Licence, certificate, or neither — pick the Foreign Business Act fork before you lease

Corporly is led by an experienced Thai corporate lawyer. We focus on Thai legal and compliance work for foreign direct investment (FDI) into Thailand — including Thai-side support on cross-border M&A.

Settle the Foreign Business Act fork — licence, certificate, or neither — before you operate or sign a lease.

If 50% or more of the shares or investment are foreign-held, a Thai-registered company is a foreigner under the Foreign Business Act. What you may then do depends on which of the Act’s three annexed lists your activity falls under — and whether the route is a licence, a certificate (for example on BOI or treaty grounds), or neither.

Four questions decide the fork:

1. Is the company a foreigner under the Act?
2. Which annexed list does the activity fall under?
3. Is the minimum capital in place?
4. Licence — or certificate?

List 1 is closed to foreigners. List 2 and List 3 need a licence unless a certificate route applies. An activity off the lists does not need a licence under this Act.

A certificate is not a blanket permission for every activity. Treaty and BOI-related certificate routes are limited to the grounds that support them, and List 1 restrictions may still apply. A Foreign Business Licence is also not the same as a separate sector licence that another law may require.

Company registration alone does not answer that.

This page is general guidance, not legal advice for a specific ownership structure or activity list. Approval of any licence or certificate rests with the competent authority.

Next step

• Get a free Foreign Business Licence Assessment
• Talk to a lawyer