YACT Association · BangkokLegal counsel in Thailand
Corporate formation, licensing, immigration and litigation in Thailand
The firm provides full-service legal support to foreign companies and investors as well as private individuals.
Our services
Full-service legal support for foreign companies and investors, and for individuals who need legal planning or are facing a dispute.
Retained counsel for companies and individuals
Legal questions come up all year, for companies and individuals alike, not only when there is a dispute.
Contract drafting and review
A good contract is one that tells you how things end if they go wrong.
Visas and work permits
Getting your people into Thailand, and lawfully into work once they are here.
Litigation and arbitration
When a matter reaches a court or a tribunal, for claimants and respondents alike.
Enforcement and asset recovery
Turning a judgment into money: tracing, seizure, attachment and execution.
Cross-border transactions and investment
Cross-border investment, from due diligence to investment structuring.
Tax and accounting
Accounting and tax are ongoing work for as long as the company exists, not a task done once and finished.
Notarisation and certified translation
The same set of documents can need a different chain of certification depending on where it is headed.
From company formation
to litigation and enforcement
The firm provides full-service legal support to foreign companies and investors as well as private individuals — from company formation and licensing, including factory licences, BOI promotion and foreign business licences, through visas and work permits, to litigation and enforcement.
The obstacle first
Before quoting we say where the matter is actually going to stick, and whether there is a cheaper or faster way through. If the answer is that nothing needs doing, that is the answer you get.
A price said in advance
The professional fee, the government fees and the translation costs are set out separately in the quotation. Nothing appears halfway through.
The entity on the register
Every line can be checked against the Department of Business Development register.
- Registered name
- YACT Association Company Limited
- Registration no.
- 0105568061105
- Incorporated
- 20 March 2025
- Registered office
- Jubilee Prestige Tower, 202 Ratchadaphisek Road, Room 1103, 11th Floor, Huai Khwang, Bangkok 10310, Thailand
Some of the firm's clients
Our team
The partners, the lawyers and the associates. You will always know who is handling your matter.
BOI investment promotion
BOI promotion is not only about tax. For many foreign investors the valuable parts are full ownership of the promoted project without a foreign business licence — instead a foreign business certificate is obtained from the Department of Business Development under section 12 of the Foreign Business Act — and visas and work permits through the one-stop centre.
What this covers
- Checking which promoted activity a project fits, and whether applying is worth it at all
- Preparing the application and the supporting project documents
- Preparing for the interview with the officers and the sub-committee
- Post-certificate work: opening the project and drawing down the privileges
- Visas and work permits through the One Stop Service Centre
How it proceeds
- 01Assess the projectThe project is matched against the list of promoted activities and the privileges actually available are assessed.
- 02File the applicationThe application goes in with the project details, capacity and investment plan.
- 03Interview and certificateOnce approved, the resolution must be accepted and the certificate applied for within the time allowed.
- 04Open the projectProgress is reported and the project opened within the deadline, or the privileges can be withdrawn.
What we will need from you
- Project details, capacity and the production or service process
- Investment plan and sources of funding
- The investor's profile and financial statements
Operating licences usually attach to the premises rather than to the company
Choosing the wrong building at the outset means starting the whole application again.
What this covers
- Factory licences and the building-related permits that go with them
- FDA approvals for food, cosmetics and medical devices
- Tour operator and guide licences
- Health establishment and entertainment venue licences
- Liquor and tobacco licences, and other sector permits as the business requires
How it proceeds
- 01Check the premisesZoning, building classification and the conditions attached to the site have to support the intended use.
- 02Assemble the filePlans, the owner's consent, and the operator's own documents.
- 03File and inspectionFor many licence types the authority inspects the site before issuing.
What we will need from you
- Company certificate with objects that cover the licensed activity
- Lease or proof of the right to occupy, with the owner's consent
- Building plans and the layout of the space
Tell us what you intend
to do in Thailandand we will tell you
what has to be applied for
Cross-border investment, from due diligence to investment structuring.
Questions we are asked
The answers below are the general position. Your own case may differ on its facts and on the regulations in force at the time.
01How much of a Thai company can a foreigner hold?
Save where a sector statute or the Land Code provides otherwise, there is no general ceiling on shareholding as such. What matters is that once foreigners hold half or more, the company is itself a foreigner under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 and cannot carry on any activity in the schedules without permission. The usual answers are a licence, a certificate under a treaty or free trade agreement, or BOI promotion.
02Once the company exists, can it apply for a work permit straight away?
Not always. The Department of Employment looks at paid-up registered capital together with the number of Thai employees. As a general rule that means two million baht of capital and four Thai employees for each foreigner. BOI-promoted companies work to a different set of criteria. These figures move with the regulations and with the officer's discretion, so check them before planning headcount.
03What is the difference between a visa and a work permit?
A visa governs entry and stay and comes from an embassy or from the Immigration Bureau. A work permit governs working and comes from the Department of Employment. Someone holding a perfectly valid visa still may not work until the permit issues, and working without one carries penalties for the worker and the employer alike.
04Do I have to come to Thailand in person?
Most registration work can be done under a power of attorney, but some steps cannot. Opening the bank account is the usual one — most banks want to meet the signatory — and so is collecting a work permit in some cases. We say in advance which steps need you present, so that they can be grouped into a single trip.
05How do documents from abroad have to be certified?
As a rule, corporate or personal documents issued abroad must be certified under that country's own system and then legalised by a Thai embassy or consulate, before being translated into Thai and the translation certified in turn. This takes time and should be started before anything else, because it is usually what holds the whole matter up.
How a matter runs
A case and a registration run differently, so each has its own steps.
Registrations and permits
- 01
Tell us the matter
Tell us what you intend to do in Thailand. We tell you what has to be applied for, and where it is going to stick.
- 02
Assessment and quotation
We assess the matter and the routes open to it, then quote in writing, with the professional fee, the government fees and translation costs set out separately.
- 03
We carry it out
You know at every point which stage the matter is at and who is handling it.
- 04
Report and hand over
Originals handed over with a note of what has been obtained, what has to be renewed, and when.
A case
- 01
Tell us the matter
The facts in brief, the documents you hold, and the outcome you are after.
- 02
Assessment and quotation
We set out the strengths, the weaknesses, the likely time and the costs to budget for, and quote in writing.
- 03
The case in court
The claim or the defence is filed and the evidence heard, through to judgment. After each hearing you are told what happened and what comes next.
- 04
Enforcement, if agreed
A separate stage, which you may instruct us for or not. Once the court has issued a writ of execution, we carry out asset tracing, seizure and attachment.
Meet us at the office
Jubilee Prestige Tower, 202 Ratchadaphisek Road, Room 1103, 11th Floor, Huai Khwang, Bangkok 10310, Thailand
Bangkok time UTC+7Your time
From the insights pages
Written from the statute and verified Supreme Court authority.
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Civil and commercial litigation
Debt recovery in Thailand for foreign creditors
How a foreign creditor recovers a debt from a Thai company: time limits, default interest, demand letters, suing from abroad, bankruptcy and arbitration.
-
Civil and commercial litigation
Unpaid invoices: two years or five
Why a supplier's claim against a Thai company is often five years, not two: section 193/34(1), section 193/33(5) and the Supreme Court cases that apply them.
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Bankruptcy and rehabilitation
Petitioning a Thai company into bankruptcy
Petitioning a Thai company into bankruptcy: the two-million-baht threshold, two demands to prove insolvency, and two months to prove the debt.
Whether it is a dispute or a business matter, tell us about it first.
An initial enquiry commits you to nothing.