Regulatory Alert: New Foreign Business Licence Exemptions and Deportation Consequences for FBA Violations

New Exemptions from the Foreign Business Licence Requirement

Effective 28 August 2026, the Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Service Businesses Exempt from the Requirement to Obtain a Foreign Business Licence (No. 5), B.E. 2569 (2026) (“MR No. 5“) and the Ministerial Regulation Prescribing Brokerage or Agency Businesses Exempt from the Requirement to Obtain a Foreign Business Licence, B.E. 2569 (2026) (“MR on Brokerage or Agency“) amended the categories of businesses exempt from the requirement to obtain a foreign business licence under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999) (“FBA“).

MR No. 5 expands certain existing exemptions relating to securities and derivatives businesses and introduces exemptions for additional service businesses. The MR on Brokerage or Agency prescribes additional brokerage and agency businesses that are exempt from the requirement to obtain a foreign business licence under Clause 11 (d) of List Three annexed to the FBA.

As a result, foreigners engaging in the businesses described below are no longer required to obtain a foreign business licence from the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce. However, they remain subject to other applicable requirements under the FBA and related regulations, including minimum capital requirements, as well as the relevant sector-specific laws.

The exempted businesses include:

1. agency services for the trading of derivatives where the underlying goods or reference variables are not regulated under the Derivatives Act;

2. agency services for the trading of exchange rate or interest rate derivatives, where such trading is conducted outside a derivatives exchange;

3. derivatives businesses and related businesses under the Derivatives Act;

4. money lending for the purchase of securities;

5. the purchase of securities subject to a repurchase agreement;

6. telecommunications services under a Type 1 Telecommunications Licence;

7. treasury centre services under exchange control law;

8. administrative, human resources (“HR“) and information technology (“IT“) management services between related entities;

9. domestic credit guarantee services between related entities;

10. the leasing service of a portion of premises for installing electronic machines used in providing financial services and automated vending machines, for the convenience of the company’s employees; and

11. petroleum drilling services for concessionaires, production-sharing contractors, or service contractors under the law governing petroleum.

MR No. 5 also prescribes separate relationship criteria for certain intra-group service exemptions. For the exemption relating to administrative, HR and IT services, entities are regarded as related if they satisfy any of the prescribed ownership or control tests, including ownership tests based on a 25% shareholding threshold. For the exemption relating to domestic credit guarantee services, certain ownership tests are subject to a higher threshold of 50% or more. For both exemptions, entities may qualify as related where they share a majority of the same directors (in the case of companies), or a majority of the same managing partners (in the case of partnerships).

The additional exemptions are intended to reduce regulatory duplication by removing foreign business licensing requirements for activities that are already subject to regulation by other competent authorities. The changes are also expected to facilitate foreign investment and enhance Thailand’s competitiveness as a business destination.

New Deportation Regulation: Potential Consequences for FBA Violations

On 27 August 2026, the Royal Gazette published the Regulation of the Office of the Prime Minister on Deportation, B.E. 2569 (2026) (“Regulation“), which took effect on 28 August 2026.

The Regulation establishes a framework under which foreign nationals convicted of certain offences, including unlawful business operations under the FBA, may be subject to deportation.

Under Clause 5(3) of the Regulation, a foreign national who is convicted by a final judgment of unlawfully carrying on business under the FBA may be deported after fully serving the sentence and being released from prison. The Regulation also applies to foreign nationals convicted as principals, instigators, or supporters of an offence specified in Clause 5.

The Regulation does not create any new offence under the FBA; however, it provides a framework for deportation as a potential additional consequence following a final conviction for an offence under the FBA. Foreign investors and foreign business operators should therefore ensure that their business activities are structured and conducted in compliance with the FBA, as a conviction for an offence under the FBA may result not only in criminal penalties, but also in immigration consequences.

If you have any queries or need clarifications on the above, please contact our team set out on this page.

For regional Corporate and Commercial matters as well as Foreign Investment matters, please see Rajah & Tann Asia’s Corporate & Commercial Practice and Foreign Investment Practice, respectively, for more information.

Contribution Note:

This Legal Update is contributed by the listed Contact Partners and Counsel Yingrak Treesaranuwattana, with the assistance of Senior Associate Pattarapond Duangkaewwutthikrai.