Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

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Smashor
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Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by Smashor »

Hi there, i have a question for you guys as i'm trying to figure out the whole business visa/work permit thing. Is it possible and worth it to open a cambodian business (like an online one), pay all the taxes, licenses, fees etc... to get it started but actually never use it or do just the minimum with the sole purpose of secure yourself a work permit every year as the director and sole employee of the company? From what i understood to set up something like this it could take up to a year due to burocracy, the process would be around 3000-5000 usd and the yearly cost to keep it running to a minimum i think should be under 1000usd, correct?That would definetely be a bit of a waste of money at the beginning, but if it's a long term solution why not? Would that be legit? Still cheaper than the bloody elite visa in thailand ehehehe Thanks in advance folks!
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phuketrichard
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Re: Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by phuketrichard »

it would cost u alot less to do the above in Thailand (set up company, arrange wp etc runs about 50,000 baht) and if ur American less as u don't need thai employees.
The elite visa is rather expensive i agree.
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
lurcio
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Re: Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by lurcio »

Smashor wrote:Hi there, i have a question for you guys as i'm trying to figure out the whole business visa/work permit thing. Is it possible and worth it to open a cambodian business (like an online one), pay all the taxes, licenses, fees etc... to get it started but actually never use it or do just the minimum with the sole purpose of secure yourself a work permit every year as the director and sole employee of the company? From what i understood to set up something like this it could take up to a year due to burocracy, the process would be around 3000-5000 usd and the yearly cost to keep it running to a minimum i think should be under 1000usd, correct?That would definetely be a bit of a waste of money at the beginning, but if it's a long term solution why not? Would that be legit? Still cheaper than the bloody elite visa in thailand ehehehe Thanks in advance folks!
As this is your first post I will summarise the present situation

i) There is no such thing as a business visa only a 1-month ORDINARY visa which once obtained can be extended for 12 months as many times as you need
ii) You do not need a Work Permit to get an ORDINARY visa
iii) If you work for yourself or for someone else in the country you need a Work Permit
iv) If you don't work you cannot get a Work Permit
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Jamie_Lambo
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Re: Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by Jamie_Lambo »

yeah you dont need a WP to get the ordinary visa which can be extended as much as you want
are you only going to be setting up a "business" that wont actually be running, just so you can do youre online business here?
im not sure what the rules for working online are here,
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frank lee bent
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Re: Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by frank lee bent »

once you have an e class ordinary visa ( not the online tourist evisa), you go to ministry of commerce and get a general business license in your own name around $100, then you can get a WP. Lucky Lucky moto will do the WP with no personal appearance required by you for $230- i think you can do it yourself for about $130. They may draw blood at the medical for that.
then you can register for tax
thats it
table42
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Re: Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by table42 »

"You do not need a Work Permit to get an ORDINARY visa"

Not yet, but watch this space as they say.
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I know nothing, I see nothing, in fact I'm not here right now.
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PSD-Kiwi
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Re: Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by PSD-Kiwi »

Lurcio nailed it, well done :thumb:
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Username Taken
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Re: Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by Username Taken »

PSD-Kiwi wrote:Lurcio nailed it, well done :thumb:
Is Lurcio's last point correct? Or, should it also read:

"iv) If you don't work you cannot get a Work Permit as you don't need one."
table42
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Re: Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by table42 »

Yeah, UT good point. If you are a foreigner the law means what it says until the man in uniform knocks on your door. Legal appeal-barangse sromai!
I try not to let my mouth say nothin my mind can't stand. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. Or

I know nothing, I see nothing, in fact I'm not here right now.
Romanian source debriefed in West Berlin
Smashor
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Re: Open a business and sponsor yourself a work permit

Post by Smashor »

"once you have an e class ordinary visa ( not the online tourist evisa), you go to ministry of commerce and get a general business license in your own name around $100, then you can get a WP. Lucky Lucky moto will do the WP with no personal appearance required by you for $230- i think you can do it yourself for about $130. They may draw blood at the medical for that.
then you can register for tax
thats it"

This sounds very interesting and way easier actually, thanks! So if i get this general business license does this mean that i can obtain a work permit as "self employed" without the hassle of going through being hired by a cambodian company? Or does Lucky Lucky moto kind of finds a cambodian employer that sponsors you? And what kind of business are you allowed to do with this "general license"?

As for opening a company in Thailand i'm not american so i can't avoid employing thai staff in that case, so things seem a bit easier in cambodia, at least at the moment.

Working online is still considered as normal work as far as i know so you would still need a work permit and have to pay your taxes to be 100% legit, even though i can immagine that it would be very hard for them to catch you, but i would rather pay whatever i have to pay and sleep well at night.

Also do you need a WP for each employer you work for or one is one enough to work for multiple employers?
Also i know this is a bit off topic but, if you spend more than 6 months in cambodia per year you automatically become tax resident there, so does any of you know how much taxes cambodia says i should pay when i receive dividends from foreign companies while i'm tax resident in cambodia and where i declare and pay my personal income?


Thanks to all of you for the quick and helpful answers.
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