Foreign property ownership in Thailand: Acquisition of real estate

      Buying real estate in Thailand for foreigners is not difficult but it is a good idea to first understand the legal limitations on land ownership by foreigners in Thailand.

      According to Thai law, foreigners are not permitted to own land in Thailand unless they have at least 40 million baht in investment money, can buy land for residential purposes, not exceeding 1 rai, and obtain permission from the Minister of Interior. But this condition does not apply to the purchase of a condominium unit or condominium, where a foreigner who is entitled to own a condominium unit must be a person permitted to have residence in the Kingdom under the immigration law or in other cases:

• Being a foreigner or a juristic person permitted to enter the Kingdom under the investment promotion law;
• Being a foreigner or a juristic person deemed by law to be an alien bringing foreign currency into the Kingdom.  The combined ownership of a condominium unit or condominium by foreigners must not exceed 49% of the total area of the unit. So if you meet one of these conditions there is no problem, but the money you will buy the property with must be transferred from a foreign bank to a bank in Thailand, which will require a receipt and bank certificates to prevent money laundering. 

      In addition to the above, the law also allows foreigners to purchase or own real estate in the following cases: 

• Buying it under the name of a Thai spouse, but the ownership will be assumed to belong to a Thai national;
• Long-term lease with a maximum lease term of 30 years, which can be renewed for another 30 years up to two times, with the consent of the lessor;
• Establishment of a company or juristic person with Thai partners, where foreigners can hold no more than 49% of the shares, and then transfer the ownership of real estate to the name of the company, where you can live as a director but you will not be the owner of the company. So it is apparent that owning real estate for foreigners is not a difficult matter and can be done in accordance with various regulations and requirements.

Source : Real Estate Information Center (REIC)
Tel : +66 2 202 1768