Helping businesses set up, invest and localize in Thailand and Vietnam.
Built on law offices in Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, we assist with foreign investment applications (including Thailand BOI and IEAT), company setup, labor and factory establishment, providing one-stop cross-border legal support.
Chief Lawyer / Founder and CEO of Louis Group
Taipei・Hsinchu・Taichung・Bangkok・Chonburi・Hanoi・Ho Chi Minh City
Founder of Louis & Partners Thailand
Taipei・Hsinchu・Bangkok
Founder of Louis & Partners Vietnam / Chief Lawyer
Hanoi
Founder of Louis & Partners HCM / Chief Lawyer
Ho Chi Minh City
Buying a Vietnamese company in 2026: when a foreign buyer must register first, the 10-working-day review, merger thresholds, the 2% seller tax and due diligence.
A Vietnamese company's legal representative is personally liable and can be barred from leaving over company tax debt. The 2026 rules and how to set up the role.
A foreign company cannot own land in Vietnam, only a land use right for a fixed term. This guide covers the four ways to get a factory site, the choice between one-off payment and annual rent restored from 1 January 2026, what each lets you mortgage or sell, why a US bank cannot take the mortgage directly, the real remaining term in an industrial park, and due diligence on a ready-built factory.
No visa waiver for US passports, a 90-day e-visa, residence cards of 2 to 10 years by status, the VNeID account every sponsoring company now needs, apostilles since 11 September 2026, and the rule that one legal representative must live in Vietnam.
Vietnam's Labor Code has no at-will employment: seven grounds to terminate, 45 days' notice, severance, a 2% union levy, 32% social insurance and strikes that are almost all wildcat. What a US or foreign employer must set up in 2026.
A supplier took the deposit and vanished; the accountant has been paying her relatives' companies for years. How much a US or other foreign company can recover under Vietnamese law in 2026: the three questions that decide recovery in the first weeks, the civil-or-criminal test the police apply, which Penal Code article fits (174 fraud, 175 abuse of trust, 353 embezzlement, which reaches private companies), limitation periods, filing the complaint after the 2025 police reorganisation, freezing and compensation inside the criminal case, enforcement for five years after judgment, apostilled US documents, the absence of a US-Vietnam extradition or legal assistance treaty, and the Penal Code revision before the National Assembly.
What a US or other foreign brand has to do before its food, dietary supplements, cosmetics or medical devices can be sold in Thailand in 2026: the Thai FDA licences and registrations for each product class, why the applicant must be a Thai company and who should hold the registration, the cosmetic notification (3 years), the food import licence and 13-digit serial number, the four medical device classes and the concise route for devices already approved by the US FDA, criminal penalties with section numbers, which US export certificates to obtain, and how to legalise US documents until Thailand's apostille regime starts on 28 February 2027.
How a US or other foreign company protects technology and product design in Thailand in 2026: the three rights under the Patent Act (20-year invention patents, petty patents of up to 10 years with no substantive examination, 10-year design patents), entering Thailand through the PCT at 30 months or under the Paris Convention, why a US grace-period disclosure can destroy Thai novelty, the Japan-only PPH and other fast-track routes, what cannot be patented, the employee's non-waivable right to remuneration, criminal and civil enforcement, and what the draft Patent Act would change in fees, deadlines and design term.
How a US or other foreign brand registers a trademark in Thailand in 2026: the Fast Track 4 Month Plus+ route for e-commerce sellers in force since 1 January 2026 and its conditions (one class, ten items, electronic filing, no amendments), why it is closed to Madrid Protocol designations, how to choose between Madrid and a direct Thai filing, what first-to-file means for a brand built on use in the United States, six-month priority from a USPTO application, and the three-year non-use and ten-year renewal rules.
How a foreign student gets and keeps a Thai student visa in 2026: applying online from the United States through the Royal Thai Embassy (USD 80, three months of bank statements), the 90 days granted on arrival, extensions under Immigration Bureau Order No. 12/2568 (up to one year at a time for universities, 90 days at a time and one year in total for language schools), the attendance checks introduced in 2025, re-entry permits, 90-day reporting, the ED Plus benefits for degree students, Muay Thai on an ED visa or a DTV, and why the cut in the visa exemption to 30 days from 15 September 2026 leaves about two weeks to convert inside Thailand.
A Vietnamese buyer has stopped paying. How much can a foreign supplier still recover? Commercial claims are time-barred after two years, but a signed reconciliation restarts the clock; since July 2025 cases start in the Regional People's Courts; court fees run up to 5%; a bank freeze needs 20% security and comes within three working days; and since Decree 152/2026 enforcement officers can search bank and property databases directly. A Hanoi lawyer walks through the process, explains why a US court judgment is the slowest route into Vietnam and how to serve a Vietnamese debtor under the Hague Service Convention, and sets out the five contract clauses that make recovery possible.
What can a foreigner actually own in Thailand? Not land. A condominium is the only clean freehold, and only inside the 49% foreign quota. The \"90-year\" and \"99-year\" leasehold products were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2025, a Thai nominee company is a criminal offence that the DBD and the Department of Lands now cross-check, and foreign heirs of a condo have one year to sell unless they qualify themselves. A Bangkok lawyer who owns a condo there explains the quota, the Foreign Exchange Transaction form, transfer taxes, inheritance and why the Treaty of Amity does not help Americans buy land.
Foreigners cannot own land in Thailand, but a foreign manufacturer is not limited to a 30-year lease. Under the Hire of Immovable Property for Commerce and Industry Act B.E. 2542 (1999), a qualifying industrial lease can run up to 50 years and be renewed for up to 50 more, and the leasehold can be mortgaged, inherited and sublet. A Bangkok lawyer explains the four lawful routes to a factory site, the two-layer location-plus-business test, the 100-rai threshold for foreign lessees, why an unregistered lease under the Act is void rather than merely unenforceable, BOI and IEAT land ownership, the IEAT three-year disposal rule, and why the Treaty of Amity does not help Americans here.
What happens to a foreign executive arrested in Thailand: 48 hours of police custody, court-approved detention in 12-day blocks up to 48 or 84 days, bail as an application rather than a right, and the three conditions almost always attached to a foreigner's bail: passport surrender, a travel ban enforced through Immigration, and a Thai guarantor. Why every trip abroad needs a separate court permission, how a one-to-three-year case freezes a regional role, what the US-Thailand extradition and prisoner transfer treaties mean for an American defendant, what a Thai lawyer can actually do, and what head office should prepare before anything happens.
Thailand's PDPA stopped being a paper law in 2025: the PDPC published eight fines in one day, processors were fined directly, and the same three gaps appear in every case, weak security, unreported breaches and no DPO. For a foreign-owned Thai subsidiary the sharpest issue is the daily flow of employee and customer data to head office: there is no adequacy list, so every transfer needs a basis under section 28 or 29. The enforcement cases, consent, SCC (GDPR SCCs accepted), the BCR rules in force since 17 February 2026, the reach of section 5 for foreign companies selling into Thailand, the penalties, and a checklist.
A Bangkok lawyer's guide to the five ways a foreigner can live in Thailand long term in 2026: the annual retirement extension (Non-O/O-A), the 10-year O-X visa open to US and 13 other nationalities, the 10-year LTR visa with its tax exemption on remitted foreign income, Thailand Privilege and the DTV. It compares age, money, insurance, work restrictions and tax, explains why the 800,000 baht must sit in a Thai bank, why the US Embassy no longer certifies income, how the US-Thailand tax treaty treats Social Security and private pensions once you become a Thai tax resident, and what Americans must sort out at home: Medicare, Social Security payments abroad and FBAR.
Foreign investors in Vietnam often hold land, houses or shares in a Vietnamese national's name. Vietnamese law has never recognised nominee holding: the private agreement proves who paid, not title. What a foreigner can own directly under the Land Law and Housing Law, when a nominee agreement is void under Civil Code Articles 123 and 124, why Precedent 02/2016/AL does not give a foreigner land use rights, the 25% beneficial owner rules with effective control and family aggregation under Decree 296/2026, why declaring a beneficial owner does not legalise the structure, and how to regularise.
Thailand's Prime Minister's Office Regulation on Deportation B.E. 2569 took effect on 28 August 2026. Breach of the Foreign Business Act is one of six listed grounds, and the sixth ground covers anyone who instigated or assisted, so a foreign general manager who is not a registered director is not automatically safe. The point most reports miss: a suspended sentence or a fine does not close the file, because the court must report it to the Interior Ministry. With the DBD's 2026 source-of-funds checks and the US Embassy warning that US citizens have been arrested in nominee enforcement, here is what the regulation says, who is exposed, and four actions to take now.
A step-by-step guide for foreign employees assigned to Thailand and the HR teams sending them: the Non-B visa, the three thresholds a Thai company must meet before a work permit is issued, the mandatory e-Work Permit system, one-year extensions, 90-day reporting, TM.30 and re-entry permits, why salary paid from abroad is still taxed in Thailand, the 2026 tax brackets, social security at the THB 17,500 ceiling, and a pre-assignment compliance checklist.
A Thai lawyer's guide to employing staff in Thailand in 2026: the 17 minimum wage tiers and the 30-day salary test, overtime at 1.5, 2 and 3 times, 120 days' maternity leave and the new 15-day spousal leave, the six severance brackets and section 119 exceptions, the THB 17,500 social security ceiling, the Employee Welfare Fund now starting 1 January 2027, Thai work rules at 10 employees, the 4-to-1 ratio for foreign staff, and the seven mistakes foreign employers make most often.
How a foreign investor sets up a Thai private limited company in 2026: two promoters since 2023, the 50% foreign-ownership line and the three lists of the Foreign Business Act, why keeping the foreign stake at 39% no longer protects anyone now that the DBD traces Thai shareholders' funds under Order 2/2569, the criminal penalties for nominees, the lawful routes to majority ownership including BOI and the US-Thai Treaty of Amity, the eight services exempted from FBL since August 2026, the THB 2 million per work permit rule, and the 2025 labour law changes.
The Thai tax rules a Taiwanese-owned subsidiary must follow in 2026: corporate income tax at 20% with SME and BOI relief, VAT at 7% extended to 30 September 2027, monthly withholding returns, Section 70 withholding on payments to the Taiwan parent under the Taiwan–Thailand tax agreement, dividend repatriation and the BOI exemption, transfer pricing at THB 200 million, Pillar Two, and the five mistakes Taiwanese subsidiaries make most often.
How foreign investors should arbitrate in Vietnam in 2026: the VIAC Rules in force since 1 July 2026, the three courts that hear set-aside applications, how a Vietnamese award compares with a Singapore or home-country award at enforcement, and what to write in the clause.
Thailand does not enforce foreign court judgments — a creditor must sue afresh in Thailand, using the foreign judgment only as evidence. Foreign arbitral awards, by contrast, can be enforced. Ekkapong Yamkran explains prescription periods of two, five and ten years, court fees of 2% capped at THB 200,000, the September 2025 execution fee amendment, and how to draft contracts you can actually collect on.
The Taiwan Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate and re-entry permit — and you do not need a job offer to apply. The 2025 amendments, fully in force in 2026, cut the permanent residency route to one year for high earners, let spouses work freely, and extend the digital nomad visa to two years.
Vietnamese law lets a detained person appoint a lawyer directly — no relative required. The bottleneck is whether they can name one. This guide covers the statutory deadlines, what the Apostille Convention changed for Vietnam on 11 September 2026, why Germany, Austria, Czechia and non-party states are different, and the fastest lawful route to counsel.
A 2026 guide to investing in Taiwan for Thai companies, by Raymond Yu (Louis Group). It explains the FIA, company registration, work visas, the Employment Gold Card, corporate tax, and the Thailand–Taiwan double taxation agreement, all in one place.
The complete 2026 guide for Taiwanese businesses investing and building factories in Thailand: Louis Group attorney Raymond Yu explains the latest practical developments in BOI, IEAT, the FBL (Foreign Business License), the EEC, Thai company incorporation, work permits, and taxation—helping Taiwanese businesses establish themselves legally in Thailand.
A 2026 guide for Vietnamese companies investing in Taiwan by Attorney Raymond Yu (Louis Group): outbound investment permits, FIA, company incorporation, work permits, the Taiwan Employment Gold Card, corporate tax, and the Vietnam–Taiwan double taxation agreement.
The complete 2026 guide for Taiwanese businesses establishing in Vietnam: Louis Group attorney Raymond Yu explains the latest practical developments in the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC), the Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC), the environmental impact assessment (ĐTM), fire prevention and firefighting (PCCC), the industrial-zone green channel, work permits, and the "2 exempt, 4 half" tax incentive—helping Taiwanese businesses set up factories on their southbound move.
A 2026 guide to Taiwan visas for Thai nationals: 14-day visa-free entry, the Taiwan business visa, the eVisa, the Travel Authorization Certificate, the documents required, and the online arrival card you must register before traveling.