BOI TISO Promotion in Thailand: Requirements and Application Process

Thailand's Foreign Business Act restricts foreign ownership across most service sectors, which leaves foreign investors with two lawful routes to full ownership: a Foreign Business License, or promotion from the Board of Investment.

For service businesses, the most accessible BOI route is the Trade and Investment Support Office, usually shortened to TISO. It allows 100% foreign ownership without a Foreign Business License, and it covers a broad set of activities that other BOI categories exclude.

This guide covers which activities qualify, the financial thresholds, what TISO gives you and what it does not, and how the application works.

Understanding BOI TISO Promotion

The Board of Investment introduced TISO in 1996 to support Thailand's development as a regional trade and investment centre.

Unlike most BOI categories, it is not tied to a single industry. It gathers together service activities that support trade and investment generally, which is what makes it available to companies that fall outside the manufacturing and technology categories.

One important aspects to understand here is that TISO promotes activities, not companies. The BOI approves a defined scope of work, and the promotion attaches to that scope rather than to the business as a whole.

Anything your company does outside it falls outside the promotion, which affects both your accounting and what you can claim.

Activities Eligible for TISO Promotion

The BOI's TISO list covers:

• Monitoring and servicing associated enterprises, including renting office or factory space to related companies
• Advisory services on business operations
• Information services on goods sourcing
• Engineering and technical services, excluding architecture and civil engineering
• Business process outsourcing
• Wholesaling of products manufactured in Thailand
• Lending to associated enterprises, subject to exchange control rules, covering foreign currency loans to associated enterprises abroad and Thai baht loans to associated enterprises in Thailand, Vietnam, and neighbouring countries

Under advisory services, the BOI excludes several fields from the category. These are securities dealing, accounting, foreign exchange, legal services, advertising, architecture, and civil engineering. If your business sits in one of them, TISO is not available to you.

Benefits of TISO Promotion

TISO carries no tax incentives. There is no corporate income tax holiday and no reduced corporate tax rate, which distinguishes it from most BOI categories. What it provides is regulatory rather than fiscal.

• 100% foreign ownership of the promoted company, without a Foreign Business License
• Land ownership rights, permitting the company to own land for offices, executive residences, and employee housing within set limits
• Exemption from the 4:1 employee ratio. Thai companies normally need four Thai employees for each foreign work permit, while TISO companies are exempt. For a foreign-run office this often matters more than any other benefit on the list
• Expedited visas and work permits through the BOI's One-Stop Service Center

TISO Promotion Requirements

In addition to business activity test, there are three financial conditions that apply for TISO promotions:

• Annual selling and administrative expenses of at least THB 10 million. This covers office rent, salaries, and other operating costs. The threshold is assessed by year three rather than from day one, so a new company can qualify at application and build toward it. Even so, TISO suits medium and larger operations rather than small ones.
• Minimum capital investment of THB 1 million, excluding the cost of land and working capital, under the BOI's general project approval criteria. The BOI can require more depending on your project.
• At least THB 2.5 million (~ $75,000) invested in the project itself, covering office improvement or construction, and equipment or machinery brought in for the project.

You demonstrate these through audited financial statements and a business plan setting out your service activities and projected expenditure.

How to Apply for TISO Promotion

Compared to a general BOI promotion, TISO is relatively more straightforward. Though both require BOI-approved business plans and investment documentation, TISO is more focused on demonstrating operation scale via expenses and service scope.

Here’s how you apply for TISO promotion in Thailand:

Confirming your scope

Start by checking your intended activities against the TISO list, paying particular attention to the advisory exclusions. Where part of your business qualifies and part does not, identify that now, since the scope you apply under shapes how you account for revenue afterwards.

Activity misalignment is the most common reason BOI applications are rejected, so this stage carries more weight than its position in the sequence suggests.

2. Prepare your documents

To prove that you’re eligible for TISO promotion in Thailand, you primarily need proof that you are a service-oriented business and have financial capability. Here are required documents for TISO application:

• A business plan with financial projections, covering investment capital, sales forecasts, and expenses
• Your latest audited financial statements, evidencing selling and administrative expenses against the THB 10 million threshold
• A description of your service activities and how they are delivered
• A shareholder list with a nationality breakdown
• Your business registration certificate, issued within the past six months, where the company already exists
• A staffing plan separating Thai and foreign roles
• Identification for shareholders and executives
• Supporting evidence that your operations are genuine, such as invoices and certificates of origin

Discrepancies between your projected revenue, proposed capital, and investment figures are the second most common cause of rejection. Therefore, make sure all numbers are consistent across documents.

Our team helps prepare necessary documents in your stead to avoid these issues.

3. BOI interview and review

After submission, BOI officers hold a clarification meeting to discuss your project.

Come prepared to answer questions on your staffing plan, your service scope, and your financial projections, since an applicant who cannot explain their own numbers raises doubts about the whole application.

The formal review period then depends on the size of your investment. Projects up to THB 200 million are targeted at around 40 working days, larger projects take longer as approval moves up to a sub-committee or the full Board.

The BOI notifies you in writing within seven days of the deciding meeting.

4. Acceptance and deadlines after approval

Once the BOI approves your application, you have four deadlines to follow:

• Accept the promotion within one month of the notification, through the online system. Up to three one-month extensions can be requested
• Register your Thai company within six months of acceptance, if you applied as an individual
• Apply for the promotion certificate within six months of acceptance, submitting your company documents and proof that capital was remitted from abroad
• The certificate is issued within ten working days of the BOI receiving complete documents

From the certificate date, you then have three years to apply for the BOI operating license.

Post-Approval Obligations

As a TISO-promoted company, you have ongoing obligations to maintain your promotion privileges.

1. Separate accounting for promoted and non-promoted activities

Because TISO attaches to a defined scope of work, revenue from anything outside it is not covered. Companies that later add services beyond the approved scope need to run two sets of accounts, one for promoted activities and one for the rest. Planning the scope carefully at application avoids this.

2. Annual review against the expense threshold

The BOI reviews compliance annually, and companies that fall short of the THB 10 million can request an extension. Leaving it unaddressed risks revocation of the promotion privileges.

TISO Promotion vs Foreign Business License

A Foreign Business License is the alternative route to full foreign ownership, permitting foreign-owned businesses to operate in sectors restricted under Lists 2 and 3 of the Foreign Business Act.

Where you qualify for TISO, you do not need a Foreign Business License. The FBL becomes relevant where your activities fall outside the TISO list, or where the THB 10 million expense threshold is out of reach.

With the Thai government’s recent crackdown on nominee structures, it is imperative that you legally establish your company in Thailand according to FBA regulations.

Applying for TISO Promotion with Emerhub

Emerhub handles BOI applications for foreign investors in Thailand. We can help you with:

• Assessing whether your intended activities fall within the TISO scope
• Preparing the application, business plan, and supporting financials
• Managing the BOI review, including the meeting on your business plan
• Your operating licence application within the three-year window
• Ongoing compliance, including the accounting separation where part of your business sits outside the promotion

If TISO is not the right fit, we can also advise on a Foreign Business License or another BOI category.

Talk to our local team about what you are planning to set up.