Is this just ChatGPT with a wrapper?

No. A generic chatbot answers from training data and happily invents a visa rule. Thaissistant checks a knowledge base we maintain before it speaks, shows you which entries grounded the answer, and hands anything live to the Tour Tiger team. Anyone can rent the model we use. Nobody can rent the corpus — or a licensed operator in Maenam who picks up the booking.

How is the information verified?

Every law-and-life entry is researched from a strict source ladder: the Royal Gazette and the statutes first, then the government bodies that enforce them, then official translations — reputable secondary sources only ever as labelled support, and forums never. Each entry names its legal basis, links its sources, and carries the date we last verified the facts. Anything that moves faster than we can verify — office-level fees, officer discretion — is marked 'verify live' instead of stated as fact. The methodology page spells out the whole discipline.

Is this legal advice?

No — and we're careful about the difference. Thaissistant explains what the law says and how processes work in general, with citations you can check. It doesn't advise on your specific case, predict outcomes, or replace a lawyer. For a decision that matters, the entry's sources tell you exactly which authority to confirm with.

Can it actually book things?

Today it takes your request and hands it to a real person at Tour Tiger — often Alexander himself, on WhatsApp or the phone — who checks availability and confirms with you directly. Payments, PromptPay, and calendar booking are planned for Phase 3. The principle holds throughout: automate the conversation, not the transaction, until we can do the transaction properly.

Can it read a Thai document for me?

Yes — paste the text of a letter, a form, a lease, or a fine, and it translates and explains what it means in plain words. Two honest caveats: the translation is unofficial (only the Thai text has legal force), and if the document is high-stakes, it will tell you to confirm with the authority or a professional rather than pretending a chat is enough.

Alexander Wich — founder, and the person who answers the WhatsApp. He built Thaissistant himself, with Claude Code, on top of the business he already runs: Tour Tiger (Thailand) Co., Ltd., TAT Licence 44/00524, a registered Thai tour operator in Maenam, Koh Samui. When the assistant hands you to a human, that human is usually Alexander or someone on his team. Feel free to test that.

What does it cost to use?

For you, asking Thaissistant is free — and so is the knowledge library. For us, a conversation runs about $0.01, the whole 6-month validation budget is under $2,000, and monthly running cost sits at $50-225. Breakeven is one or two extra bookings a month.

Why did this start on Koh Samui?

Because we wanted to be genuinely excellent somewhere before being vaguely useful everywhere. Samui gave us a licensed operator, real products, and real customers asking real questions — the loop that proved the engine. The life-and-law library is that same engine pointed at the questions every foreigner in Thailand has, not just the ones on holiday.

What happens to my data and my question?

If it's a genuine booking or service request, it becomes a lead the Tour Tiger team follows up on — that's the point. We're not in the business of reselling your inbox. Anything specific, write to hello@thaissistant.com.

Owning a business: the Foreign Business Act, 49/51 reality and the nominee trap

Facts verified · 2026-07-11

Under section 4 of the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), a Thai-registered company counts as "foreign" if half or more of its capital shares are foreign-held — which is why the classic structure is 49% foreign, 51% Thai. A foreign company needs permission for anything in the Act's three annexed lists. List 1 (media, rice farming, land trading, Buddha-image making and others) is closed outright. List 2 (national security, arts and culture, natural resources) needs Cabinet-level permission and at least 40% Thai shareholding (section 15). List 3 — the one that catches expats — covers businesses where Thais are "not yet ready to compete": accounting, legal, architectural and engineering services, construction, brokerage, retail under 100 million baht capital, wholesale, advertising, hotels (except hotel management), guided touring, sale of food and beverages, and a catch-all of "other service businesses". A majority-foreign restaurant or consultancy therefore needs a Foreign Business Licence from the Director-General of Business Development. Minimum capital for a foreigner starting a business is 2 million baht, or 3 million for listed businesses (section 14).

The shortcut everyone whispers about is the crime: section 36 makes a Thai who holds shares as a foreigner's nominee — and the foreigner who lets them — liable to up to three years' imprisonment or a 100,000-to-1,000,000-baht fine or both, plus court-ordered unwinding and daily fines of 10,000–50,000 baht for non-compliance. This is enforced: the DBD's Foreign Business Commission runs annual nominee-inspection sweeps (397 entities screened in the 2022 plan, targeting tourism, land/real-estate holding and agricultural sectors). Genuine Thai co-investment is legal; Thais fronting capital so a foreigner controls a restricted business is not. Exemptions exist by treaty (section 10, e.g. the US Treaty of Amity) and for BOI-promoted businesses, which get a certificate instead of a licence (section 12).

Legal basis

Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999), ss. 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 36, 37 and annexed Lists 1–3

⚠ Verify live

DBD screening practice (source-of-funds evidence demanded from Thai shareholders in majority-Thai companies with foreign directors) and the annual review of the annexed lists change administratively; amendments to the lists themselves require a Royal Decree or Act.

foreign business actcompany ownershipnominee shareholder49 51fblstarting a business

General information, not legal advice. Laws and practice change; for a decision that matters, confirm with the authority named in the sources or a licensed professional.