Foreigners CAN own land - Putting an argument to rest.

[Jenkins9039]

I'm so sick and tired of hearing foreigners state, you can't own etc.

 

Let me be clear and hopefully this becomes a sticky, because its obviously the blind leading the blind sometimes on here, and on FB etc.

 

Foreigners can own land in Thailand, the rules have seemingly changed over the years, but they're still pretty much simple.

 

Government Site: https://www.dol.go.th/Pages/Acquisition-of-Land-by-Alien.aspx

 

I trust this puts it to rest, and its usually enacted by people buying multi-million $ homes, to hedge risk.

 

Acquisition of Land by Alien

                         According to Section 86 of the Land Code, an alien may acquire land in Thailand only by virtue of the provision of a treaty providing him with the right to own immovable property. Obtaining such acquisition is subject to the provision of the Land Code and the Ministerial Regulations issued under the Code, and the permission must be obtained from the Ministry of Interior. Before the termination of the treaty which was made on February 27th, 1970, there were 16 countries bided to the treaty ; USA, England, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, France, India, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Japan, Burma, Portuguese, and Pakistan. Since then, Thailand has no longer made any treaty with any country to allow an alien to acquire land in Thailand by virtue of a treaty.

                         However, the Land Code has been amended with Section 96 bis providing that since January 19th, 2002, an alien is allowed to purchase land in Thailand for residential purpose and the land to be purchased shall be not more than one rai in area, and the following rules and conditions must be met:

1.  Bringing money not less than Baht forty million into the Kingdom for investment and maintaining the investment not less that five years;

2.  Permission must be obtained from the Minister of Ministry of Interior;

3.  Money brought into the Kingdom shall be invested in one of the following businesses or activities;

     3.1  to purchase bonds of Thai Government, bonds of Thai National Bank, bonds of State Enterprise or bonds which the Ministry of Finance secures the capital or interest,

     3.2  an investment in a property mutual fund, a property mutual fund or a mutual fund for resolving financial institution problems established under the law on Securities and Stock Exchange,

     3.3  an investment in share capital of a juristic person who is granted permission of investment under the law on promotion of investment,

     3.4  an investment in an activity as declared by the Board of Investment to be an activity eligible to be granted promotion of investment under the law on promotion of investment;

4.  the land to be acquired shall be located in Bangkok Metropolis, Pattaya City, or Tessaban (Municipality), or in the area specified as residential zone according to the law on Town and Country Planning and shall not be located in a military safety zone according to the law on Military Safety Zone;

5.  an alien, who is granted permission, shall utilize the land only for residence for his/herself and the family in a way that is not contrary to the local custom or good living of the local community;

6.  if an alien, who is granted permission to acquire such land, does not comply with the rules and conditions specified, he/she shall disposes of such land in the portion of his/her possession within the period of time specified by the Director General of the Department of Lands which shall be not less than one hundred eighty days and not more than one year. If the time limit elapses, the Director General shall have the power to dispose of such land;

7.  if an alien, who is granted permission to acquire such land, does not utilize the land for residence within two years as from the day the registration for land acquisition is made, the Director General shall have the power to dispose of such land.

                         Besides the aforementioned rules and conditions, an alien may acquire land by inheritance as statutory heir, in this instance, the land devolved when combined with the land already acquired shall not exceed that specified by law, for examples, land for residential purpose not exceeding 1 rai per household, land for commercial purpose not exceeding 1 rai, land for industrial purpose not exceeding 10 rais, and land for agricultural purpose not exceeding 10 rai per household.

                         An alien whose spouse is a Thai national either legitimate or illegitimate, that Thai national can purchase land but the alien spouse of that Thai national must give a joint written confirmation that the money which that Thai national will expend on purchasing the land is wholly the separate property or personal effects of that Thai national and not the Sin Somros or jointly acquired property.

 

                              Fees

                           (a)  0.01% of the valuation price, in the case of purchasing the land located in the land development project (this rate is due in December 2002)

                             (b)  In the case other than (a) the fee is 2% of the valuation price

 

                              Taxes and duties

                              To be paid according to the Code of Revenue

[Jenkins9039]

Correcting typo.

[blackcab]

You are entirely correct, and what you have mentioned is not new knowledge. Personally, I have not known anyone to actually achieve a Section 86 purchase.

 

This is mainly because the applicant needs to import the equivalent of 40 million baht of foreign currency into Thailand, and invest it in the specified manner. Only when this is done can the investor petition for specific written authorisation from the Minister of the Interior. Such permission is not a right, and is at the whim of the Minister. I have never known such permission to be granted, although it certainly could have happened.

 

The other main stumbling block is that Section 86 land cannot be disposed of to a non-Thai person. This means if a non-Thai citizen purchased such land, and then they died, there is no way of transferring the ownership to their non-Thai children (unless the children themselves imported the equivalent of 40 million baht and gained their own permission from the Minister of the Interior).

 

If you happen to be well connected and can count the Minister of the Interior as a personal friend, however, it's possible.

[puchooay]

Old news. Common knowledge.

[impulse]

It's extremely dangerous for a layman to interpret Thai laws without a full understanding of the complex eco-structure and history surrounding those laws.  Just because it's technically legal, doesn't mean it's ever been done.  And even if someone else did it, doesn't mean you can do it under your circumstances, down at your local land office. 

 

My guess is that Bill Gates or Elon Musk or Jack Ma could own land in Thailand.  But that doesn't mean I could...  I don't have pockets that deep, a staff big enough to chase the paper, or hundreds of millions of $$$ in potential investment money I could use for leverage.

 

[asiacurious]

Interesting topic.

 

Foreigners can sort of own land and a (very) few probably do, but I'd say they are the exceptions that prove the broad rule that foreigners can't own land.

 

I say they can "sort of own land" because foreigners can never truly own land.  As blackcab points out, it can't be passed to a non-Thai upon the owner's death.  True ownership of something requires the owner to have absolute rights over the thing they own.  That would include the right to transfer ownership to anyone they want, even while they are still alive.  A foreign owner retains the right to dispose of the land through sale/gift/bequest to one group of people (Thai citizens or companies) but not to another group (everyone else in the world).

 

I'd say at best, foreigners merely have a life estate in the land.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_estate).

 

One thing I've wondered (but not bothered to research) is whether a Thai citizen can will a piece of land to a non-citizen.  I'd guess the answer is probably a big fat no.

[bluebluewater]

PLUS . .    they tell you where you one rai of land is located.  The individual who is getting the land for the wonderful sum of 40 million baht does not get to choose where and upon death cannot choose just anyone to have it.

 

Such a deal.  Yes indeed, the OP has added a lot to this subject.

[kingofthemountain]

11 minutes ago, asiacurious said:

One thing I've wondered (but not bothered to research) is whether a Thai citizen can will a piece of land to a non-citizen.  I'd guess the answer is probably a big fat no.

The answer is yes

but as a foreigner you have one year to sale the land to 

someone who qualifies for owning a land in Thailand, in 99,99% of the cases a Thai citizen.

 

Even without a will you can also be the ''co owner'' of a land as a foreigner

i was the co owner with the thai GF of 20 rais of ricefields and my name was registered

on the chanote at the land office, in case of death of the GF i was automaticaly the only

owner (No will needed) but it was specified in this case i will have 1 year to sale the land to a Thai. 

 

The 0,01 % example taken by the OP to illustrate his  ''sensational topic'' is just ridiculous imo.

[jabis]

????

[blackcab]

13 hours ago, bluebluewater said:

The individual who is getting the land for the wonderful sum of 40 million baht...

 

No, the owner needs to:

 

1. Import that amount of foreign currency, exchange it into Baht and then invest it in an approved manner.

 

2. Gain permission from the Minister of the Interior.

 

3. Purchase the land using more money that is imported in foreign currency and then exchanged into Baht.

 

The initial 40 million baht doesn't buy any land. It just gives you the potential entitlement to pay more money to purchase land at a later date.

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, Jenkins9039 said:

Foreigners can own land in Thailand, the rules have seemingly changed over the years, but they're still pretty much simple.

Seems a bit of a mute point if you cannot get in and out of the country to stay in it ! 

[timendres]

2 hours ago, Jenkins9039 said:

I'm so sick and tired of hearing foreigners state, you can't own etc.

I am sick and tired of foreigners who obsess over owning land in this country.

 

[asiacurious]

Sometimes I've thought that property rights should reciprocal in nature.  For example, if Country A gives only its citizens the right to own certain types of property, then other countries should limit the rights of citizens from Country A to those same rights.  (If the French can't own land in Thailand, then Thais should not be able to own land in France.)

 

Though I think it likely that doing something like this would end up concentrating even more of the world's wealth into the hands of the wealthiest few.

 

So... bad idea! 

[impulse]

5 hours ago, asiacurious said:

Sometimes I've thought that property rights should reciprocal in nature.  For example, if Country A gives only its citizens the right to own certain types of property, then other countries should limit the rights of citizens from Country A to those same rights.  (If the French can't own land in Thailand, then Thais should not be able to own land in France.)

 

Though I think it likely that doing something like this would end up concentrating even more of the world's wealth into the hands of the wealthiest few.

 

So... bad idea! 

 

If Thailand did open up land to foreign ownership, we'd be bidding against the neighbors from north of the border.  And just by sheer weight of numbers and volume of dirty money looking for a place to hide, most of us would be locked out anyway.

 

[sevenhills]

However, the Land Code has been amended with Section 96 bis providing that since January 19th, 2002, an alien is allowed to purchase land in Thailand for residential purpose and the land to be purchased shall be not more than one rai in area, and the following rules and conditions must be met:

1.  Bringing money not less than Baht forty million into the Kingdom for investment and maintaining the investment not less that five years;   ????

[klauskunkel]

15 hours ago, Jenkins9039 said:

I trust this puts it to rest

no, it didn't.

see comments above

[paahlman]

14 hours ago, blackcab said:

You are entirely correct, and what you have mentioned is not new knowledge. Personally, I have not known anyone to actually achieve a Section 86 purchase.

 

This is mainly because the applicant needs to import the equivalent of 40 million baht of foreign currency into Thailand, and invest it in the specified manner. Only when this is done can the investor petition for specific written authorisation from the Minister of the Interior. Such permission is not a right, and is at the whim of the Minister. I have never known such permission to be granted, although it certainly could have happened.

 

The other main stumbling block is that Section 86 land cannot be disposed of to a non-Thai person. This means if a non-Thai citizen purchased such land, and then they died, there is no way of transferring the ownership to their non-Thai children (unless the children themselves imported the equivalent of 40 million baht and gained their own permission from the Minister of the Interior).

 

If you happen to be well connected and can count the Minister of the Interior as a personal friend, however, it's possible.

Do I remember wrongly or doesnt the amount needed used to be 10 mill Baht?

[Guderian]

Heck, I forgot to bring 40 million Baht in for investment when I bought my shack in Pattaya.

And to think I could have owned the land as well as the corrugated iron roof....lol.

[KKr]

15 hours ago, Jenkins9039 said:

6.  if an alien, who is granted permission to acquire such land, does not comply with the rules and conditions specified, he/she shall disposes of such land in the portion of his/her possession within the period of time specified by the Director General of the Department of Lands which shall be not less than one hundred eighty days and not more than one year. If the time limit elapses, the Director General shall have the power to dispose of such land;

Actually an interesting theoretical problem:

Will the foreigner, after having deposited / invested the required funds in Thailand and having complied with the other requirements and having paid for the land get a Chanote with his name on it ?
If so, will there be encumbrances documented on the Chanote and what are these ?

Maybe a courageous TV member with lots of time on hand enquires at the land office ? ????

[Kwasaki]

The 40 million for 1 rai makes it not worth owning.. 

My Mrs has no papers for the land she occupies our land we live on is a lease area, papers for land has been and ongoing wait. 

[Bender Rodriguez]

this is the same as ... you can acquire thai nationality, like that dude a few months ago

 

it only takes 30+ years

[JeffersLos]

15 hours ago, puchooay said:

Old news. Common knowledge.

Yes.

 

It is based on foreign embassies, so that they can own the land it sits on. 

[natway09]

The rich get richer!!

[The Deerhunter]

14 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

No, the owner needs to:

 

1. Import that amount of foreign currency, exchange it into Baht and then invest it in an approved manner.

 

2. Gain permission from the Minister of the Interior.

 

3. Purchase the land using more money that is imported in foreign currency and then exchanged into Baht.

 

The initial 40 million baht doesn't buy any land. It just gives you the potential entitlement to pay more money to purchase land at a later date.

If they decide to approve your case.  Otherwise you have 40,000,000 in Thai baht investments while you wait and see.  Not a very appealing option IMHO.

[Seeall]

16 hours ago, blackcab said:

You are entirely correct, and what you have mentioned is not new knowledge. Personally, I have not known anyone to actually achieve a Section 86 purchase.

 

This is mainly because the applicant needs to import the equivalent of 40 million baht of foreign currency into Thailand, and invest it in the specified manner. Only when this is done can the investor petition for specific written authorisation from the Minister of the Interior. Such permission is not a right, and is at the whim of the Minister. I have never known such permission to be granted, although it certainly could have happened.

 

The other main stumbling block is that Section 86 land cannot be disposed of to a non-Thai person. This means if a non-Thai citizen purchased such land, and then they died, there is no way of transferring the ownership to their non-Thai children (unless the children themselves imported the equivalent of 40 million baht and gained their own permission from the Minister of the Interior).

 

If you happen to be well connected and can count the Minister of the Interior as a personal friend, however, it's possible.

Very nicely replied to, thank you

[Seeall]

1 hour ago, KKr said:

Actually an interesting theoretical problem:

Will the foreigner, after having deposited / invested the required funds in Thailand and having complied with the other requirements and having paid for the land get a Chanote with his name on it ?
If so, will there be encumbrances documented on the Chanote and what are these ?

Maybe a courageous TV member with lots of time on hand enquires at the land office ? ????

And the reply is the truth and nothing but the truth......

[johnnycthedog]

If you make the hurdle, or series of hurdles, impossibly high to jump or the inclination to do it so unattractive and restrictive then no one is going to try. Cannot see any benefit at all.

[4MyEgo]

Only' if I had so much money......I certainly wouldn't be investing 40,000,000 baht in Thailand for the privilege of being able to purchase land in Thailand.

 

Property prices in Thailand don't really increase as well as other countries from what I hear, although I have heard that some TVF members wives or girlfriends have made 100% when they divorced or split up, sad, but a reality when land is not in the farangs name, that said, we all know not to buy property in Thailand unless it's in our name only, and of course with exceptions like mine, i.e. the 10% invested from my worth to build our (her) castle is hers for keeps, as I stuck the script, "from the script" only invest as much as your prepared to lose, so no sour grapes here if the marriage ever went south.

[Darksidedude]

so have you done this or do you know anyone thats done this ha ha

[warcy]

40 million baht investment, not many foreigners have that type of money. In addition, he needs additional money to buy house and living expenses.