Foreign Representative Office Registration

No. FBA Section 7 limits the office strictly to five non-revenue activities: market research, sourcing, quality control, product and technical advisory, and reporting. Any local invoice, commission, or service fee from a Thai counterparty recharacterises the office as an unauthorised foreign-majority operation under FBA Section 33 — fine up to THB 1 million, imprisonment up to 3 years, and revocation of registration.

THB 5 million minimum, remitted from the parent over four years, on a fixed schedule: 25% within the first 3 months of registration, another 25% by the end of year 1, another 25% by the end of year 2, balance by the end of year 4. Each tranche must be evidenced by bank confirmation. Failure to meet the schedule is a documented ground for DBD revocation.

Generally no, because there is no Thai-source income to tax. However, the office must maintain proper books, prepare audited annual financial statements, and submit those to the DBD within 5 months of the year-end — accounting obligations under the Accounting Act B.E. 2543 still apply.

Yes — the office can sponsor Non-Immigrant B visas and work permits, with a foreign-to-Thai staff ratio of 1:1 (versus 1:4 for a Thai Limited Company). Each work permit also triggers a THB 2M paid-up capital floor at the parent level — confirm capital headroom before adding foreign hires.

Use a representative office if you need a non-revenue presence and can fund THB 5M over 4 years. Use a branch office if you need to earn Thai revenue as a direct extension of the parent. Use a Thai Limited Company if you need a separate, scalable Thai entity with its own tax profile, independent corporate identity, and the ability to apply for BOI promotion or an FBC.

DBD Biz Regist is mandatory from 1 July 2025 with walk-in counters closed 31 December 2025 — it is now the only filing channel. Foreign applicants without a Thai national ID must register via the DBD e-Service application. Filings are typically processed in 1–5 business days when the dossier is complete. Plizz handles platform onboarding and identity verification as part of every engagement.

The representative office registration is generally valid for 5 years and is renewable. Renewal must be applied for before expiry; operating after expiry without renewal constitutes an FBA violation. Plizz tracks renewal dates and prepares the renewal dossier 90 days before expiry as part of Corporate Changes.

Three differences. Activity discipline — Plizz's annual compliance review tests every office's activity log against the FBA Section 7 list, so unauthorised revenue creep is caught early, not at a DBD inspection. Continuity — bookkeeping, payroll, audit, and eventual conversion to a Thai Limited Company all sit under one accountability chain. Network — Narai Partners is an IR Global member, so cross-border parent-company coordination is routine.