That restriction has produced a range of arrangements offered in the market. Some are lawful; some are not, and expose both sides to liability. Many foreign buyers discover this only when they try to sell and find they cannot transfer.
The straightforward route is to hold a condominium unit in your own name, which the law expressly permits, subject to the building's foreign quota and evidence that the funds came from abroad.
We check whether what the seller or agent is proposing is within the law — before you pay anything.
Owning a condominium
- Foreign nationals may together hold no more than the statutory proportion of the total unit area in a building. Check what remains before buying.
- You need the bank's certificate of foreign currency brought into Thailand in the prescribed form, for not less than the purchase price.
- Transfer the funds in the buyer's own name and state the purpose. Funds routed through someone else make the certificate unusable.
- Check that the juristic person has no arrears on the unit — unpaid common area fees block registration of the transfer.
Land and houses
A foreign national cannot own land, but there are lawful ways to use it.
- A registered long lease, for up to thirty years.
- A registered superficies, giving ownership of the house even though the land belongs to another.
- A registered usufruct, commonly used where a Thai spouse holds the land.
- Shares in a company that genuinely operates a business and holds land for it — a real trading company, not one formed only to hold land.
The arrangement never to accept
Having a Thai national hold land on your behalf, where they are not the true owner, is unlawful, and both sides are liable — the foreign beneficiary and the Thai nominee. The consequence is not only penalties; the land may have to be disposed of.
In practice the more frequent risk is simpler: the nominee mortgages the land, sells it, or dies and it passes to their heirs. The foreign national who paid for it has no legal claim.
Where the spouse is Thai
When a Thai spouse buys land during the marriage, the authorities require both to confirm in writing that the funds are the Thai spouse's personal property. That document directly affects how the asset divides on any later divorce, so understand what you are signing on the day — and consider registering a usufruct or superficies alongside it.
This page is general information, not advice on your situation. Quotas and criteria are set by legislation and regulation and can change. Send us the details before paying anything.