How to Apply for BOI Promotion in Thailand: Process, Timeline, and Documents Overview

BOI promotion is the Thai government's main investment incentive scheme granted under the Investment Promotion Act to projects in activities the government wants to attract. A promoted company can receive corporate income tax exemptions, import duty relief, streamlined visas and work permits for foreign staff, and most importantly for foreign SMEs, permission for 100% foreign ownership. Promotion is granted per project and per activity, not to the company as a whole.

Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI) publishes service timeframes for each stage of its application process which is a rarity among Thai government procedures. If the documents are complete, the timeline to a promotion certificate is largely predictable. This guide explains what promotion is, walks the official steps, and covers the deadlines that start after approval.

Checking if You Meet the BOI´s Basic Criteria First

Promotion attaches to a specific activity, so the first check is whether your project fits a category on the BOI's current list of promoted activities. Informal pre-screening with BOI officers is possible and reduces rejection risk. We usually coordinate this informal pre-screening check with BOI officers when our clients engage us for their BOI application process.

The list project is issued under BOI Announcement No. 9/2565 and is organised into ten sections:

Section	Industry area	Examples of promoted activities
1	Agriculture, food, and biotechnology	Upstream and modern agriculture, processed food and future food, bioplastics, biochemicals, biotechnology development
2	Medical	Medical devices, active pharmaceutical ingredients and medicines, specialty medical centres and healthcare services, clinical research
3	Machinery and vehicles	Machinery and automation, automotive and parts, aviation, rail, shipbuilding
4	Electrical appliances and electronics	Semiconductors and wafers, advanced and smart electronics, electronic parts
5	Metals and materials	Basic metals plus advanced materials and nanotechnology
6	Chemicals and petrochemicals	Petrochemicals and chemical products
7	Public utilities	Power generation (notably renewables), water, industrial estates, logistics infrastructure
8	Digital	Software development, digital services, digital infrastructure, digital ecosystem businesses
9	Creative industries	Product design and development, technical and functional textiles, gems and jewellery, film and media
10	High-value services	Professional services including TISO, IBC, and IPO, plus R&D, engineering design, scientific laboratories, logistics service centres, tourism-related activities

Trading and services SMEs most often apply under Sections 8 and 10, in categories such as TISO, IBC, and IPO. The item-level list goes through regular changes so the live version should be researched with the BOI.

Each promoted activity carries its own specific conditions, such as minimum capital, personnel, or system requirements. On top of those, every project must clear the BOI's general criteria:

• Value added of at least 20% of revenues. Projects in agriculture and agricultural products, electronic products and parts, and coil centres need at least 10%.

• A minimum investment of THB 1,000,000 per project, excluding land and working capital, unless the activity list specifies otherwise. Knowledge-based activities are tested instead on a minimum annual salary expense for specified personnel.

• Debt not exceeding 3 times equity for new projects.

• Modern processes, with new machinery as the norm. Imported used machinery is accepted only within limits.

  
  

Projects with an investment value above THB 2,000,000,000 (excluding land and working capital) must also submit a feasibility study.

Step 1: Submit the Application Through the e-Investment System

Applications are filed online through the BOI's e-Investment Promotion system. Paper filing remains only for special cases such as efficiency enhancement measures, business transfers, and community and social development measures.

The core document set includes the latest financial statements (where the applicant already exists), business details and history, product photos or a catalogue, a description of the production or service process, details of main machinery, and the intended shareholding structure.

Step 2: The Project Clarification Meeting

A clarification meeting is scheduled within about 10 working days of submission. The applicant presents the project to the assigned officer, at the BOI or by video conference.

It is recommended to send the people who actually own the project. Officers probe the business model, process, and projections directly, and second-hand answers slow the file down. When BizWings manages an application, our BOI experts coordinate this meeting together with the client's team and prepare the project owner for it.

Step 3: Evaluation Within 40, 60, or 90 Working Days

The evaluation window depends on investment size and runs from the date documents are complete.

• Investments up to THB 200 million are decided by a working group within 40 working days.

• Investments above THB 200 million and up to THB 2 billion go to a sub-committee, which decides within 60 working days.

• Investments above THB 2 billion are reviewed by a sub-committee and then the full Board, within 90 working days.

  
  

The window lengthens as investment grows because approval authority moves up, not because larger projects sit in a slower queue. Each additional decision layer, from working group to sub-committee to the full Board adds scheduled review time.

Step 4: Results, Acceptance, and the Promotion Certificate

The BOI notifies applicants in writing within 7 days of the date the deciding meeting's resolution is certified, setting out the incentives and conditions granted.

Three deadlines then follow in sequence.

• Accept within 1 month, through the Promotion Certificate System. Missing the deadline voids the approval, although up to three one-month extensions can be requested.

• Submit the certificate application within 6 months of acceptance. This window is also extendable on request.

• Receive the certificate within 10 working days of complete documents.

  
  

The certificate application is filed together with a defined document set.

• The utility and manpower requirements form which is a short declaration of the project's expected electricity and water usage and its planned Thai and foreign headcount

• The DBD company certificate and certified shareholder list, each issued within the past year

• Evidence of any capital increase

• Bank credit advices showing that the foreign investment funds were remitted from abroad

Should You Apply for BOI Before or After Incorporating?

The BOI accepts applications both before and after the Thai company exists, and the choice carries different cost and timing consequences.

Option A - Apply as an individual first: The application is submitted in the name of an individual investor. After approval, the Thai company is incorporated within the 6-month certificate window, the promotion is transferred to the new company, and the capital injection is completed before the certificate is issued. The advantage is cost. No monthly accounting, tax filing, or social security obligations run while the application is pending, because the company does not yet exist.

Option B - Incorporate the company first. The company operates from day one and can hire staff and start commercial activity immediately. Until promotion is granted it must operate within the Foreign Business Act, which in practice means Thai-majority shareholding or a Foreign Business License for restricted activities. Monthly compliance costs also begin immediately such as tax filings, and payroll begins while the application is still being processed.

For most new market entrants, Option A is the more economical route. Option B fits companies that already exist.

The Deadlines That Start After the Certificate

The BOI promotion starts a new set of compliance obligations that need to be abided by. Machinery import rights run for 30 months from certificate issuance, extendable on request, and the company must apply for approval of full operation start-up within 36 months. Since 30 March 2026, companies in the implementation phase must also report project progress quarterly through the e-Monitoring system, within 60 days of each quarter end (BOI Announcement No. 8/2569). Our article on the quarterly reporting rule covers the details. Foreign hires run through payroll and staffing rules that tightened in 2025.

One step is routinely forgotten. If the promoted activity is restricted under the Foreign Business Act, the company must still notify the Department of Business Development under Section 12 and obtain a Foreign Business Certificate before operating. Issuance is an entitlement, not a discretionary approval, and follows within 30 days of a compliant notification, but those 30 days sit between the promotion certificate and the ability to operate the activity.

What Usually Slows Applications Down

The statutory windows only run from complete documents, and the biggest timeline variable sits on the applicant's side. Slow document turnaround, a business model the officers cannot pin down, and shareholding plans that shift mid-application are the three most common causes of delay. End-to-end, a well-prepared SME case typically reaches the certificate in roughly 4 to 6 months.

BizWings Thailand helps foreign investors select and set up the structure that fits their expansion goals, whether that is a Thai limited company, a joint venture, a BOI-promoted company, a Foreign Business License, a representative office, or a US Treaty of Amity company.

For support preparing and managing a BOI application, from eligibility check to certificate, reach the team at contact@bizwings.co

For a quick overview of your setup options and compliance obligations, try the free entity selection diagnostic tool: https://www.bizwings.co/entity-market-entry-tool

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