The default vehicle is a Thai Limited Company, and for most activities the Foreign Business Act caps foreign ownership at 49% — a Thai majority of 51% is required. But that’s the starting point, not the ceiling: a Foreign Business License, BOI promotion, or the US-Thai Amity Treaty can lawfully take you to majority or 100% foreign ownership. Here’s the plain-English version — the structures, the capital, how registration ties to your Non-B visa and work permit, realistic costs and timeline, and the nominee-shareholder trap to avoid. Unbiased, never paid placement.
Most foreigners register a Thai Limited Company, where the default rule caps them at 49% with a 51% Thai majority. To own more, use a lawful route — Foreign Business License, BOI promotion, or the Amity Treaty (Americans, up to 100%). Plan 2–3M THB capital per foreign work permit, build the 4-Thai-staff payroll, then sponsor your own Non-B visa and work permit. Never use fake Thai nominee shareholders — it’s illegal.
Editorial analysis compiled and periodically refreshed by BAANLYY’s research team — not a live data feed.
Analysis last reviewed 2026-07-06.
In Thailand, doing business as a foreigner is governed primarily by the Foreign Business Act (FBA), which defines who counts as “foreign” (broadly, a company with 50%+ foreign shareholding) and which activities are restricted to them. The practical takeaway is that your business activity — not your nationality alone — decides what structure you must use and how much you can own. A restaurant, a consultancy, a software firm, a manufacturer and an export trader can all face very different ownership rules. So the first step is never “register a company”; it’s “classify the activity,” then pick the structure that lawfully fits. Get that order wrong and you either over-pay for protection you don’t need or build something that can’t legally operate.
The workhorse structure is the Thai Limited Company (Co., Ltd.) — the equivalent of a private limited company, with shareholders, directors and limited liability. It can be registered relatively quickly, suits almost any trade or service business, and is what the vast majority of foreign-involved ventures use. A company needs a minimum of two or three shareholders (the statutory minimum has been reduced over time, so confirm the current figure), at least one director, a registered office address, and a memorandum of association filed with the Department of Business Development (DBD) at the Ministry of Commerce. Most foreigners hold their permitted share, take a director role, and combine it with a work permit to run the company day-to-day. Other vehicles exist — representative offices, branch offices, partnerships — but they’re narrower in use.
The 51/49 rule scares people more than it should. For genuinely Thai-partnered ventures it’s fine; for everything else there is almost always a legitimate path to the ownership you need — you just have to use the right one.
When you need majority-foreign ownership in a restricted activity, the formal permission is a Foreign Business License (FBL), issued by the Ministry of Commerce. Restricted activities sit in three schedules: List 1 is closed to foreigners entirely (e.g. land trading, newspapers, farming); List 2 is allowed only with Cabinet-level approval (certain natural resources, security-sensitive work); and List 3 — which captures most service businesses — is open to foreigners who obtain an FBL or qualify for an exemption. The FBL review weighs the benefit to Thailand, technology and knowledge transfer, and Thai employment, and can take several months with no guarantee of approval. For that reason many foreigners aiming at full ownership go the BOI or Amity route instead, which can deliver the same result faster.
Two routes let foreigners skip the 49% cap. BOI promotion — the Board of Investment promotes targeted industries (tech, manufacturing, regional HQs, certain services) and grants promoted companies major perks: up to 100% foreign ownership, tax holidays, relaxed work-permit ratios, and fast-tracked visas and permits through the One-Stop Service Center. If your business is in a promoted sector, BOI is often the single best structure. The US-Thai Amity Treaty — American citizens and US-majority companies can register for Amity Treaty protection, allowing up to 100% American ownership in most (not all) sectors, treating the company largely as if it were Thai for ownership purposes. Both routes are the lawful answer to “how do I own more than 49%?” — and both are far cleaner than any nominee scheme.
Two numbers govern most foreign setups. Capital: a Thai-majority company can register with modest capital, but you need 2 million THB of registered capital per foreign work permit you want to sponsor — 3 million THB if the company is majority-foreign under an FBL, and often halved if a foreign owner is married to a Thai national. Staffing: broadly four Thai employees on payroll (with social security) per foreigner sponsored. Crucially, owning shares does not let you work — to legally work in your own company you still need a Non-B visa plus a work permit, sponsored by the company once it meets the capital and headcount rules. So the real sequence is: register company → capitalise and staff it → sponsor your own Non-B and work permit. See the working in Thailand guide for the employment side.
A clean Thai Limited Company is usually a matter of weeks, not months, once paperwork is ready. The standard path:
Professional fees for a straightforward Thai-majority company commonly range from the low tens of thousands of baht into six figures depending on complexity; adding an FBL pushes the timeline to several months and the cost higher. Any single quoted figure is indicative only — shop and compare licensed firms. Budget the running costs realistically with the cost-of-living calculator.
The single biggest avoidable error is the nominee shortcut. If you need majority-foreign ownership, you almost certainly qualify for a lawful route — FBL, BOI or Amity — so use it. Structure for the ownership you’re genuinely entitled to and keep the paperwork real.
Running a Thai company usually means you’re here long-term on a renewable one-year stay — so rent like a resident, not a tourist. A standard 6–12 month lease on a condo near the BTS/MRT beats serviced apartments on cost, and landlords readily accept a Non-B/work-permit holder. You’ll also need a registered office address for the company and, if VAT-registered, a real workplace the labour office can map — many founders separate the registered office from their home. Whatever you choose, your address feeds TM30 and 90-day reporting, so keep the lease and house registration documents handy. If your goal is property rather than trade, read foreign condo ownership before forming any company.
Related reading: work permits in Thailand, working in Thailand, tax for expats, and the Visa Knowledge Center.
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Primary and official sources are cited above. Government rules, fees and procedures in Thailand change over time and vary by office; always confirm current requirements with the relevant authority before relying on them. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.
General information only — not legal, tax, immigration or financial advice. Thailand’s Foreign Business Act, ownership caps, restricted-activity lists, capital and headcount rules, FBL/BOI/Amity procedures, fees and timelines change and are applied case by case by the Ministry of Commerce (DBD), the BOI and other authorities; confirm current details with the DBD, the BOI, an official Thai government source, or a licensed Thai lawyer before relying on anything here. BAANLYY never takes paid placement.