Clients often ask us whether they can get a Foreign Business Licence. In most cases the answer is no, and the useful part of the answer is which route works instead.
What is a Foreign Business Licence?
The permission the Department of Business Development gives a foreigner to run a business the Foreign Business Act restricts.
The Act sorts restricted businesses into three lists. List One is closed to foreign-owned businesses altogether, and includes land trading, farming and newspaper businesses. List Two needs the Commerce Minister's permission with Cabinet approval. For List Three, the permission comes from the Director-General of the Department of Business Development, given with the approval of the Foreign Business Commission [Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, section 8]. That last permission is what people mean by a Foreign Business Licence.
"Foreigner" in the Act includes more than a foreign person. A company registered abroad counts, and so does a Thai company in which foreign persons or companies hold half or more of the capital [section 4]. A company registered in Thailand can still need a licence because of who owns it.
Does my business need one?
If the business is foreign-owned and on List Three, yes. List Three covers most of what investors ask us about.
The list includes, among others [Foreign Business Act, List Three]:
- accounting, legal, architectural and engineering services
- most construction, and most brokerage and agency work
- retail with total capital under 100 million baht, and wholesale with under 100 million baht per store
- advertising
- hotels, except hotel management services
- guided tours
- selling food or drinks
- "other service businesses", unless a ministerial regulation exempts them
That last item catches almost every service a small business sells. A foreign-owned company running a café, a tour company, a consultancy or villa rentals is on List Three, and how villa rentals meet the hotel rules is set out in when a hotel licence is required.
The exemptions are narrow. A ministerial regulation lifts the licence requirement for certain services, including lending and administrative, HR and IT services between related companies, and the representative and regional offices of foreign companies [Ministerial Regulation on service businesses not requiring permission, B.E. 2556 and amendments to No. 5 B.E. 2569]. Large retailers and wholesalers above the capital thresholds are also outside List Three.
One point of confusion is worth clearing up. People searching for a "business licence in Thailand" often mean the permit for a particular trade, such as a hotel licence. Those permits are separate, and a foreign-owned business on List Three needs the Foreign Business Licence as well as any trade permit.
Who actually gets a Foreign Business Licence?
Businesses that bring something Thailand wants. The law asks what the business does for the country, and the answer decides most applications.
The Act tells the Department what to weigh: the effect on national security, the economy and society, public order, culture, natural resources, energy and the environment, consumer protection, the size of the business, employment, technology transfer and research and development [section 5]. There are basic personal tests as well. The applicant, and for a company each foreign director or manager, must be at least twenty, live in Thailand or hold permission to enter it, not be bankrupt, and not have been convicted under the Act or had a licence revoked in the previous five years [section 16].
In our experience the answer for most small businesses is no. A foreign-owned restaurant, tour company, villa rental or consultancy competes directly with Thai businesses that already do the same thing, and that is the reason List Three exists. Licences are granted, but mostly to businesses that bring significant investment, employ Thai staff, or offer technology or expertise the Thai market does not yet have. If your plan depends on a Foreign Business Licence, test that first, before money is spent on the rest of the structure.
What does an application involve?
A written application, at least 3 million baht of capital, and a decision within sixty days.
The application goes to the Department of Business Development on its form, with a 2,000 baht application fee [Foreign Business Act, fee schedule]. The Director-General has sixty days from filing to decide. If the licence is granted, it is issued within fifteen days. If it is refused, the Director-General must say so in writing within fifteen days and give the reasons, and the applicant can appeal to the Minister [section 17].
The money side has two parts. The minimum capital for a licensed business is at least 25% of the average yearly expenses projected for the business over three years, and never less than 3 million baht per business [Foreign Business Act, section 14, and Ministerial Regulation on minimum capital B.E. 2562, clause 3]. The licence fee for a company is 5 baht for every 1,000 baht of registered capital, at least 20,000 baht and at most 250,000 baht [Foreign Business Act, fee schedule].
A licence can carry conditions, for example on the ratio of capital to loans or on the number of foreign directors living in Thailand [section 18]. Once granted, it lasts until the business stops [section 21].
If a licence is unlikely, what are the other routes?
Most foreign-owned businesses in Thailand run under one of four other routes. Each has its own test.
BOI promotion. A business promoted by the Board of Investment receives a certificate from the Department of Business Development within thirty days of notifying it, and is then outside most of the Act for as long as the promotion lasts [section 12]. For promoted activities on List Two or List Three, the BOI sets no limit on foreign shareholding unless another law does [BOI Announcement No. 2/2557, clause 7.2]. The Board promotes activities it considers important to the country's economic and social development [Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520, section 16], so it suits the same kind of business that would succeed with a licence.
A Treaty of Amity certificate. A company that Americans own and control can run most List Three businesses without a licence [section 10]. How it works is set out in the US-Thai Treaty of Amity.
An activity outside the lists. A business on none of the three lists needs no licence at all, though a foreign-owned business still needs at least 2 million baht of capital [section 14].
A Thai-majority company. A Thai company in which Thai shareholders hold more than half of the capital is not treated as foreign under the Act [section 4], so it needs no licence. The Thai shareholders must be real investors with their own money. Since 1 August 2026 the Department asks for their bank statements at registration where foreign shareholders hold a minority, as set out in how to register a company in Thailand. Holding shares on behalf of a foreigner so that the foreigner can run a restricted business is an offence for everyone involved [sections 36 and 37], and what the law says about holding shares for someone else covers it.
What happens if you run the business without one?
It is a criminal offence. A foreigner who runs a restricted business without permission faces up to three years in prison, a fine of 100,000 to 1,000,000 baht, or both. The court orders the business, or the shareholding, to stop, and a further fine of 10,000 to 50,000 baht a day runs for as long as the order is ignored [section 37].
What this means in practice
Settle the route before anything else is signed.
When clients ask whether they can get a Foreign Business Licence, we look first at what the business is and how big it will be. Some businesses are a realistic fit, and for them the licence, or BOI promotion, is a sound way to own the business outright. For most small businesses, the better answer is one of the other routes, chosen at the start, so the company is set up the right way from the first day.
How we advise on foreign ownership routes and set up the company is on our Corporate and Commercial page.
Book a consultation →Sources Show all 12 sourcesHide sources
Every statement in this article rests on one of the 12 sources below, each named by Act, regulation or announcement so it can be checked against the text itself.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, section 4. Definition of a foreigner, including a company at least half of whose capital is held by foreign persons.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, sections 5 and 8. Matters weighed in granting permission; List One closed to foreign persons, List Two by the Minister with Cabinet approval, List Three by the Director-General with the Commission's approval.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, sections 10 and 12. Exemption for businesses under a treaty; certificate within thirty days for a business promoted under the investment promotion law.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, section 14. Minimum capital of not less than 2 million baht, and not less than 3 million baht per business for a business needing permission.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, sections 16, 17, 18 and 21. Qualifications of applicants and their foreign directors and managers; decision within sixty days, licence within fifteen days, written reasons for a refusal and appeal to the Minister; conditions; the licence lasts until the business stops.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, sections 36 and 37. Offences of assisting a foreigner, or holding shares for a foreigner, to run a restricted business, and of a foreigner running a restricted business without permission; penalties and daily fines.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, List One, List Three and fee schedule. The restricted businesses; application fee of 2,000 baht; List Three licence fee for a juristic person of 5 baht per 1,000 baht of registered capital, at least 20,000 and at most 250,000 baht.
- Ministerial Regulation prescribing the minimum capital and the period for bringing it into Thailand B.E. 2562, clause 3. Minimum capital for a business needing permission of at least 25% of the average yearly projected expenses over three years, and not less than 3 million baht.
- Ministerial Regulation prescribing service businesses not requiring permission B.E. 2556, as amended up to No. 5 B.E. 2569. Services exempted from List Three (21), including services between related companies and representative and regional offices.
- Investment Promotion Act B.E. 2520, section 16. Activities eligible for promotion.
- Board of Investment Announcement No. 2/2557, clause 7.2. No foreign shareholding limit for promoted activities on List Two and List Three unless another law provides otherwise.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542, section 19. Suspension and revocation of a licence where its conditions are broken.
Section and clause numbers are given so you can check every statement in this article against the text itself. Where a provision exists only in Thai, the section number and the name of the Act are stated so the Thai text can be located.
Is a Foreign Business Licence hard to get?
For most small businesses, yes. The Department weighs what the business brings to Thailand, including investment, employment and technology. In our experience licences go mainly to businesses that bring significant capital, Thai jobs or expertise the market lacks.
How long does a Foreign Business Licence take?
The Director-General must decide within sixty days of the application, and a granted licence is issued within fifteen days after that. A refusal comes in writing with reasons within fifteen days, and can be appealed to the Minister.
What is the minimum capital for a Foreign Business Licence?
At least 3 million baht per licensed business, or 25% of the business's average yearly projected expenses over three years if that is higher.
Does a foreign-owned restaurant need a Foreign Business Licence?
Yes. Selling food or drinks is on List Three, so a foreign-owned company needs a licence, or another route such as BOI promotion or a Treaty of Amity certificate, before it can run a restaurant.
Can a foreigner own 100% of a Thai company?
Yes, where the business is on none of the restricted lists, or where it holds a Foreign Business Licence, BOI promotion or a Treaty of Amity certificate. A foreign-owned business still needs at least 2 million baht of capital.
Does a Foreign Business Licence expire?
No. It lasts until the business stops, though the Department can suspend or revoke it if its conditions are broken.
This article is general information about Thai law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legislation as reviewed on 24 October 2026. Thai law and administrative practice change, and practice varies between offices and provinces. For advice on a particular situation, get in touch. See our editorial standards and disclaimer.
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