has helped me over the years with websites, design and hosting. If you are setting up a business and need a logo and a website as well as a company and a work permit, you can deal with both in one visit.

How to find them

Thai Business Help
238/6 Moo 6, Siam Country Club Road, East Pattaya, Chonburi 20150
Open Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00
Phone and WhatsApp: 089 543 4424
LINE: @thaibusinesshelp
Email: info@thaibusinesshelp.com
Website: thaibusinesshelp.com

Tell Mam that Shane sent you.

A note on our recommendations

We only write about businesses we would use ourselves or send our own clients to. If you use one of them and it does not go well, tell us. A recommendation is only worth something if we are prepared to hear that.

This article is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Rules change. Ask Thai Business Help, or a qualified lawyer, about your own situation.

Looking for a home, or premises, in Pattaya? Browse our properties for sale and properties for rent, or get in touch with the team.