Freehold

Limited Liability Company

A more complicated and expensive way to buy land, but one in which you have your name as a registered owner, is to start a majority Thai owned company, in which you can own up to 49% of the shares (but the majority of the voting rights, and several Thai people own the remaining 51% or more shares. Also, there must be more Thai shareholders than foreign shareholders and a minimum of 7 shareholders who must be at least 18 years old. The company is legally able to buy and sell land and hold a mortgage, same as a Thai individual.

Several years ago, if a company was more than 40% foreign owned, the Central Land Office in Bangkok would investigate to check that is was not created for the sole purpose of circumventing the law against foreign ownership of land. For that reason, most lawyers recommended your company had only 39% foreign ownership to 61% Thai ownership. That law was repealed in 2003 but you may still consider it wise to limit foreign ownership as an extra safeguard.

Another benefit of the company method is you can get a work permit through your own company which is necessary if you intend to work for your own company and run the company as an active business. By active business, I mean one that has real cash flow, makes a profit and pays taxes. Inactive companies, ones that simply own land but have not significant ongoing financial transactions, are not advisable because they may be considered illegal by the government.

When your lawyer sets up your company, you will get about 15 pages of official documentation in Thai. You may also want to get the English equivalent of each page. You will also get a company stamp. You will likely need copies of every Thai page plus the stamp for any action involving the company including setting up a bank account, buying land, getting a visa, electricity, water, etc. so save yourself a lot of time and make several copies of the company documents and keep the originals in a safe place.

Purchasing a Condominium

Under the Condominium Act (1979) foreigners can own the freehold of 49% of the total unit space in any legally registered condominium building. The purchaser must request a letter of guarantee from the condominium juristic person setting out the proportion of foreign ownership which must be submitted to the Land Department upon transfer of ownership.

Foreign Exchange Transaction Form

A foreign purchaser must bring in 100% of the funds from overseas in foreign currency and will need a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form (FETF) from the Thai bank in order to provide evidence of this to the Land Department. Due to strict money laundering regulations, a FETF is also necessary to avoid complications and remittance tax when repatriating funds should the foreigner sell the condominium at a later date.

Note: You can only obtain a FETF for any inward remittance for amounts not less than the equivalent of USD 20,000. You should clearly indicate the payment purpose on the payment order form in the field for a message for the beneficiary, including the name of the condominium and the unit number.

Thai Women married to Foreigners

Prior to 1998, any Thai woman who married a foreigner would lose her right to purchase land in Thailand. She could, however, still retain land that she owned prior to marrying the foreigner. However, the recent (1999) Ministerial regulation now allows Thai women married to foreigners the right to purchase land, but the Thai spouse must prove that the money used in the purchase of freehold land is legally solely theirs with no foreign claim to it. This is usually achieved by the foreign spouse signing a declaration stating that the funds used for the purchase of property belonged to the Thai spouse prior to the marriage and are beyond his claim.