Opening in Bangkok: Capital, Thai Staff and Japanese Chefs

Bangkok has the second largest Japanese population of any city in the world, and it is a familiar destination for Japanese restaurant companies. What sets it apart is that the conditions for employing a Japanese head chef depend less on salary than on the company's paid-up capital and the number of Thai employees. How many people you bring from Japan has to be settled when you draw up the company itself.

This article is written for a Japanese restaurant company or owner opening in Bangkok. The work permit process step by step is covered in Hiring a Japanese chef in Thailand.

1. Bangkok in numbers

Japanese restaurants grew by 590 in two years, and food exports from Japan are rising. The demand is there, but so is competition for staff with Japanese cuisine experience.

2. The staffing plan starts with the company design

Foreign Business Act: restaurants are a restricted business

According to JETRO, the sale of food and beverages is on List 3 of Thailand's Foreign Business Act, the businesses that need permission following approval by the Foreign Business Committee. A company with 50% or more foreign capital is treated as foreign and falls under these rules. The ownership split, and whether you will seek a Foreign Business Licence, have to be decided before you think about work permits.

Work permit conditions fall on the company

JETRO summarises the conditions for employing a foreigner as follows (information updated 30 October 2025).

Cooking and food service are not among the 27 occupations closed to foreigners (which include hairdressing, Thai massage, street vending and tour guiding). Employing a Japanese head chef is possible in itself.

3. The conditions per Japanese employee, as a formula

For an ordinary restaurant company without BOI promotion, the minimum conditions by number of Japanese staff look like this.

The table shows what the opening plan has to settle.

• Treat the capital separately from the store investment. Each foreigner needs THB 2 million of paid-up capital. A plan to add Japanese staff assumes a capital increase.
• Thai hires hold up the Japanese staff's stay. Four Thai employees per foreigner is a condition of the visa extension. If Thai staff leave after opening and the number drops below the ratio, it affects the Japanese staff's extensions.
• The smaller the restaurant, the lower the Japanese share must be. A small counter restaurant with fewer than four Thai staff cannot meet the conditions for even one Japanese employee.

4. Thai staff are the foundation

Because of these rules, Thai staff are the core of a Japanese restaurant in Bangkok, in numbers and in how the place runs. What you need from a Japanese head chef is less their own cooking than their ability to train Thai staff to produce the same food.

• Put recipes and prep steps into numbers, and make them readable in Thai
• Pick candidates for front of house manager and sous chef from among Thai staff before opening
• Use MAFF's Japanese cuisine cooking skill certification as a training goal for Thai staff

Approaches to teaching local staff are in training local staff in Japanese cuisine. We could not find official statistics on pay by occupation for cooks or front of house staff in Thailand for this article. Check pay levels with local peers or recruitment firms.

5. How to think about Japanese residents

96% of Japanese nationals in Thailand are long-term residents. Many are likely to be employees of Japanese companies and their families, and whether they can work in a restaurant depends on their own visa and work permit. Because work in Thailand requires a work permit, assuming that a local Japanese resident, such as an expatriate's spouse, can be hired straight away is risky.

On the other hand, 51,297 Japanese residents are a large customer base. For front of house service aimed at Japanese customers, consider training Thai staff who speak Japanese.

6. Building it into the opening schedule

Processing times vary by period and case. Check with a local lawyer or accounting firm. How to work back from the opening date is covered in staffing an overseas opening.

7. Checklist

• Have you confirmed the foreign ownership share and whether a Foreign Business Act permission is needed?
• Is THB 2 million of paid-up capital per Japanese employee in the plan?
• Is the restaurant big enough to keep four Thai employees per Japanese employee after opening?
• Is pay for Japanese staff set at THB 50,000 a month or more?
• Is there a plan to develop Thai candidates for sous chef and front of house manager?

General information, not legal or immigration advice. Conditions are based on information JETRO updated on 30 October 2025 and were checked as of September 2026. Ask a Thai lawyer or adviser about your case.