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As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Business Visas and Work Permits. We are kind of discussing this in the context of all the different kind of spectrum of possibilities. So they have been discussing this LTR, Long-Term Residency Visa so-called even though as we have discussed in many other videos really doesn't confer residence at all, it is just kind of a long stay Visa. We have also been discussing things like the "Smart Visa" and then just sort of standard Thai Business Visas and Work Permits. I have had a lot of people contacting us, asking us, "What's the best way to go, this and that?" Well, it depends on what you want to do. A lot of it has a great deal of what you want to do here in Thailand; a lot of it has a great deal to do with what kind of business you are looking to run in Thailand. So kind of standard businesses that really aren't being overly promoted by the present sort of Board of Investment or the EEC, the Eastern Economic Corridor, like somebody wants to come to Thailand and set up a small restaurant which is pretty frequent. A lot of foreigners like to set up restaurants here in Thailand because and quite frankly, especially down in Pattaya and even Hua Hin, there is a lot of great foreign food down there because you have got people that train their cooks to cook the way that their mom cooked from back home kind of thing. These kind of setups can be very good for a foreign national but they are not really all that promoted if you will by the sort of the business promotion schemes that are out there here in the Kingdom of Thailand. 

So again, if you are just looking at the broad spectrum, it is going to depend on what you are going to do, like what type of Business Visa, what type of work authorization. If you are a digital nomad, if you are getting into the software business here in Thailand, you may have different options or even more options than somebody who again is looking to set up an SME that does something, I hesitate to call it old business or something but just traditional kind of small businesses, again a restaurant or something like this, a bar and grill kind of setup. Yeah, Thailand has been dealing with those for years and the BOI is not looking to promote those kind of businesses so there aren't any special business visas or anything akin to the LTR or that kind of thing. There's no Smart Visa for that. You are probably going to be dealing with just sort of a standard Business Visa.  

But again, depending on what you are looking to do here in Thailand, the LTR may apply to you, the Smart Visa may apply to you; you may have even more options, again it really will depend. There is the Petroleum Act, the Industrial Estate Authority is out there. There are different things that may apply depending on your circumstances. So for those who are looking to get a Business Visa and or a Work Permit or some derivation thereof, some sort of Visa with authorization to work in Thailand, it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.