Establishing a Representative Office in Thailand
A Representative Office (RO) gives a foreign company a presence in Thailand for specified activities supporting its head office abroad. It cannot generate trading or service revenue in Thailand and must be funded by the head office.
Legal position reviewed: 12 October 2026
A representative office is part of the foreign company, not a separate Thai company. Its narrow service activity would ordinarily fall within List 3(21) of the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999) and require a Foreign Business Licence (FBL). Since 9 June 2017, qualifying ROs have been exempt under the Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Service Businesses Which Do Not Require a Foreign Business Licence (No. 3) B.E. 2560 (2017), issued under Section 46 and List 3(21) of the Act.
The exemption removes the FBL requirement. The office must still meet minimum-capital rules, keep accounts, comply with tax filing obligations and obtain the required work and immigration permissions for foreign staff.
Permitted Activities
An RO must operate within these five categories on behalf of its foreign head office:
- Sourcing – Finding sources of goods or services in Thailand for the head office.
- Quality and quantity inspections – Checking goods the head office purchases or commissions to be manufactured in Thailand.
- Product advice – Advising agents or consumers in Thailand about goods sold by the head office.
- Information – Disseminating information about the head office’s new goods or services.
- Business reporting – Reporting business developments in Thailand to the head office.
For example, an RO can identify a Thai supplier and inspect goods for its head office; the head office concludes the purchase. The RO cannot turn that activity into a paid sourcing service for other companies.
These five activities define the representative-office scope incorporated by reference into item (8) of the service-business exemptions by the 2017 Ministerial Regulation. Activities outside that scope do not benefit from the RO exemption and must be assessed for an FBL, another exemption or a different structure.
Prohibited Activities
- Generating trading or service revenue in Thailand.
- Accepting purchase orders, offering goods for sale, or negotiating sales or purchases on behalf of the head office.
- Conducting business or providing services for third parties.
These restrictions concern commercial activities. The RO still needs administrative arrangements, such as an office lease and employment contracts, for its own operations.
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Key Requirements
Minimum Capital and Remittance Deadlines
Section 14 of the Foreign Business Act sets minimum-capital requirements, including for businesses that do not need an FBL. For a representative office, the minimum is THB 2 million under clause 2 of the Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Minimum Capital and the Period for Bringing or Remitting Minimum Capital into Thailand B.E. 2562 (2019). For an overseas-incorporated company, this is capital brought or remitted into Thailand.
For operations lasting at least three years, the minimum cumulative remittances are:
- Within three months of commencing business: THB 500,000 (25%).
- By the end of year one: THB 1 million (50%).
- By the end of year two: THB 1.5 million (75%).
- By the end of year three: THB 2 million (100%).
These are minimum deadlines; the head office may remit the capital earlier. If the intended operating period is less than three years, the full amount must be remitted within six months of commencing business. Evidence of each remittance must be submitted to DBD within 15 days. See clauses 2, 4 and 6 of the Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Minimum Capital and the Period for Bringing or Remitting Minimum Capital into Thailand B.E. 2562 (2019).
Work Permits and Extensions of Stay
Staffing requirements are set out in administrative criteria: Immigration Bureau criteria under the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), and Department of Employment criteria under the Royal Ordinance on the Management of Foreign Workers B.E. 2560 (2017), as amended.
The practical staffing ratio for an RO is 1:1: one permanent Thai employee per foreign employee for a business-based extension of stay. Immigration’s criteria relax the usual 4:1 ratio for representative offices. The source is Immigration Bureau Order No. 12/2568 (2025), annex, clause 2.1 A(5)–(6).
Work permits are assessed separately by the Department of Employment. Its 2025 work permit criteria, annex items 13–15, set the following ordinary limits for representative offices:
- Up to two foreign workers for product advice, dissemination of information about new goods or services, or business reporting.
- Up to five foreign workers for sourcing goods or services, or inspecting the quality and quantity of goods the head office purchases or commissions in Thailand.
- Beyond five where justified: for the sourcing/inspection category, if the head office purchased goods from Thai producers worth at least THB 100 million in the preceding year, the number may be considered according to necessity and appropriateness.
The Department of Employment regulation does not itself establish the RO’s 1:1 ratio. In practice, staffing should be planned to satisfy both the work permit criteria and the applicable immigration criteria. Neither the ratio nor the stated worker limits guarantees approval.
Manager and Local Administration
The head office should appoint an authorised person to manage the RO and arrange a Thai office and contact address. A foreign manager working in Thailand must have the appropriate work and immigration authorisation unless a legal exemption applies.
Tax, Accounting and Ongoing Compliance
- Head-office funding: Revenue Code Section 66 governs taxation of a foreign company’s Thai business profits. The Revenue Department’s guidance, clauses 3–4, treats expense funding for an office serving only its own head office as not taxable income. This is administrative guidance, not a statutory tax exemption. Services to other group companies fall outside that head-office-only treatment.
- Corporate income tax: an RO is not covered by a blanket tax exemption. For example, bank interest must be included when calculating taxable net profit; see the Revenue Department’s ruling on representative office interest income.
- Tax administration: ensure the RO’s tax identification and return-filing arrangements are in place, including applicable payroll withholding and social security obligations.
- Accounting and audit: maintain books from the commencement of business and submit annual audited financial statements to DBD within five months of the accounting year-end. See sections 9 and 11 of the Accounting Act B.E. 2543 (2000).
Establishment Process
- Confirm the scope. Check that the proposed activities fit the five permitted categories. If the business needs to sell goods or provide paid services in Thailand, consider a different structure.
- Prepare the documents. Arrange the head office’s corporate documents, authority for the RO manager, a description of activities and the Thai office details. Confirm the certification, legalisation and translation requirements for the particular filing.
- Complete DBD notification. Notify the location of the accounting records under DBD’s procedure for foreign juristic persons and obtain the 13-digit identification number. Accounting Act B.E. 2543 (2000), sections 8 and 13, establishes the accounting and records-location duties; the notification and number are administered through DBD’s procedure.
- Fund and organise the office. Remit capital within the legal deadlines, establish accounting and tax arrangements, and complete the relevant employment, work permit and immigration applications.
- Maintain compliance. Keep remittance evidence, accounting records, tax filings and annual audited financial statements, and renew the relevant work and stay permissions.
DBD confirms the notification procedure, THB 2 million minimum capital and financial statement obligation in its representative office ruling of January 2019.
When a Representative Office Is a Good Fit
An RO can suit a foreign company that needs supplier sourcing, quality oversight, product support or information gathering in Thailand without local trading or service revenue. Its advantages include the FBL exemption and the relaxed 1:1 immigration staffing ratio.
The main trade-offs are the narrow activity scope, THB 2 million funding requirement and continuing accounting, tax and employment obligations. If local sales or paid services are part of the plan, compare a Thai company, branch or another appropriate structure before proceeding.
If the group needs a Thai entity that charges affiliates for services, compare the intragroup-services FBL exemption introduced in August 2026. It covers specified administrative, HR and IT management services between qualifying related entities and may be more suitable than an RO.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a representative office sign contracts?
It can enter into contracts for its own operations, such as an office lease or employment contracts. It cannot accept orders or conclude commercial sales or purchases for the head office.
Does a representative office pay corporate income tax?
Head-office expense funding for head-office-only activities is not treated as taxable income under Revenue Department guidance. Other income, such as bank interest, enters the taxable-profit calculation. Applicable tax returns must still be filed.
How many foreigners can it employ?
Ordinarily up to two or five, depending on the activity, with one permanent Thai employee per foreign employee for a business-based extension of stay. The qualifying exception described above can allow more than five. None of these figures guarantees approval.
Representative office or branch?
A branch can earn revenue in Thailand. Whether it needs an FBL depends on its activities and any applicable exemption or other authorisation. It is generally subject to tax on its Thai business profits. A qualifying RO needs no FBL but cannot earn trading or service revenue.
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