Thailand BOI Promotion: Incentives and How to Apply (2026 Guide).

The short version: BOI is the incentive route to 100% ownership

Thailand actively wants certain kinds of investment, and it pays for them. The Board of Investment (BOI) promotes companies in targeted industries, and a promoted company gets a package that no other route matches: full foreign ownership, a corporate tax holiday, duty exemptions, the right to own land, and a fast lane for visas and work permits.

It is the most benefit-rich of the routes in the guide to setting up a company in Thailand as a foreigner. If your business fits an eligible activity, BOI is usually the strongest option. This guide explains what promotion gives you, what qualifies, and how the application works in 2026.

What BOI promotion is

The Board of Investment is a government agency that grants "promotion" to companies in activities Thailand wants to grow. Promotion is a status, not a one-off grant. Your project is assessed against published criteria, and if it qualifies you receive a promotion certificate that comes with a set of tax and non-tax privileges for that activity.

Because the privileges attach to a promoted activity, BOI promotion overrides the ordinary foreign-ownership restrictions in the Foreign Business Act for that activity. A promoted company holds a Foreign Business Certificate rather than needing a discretionary Foreign Business License.

The incentives, in plain terms

The package has two halves: tax incentives and the practical privileges that often matter more day to day.

Tax incentives

• Corporate income tax exemption. Depending on the activity, a promoted company can be exempt from corporate income tax for up to 8 years, and the highest-tier and advanced-technology activities can reach up to 13 years once merit-based incentives are added. The exemption is a ceiling tied to your activity, not a flat number every company gets, and it generally starts from your first revenue rather than the date of the certificate.
• Import duty exemptions. Promoted companies can import machinery free of duty, and import raw materials for export production free of duty.

Practical privileges

• Up to 100% foreign ownership of the promoted activity.
• The right to own land for the promoted activity, which the Treaty of Amity does not give.
• Visas and work permits through the BOI One-Stop service, and exemption from the usual rule that you need four Thai employees for each foreign work permit. For how that compares with the standard process, see the work permits guide.

What activities qualify

BOI promotion is targeted, so the first question is always whether your activity is on the list. The current activity families cluster around:

• Bio, circular, and green industries: agriculture and food technology, medical, and public utilities.
• Advanced manufacturing: metals and materials, chemicals, machinery and vehicles (including electric vehicles and parts), and electronics.
• Digital, creative, and high-value services: software and digital, creative industries, regional headquarters and International Business Centers, and data centres.

Within these, Thailand has named a set of strategic priorities for 2024 to 2027, including the bio-circular-green economy, electric vehicles, smart electronics, digital and creative work, and regional headquarters. If your business sits in or near one of these, it is worth checking the specific activity definition, because the incentives vary by category.

What it takes to qualify

Beyond fitting an activity, a project has to meet the BOI's project approval criteria. The main ones:

• Minimum investment of 1 million THB, excluding the cost of land and working capital, unless a specific activity sets a different floor.
• A debt-to-equity ratio of no more than 3:1 for a newly established project.
• Value added of at least 20% of revenue for most activities (lower for some, such as agriculture and electronics).
• Modern processes and new machinery, with larger projects expected to obtain ISO certification within a set period.

Knowledge-heavy activities are sometimes measured on annual salary spend rather than capital investment, which suits software and service businesses that do not buy much equipment.

How to apply, step by step

The application runs through the BOI's online system and a review meeting. In outline:

1. Submit the application online through the BOI e-Investment system.
2. Attend a clarification meeting with a BOI officer, in person or by video, to explain the project.
3. The BOI evaluates the project against the criteria. For projects up to 200 million THB, the evaluation typically takes around 40 working days; larger projects go to a sub-committee or the Board and take longer.
4. You accept the promotion within one month of being notified.
5. You apply for the promotion certificate within six months of accepting, after which the certificate is issued within about 10 working days.
6. You set up and run the company, then report performance to the BOI to keep the promotion in good standing.

BOI, Amity, or a Foreign Business License?

BOI is one of several routes to majority foreign ownership, and the right choice depends on what you value.

• Choose BOI when your activity qualifies and you want the incentives: the tax holiday, duty exemptions, land rights, and easier work permits. It gives the most, but it is also the most involved to obtain and maintain.
• Look at the Treaty of Amity if you are American and want full ownership without the application process, especially in services where tax incentives are less relevant.
• Consider a Foreign Business License if your activity is restricted and does not fit BOI or Amity.

After approval: keeping the promotion

Promotion comes with conditions. You report your progress and performance to the BOI, meet the investment and value-added commitments you made, and keep proper accounts. BOI accounting has its own quirks, particularly around separating promoted and non-promoted income so the tax exemption is applied correctly. Many promoted companies use an accounting firm that handles BOI reporting rather than treating it as ordinary bookkeeping.

When BOI is worth it

BOI promotion is worth the effort when the incentives genuinely change your economics: a manufacturer importing machinery, a technology company that will reinvest a tax holiday, or a regional group that needs to own land and bring in foreign specialists. For those businesses, the combination of tax relief, land rights, and easier work permits is hard to match through any other route.

It is worth less if your activity does not qualify cleanly, or if the compliance burden outweighs a modest benefit. For a simple service company that just wants foreign ownership, the Amity treaty or a straightforward company registration may be the lighter path.

Get the application right

The BOI application is where the strongest projects sometimes stall, usually because the activity is mis-categorised or the project is presented without the detail the BOI wants to see. The category you apply under decides which incentives you get, so it pays to get that decision right before you file.

When you are ready, compare BOI application lawyers and consultants on Justenda, message them directly, and get a fee quote before you commit.

A note on what this guide is

This is general information to help you understand BOI promotion, not legal or tax advice, and the criteria and incentives change as the BOI updates its policy. Confirm the current activity list and conditions with the Board of Investment or a qualified Thai adviser before you apply.