What foreigners can and cannot own
Foreigners can own condominium units in their own name, provided the building's foreign ownership quota (49% of the total saleable area) has not been exceeded. Foreigners cannot own land in their own name except in very narrow exceptions (BOI-promoted companies and a rarely-used 1M USD investment scheme).
Common workarounds — long leases up to 30 years (renewable), Thai-spouse ownership with a usufruct in your favour, or a Thai limited company that holds the land — each have legal and practical trade-offs that need to be understood before signing.
The foreign quota and the FET form
To register a condo in a foreign name at the Land Office you must show that the purchase funds were remitted from abroad in foreign currency and converted into Thai baht inside Thailand. The receiving Thai bank issues a Foreign Exchange Transaction form (FET / Tor Tor 3) for any single inward transfer of 50,000 USD or more — keep this; it cannot be reissued.
For purchases under 50,000 USD, multiple smaller transfers are aggregated and supported by individual credit-advice letters from the bank.
Due diligence checklist
- Title deed (Chanote) verification at the Land Office, confirming registered owner, encumbrances and mortgages.
- Building permit, environmental impact assessment and house registration for new builds.
- Juristic person debt search — confirm the seller has no unpaid common-area fees or sinking-fund arrears.
- Foreign quota letter from the juristic person confirming the unit is available within the 49% foreign allocation.
- Existing tenancy or lease checks — any registered lease survives sale.
Land Office transfer day
Standard transfer costs at the Land Office are: 2% transfer fee (usually split 50/50 between buyer and seller), 0.5% stamp duty or 3.3% specific business tax (whichever applies — depends on whether the seller has owned for more than 5 years), and 1% withholding tax for individual sellers (corporate sellers pay differently).
Bring original passport, FET forms or credit advices, foreign quota letter, the signed sale agreement, and a cashier's cheque for the balance. Plain cash transfers are technically possible but rarely accepted by sellers at this scale.
Lease structures done properly
If you're buying through a long lease rather than freehold, register the lease at the Land Office on transfer day — an unregistered lease is enforceable for only 3 years. The maximum registered term is 30 years, with up to two contractual renewal options, although the renewals are only enforceable against the original lessor, not subsequent buyers of the underlying land.
Pair a registered lease with a usufruct or superficies right for the structure on the land to create a workable life-of-lessee arrangement.