Working group to review plans to allow foreigners in Thailand to buy land and work without work permits

[ChrisKC]

No 90 Day reports, no TM30s ?

 

And what about the wealthy retirees (some still in their 50"s) here already as potential money spinners for Thailand, many with professional skills in areas of importance. Not to mention a healthy awareness of Thai culture and language that is required by anyone working here in top jobs.

 

For those here, there will surely be a few that would want to own land outright, even without working considerations, using foreign exchange, why not include them?

 

But they are "mulling", so no idea, that whatever they come up with, will achieve the result they are looking for.

 

 

[simon43]

3 hours ago, bikerbri said:

I already jointly own a lot of land and two houses which are in my wife’s name and only a divorce will allow me to realize 50% of their value. If she dies before me her will, which is in the hands of my lawyer, states that as I am the only beneficiary, all the jointly owned assets will pass to me. Thai law gives me a year to sell the land.

 

Strictly speaking, you do not legally own any land.  The land is solely in your wife's name.  You are a beneficiary of her will, and must sell the land within 1 year.

Edited June 13, 2021 by simon43

[Iknow]

Every time there has been a crisis in Thailand over the last thirty years these proposals get dusted off back in the late 90’s following the Tom Yum Goong financial crisis ownership of land and 100% foreign ownership of condominiums were floated and whilst some Property Funds did materialize it was restricted and short lived once the economy recovered. 
 

The target clientele does not exist, all anyone with a reasonable amount of funds in the Bank need to is buy a Thai elite card for 5,10 and 20 years that fixes the residency, owning land is still an issue but there are plenty of reputable lawyers who can help out there and buying a condominium under foreign quota given the huge inventory and growing stock of resale condominiums is not an issue.

 

The larger demand for foreigners to come and stay permanently in Thailand  is several rungs down the ladder and we all know that is not a segment ever likely to be given serious consideration.

[realfunster]

5 hours ago, Misterwhisper said:

Then there is of course the problem with transferring funds OUT of the country. Thanks to Bank of Thailand regulations, It's a big, big inconvenience to even withdraw and transfer a minor amount of your own money - say $10,000 - without having to jump through hoops and providing reams of paperwork. 

 

That’s not been my experience, I can do this very quickly via my e-banking and my annual transfer limits are so vast, I doubt I will ever use them in my lifetime. 

[dunroaming]

6 hours ago, worgeordie said:

They will mull it to death .....and the outcome will be the same...no way.

regards Worgeodie

I asked my Thai lawyer to look into this and see if I could benefit from it (mainly to do with land purchase) and he said that it is very unlikely that the plans will go anywhere.  The obvious flaw is the 10 year visa when they are looking for people to invest $250,000.  It's all pie in the sky as usual!

[Millcx]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

Lofty plans, it will be very hard sell to the people of this country, Thais are very proud people and guarded of their home-land to all of a sudden do all that, just see what draconian measures are they putting in place just to come to Phuket, so now all of a sudden allowed to own land, no work permits, what's next? easy Thai citizenship now?... 

the economy is collapsing and pride comes before a fall

[Sig]

Zero capital gains tax might help....
But yeah, for a measly 10 year visa? Why would anyone with real wealth care to do that? There are plenty of other countries that grant passports, and awesome tax benefits. Thailand isn't nearly as attractive as they seem to think it is. If they could keep a government in place without a coup for more than a few years, it might help.... But they are so far behind the ball, it's going to be a long time until Thailand can possibly catch up to other countries giving wealthy foreigners excellent, REAL benefits for similar or lesser kinds of investments.

 

Edited June 13, 2021 by Sig

[Pattaya Spotter]

PM me when the final law and implementing rules and regulations are published in the Royal Gazette...everything else is just idle speculation and rumor mongering.

[kynikoi]

2 hours ago, Misterwhisper said:

How ironic that the parents, grandparents or great-grandparents of 80%+ of the people who concoct these delusional schemes with their fanciful financial requirements once arrived in this promised land as dirt-poor coolies from China, who (even if they tried) would have found it challenging to scrape together 2 (silver) dollars.

 

Yet they were permitted to work their way out of abject poverty by the then-Thais, whom they by now have largely assimilated and replaced by taking over entire sectors of the economy for themselves. 

 

Yes, a few ethnicities famous for this.

[spidermike007]

4 hours ago, Thomas J said:

I have no doubt of that.  If you look at many countries including the USA "everything is for sale" including national secrets, military technology and jobs. 

No longer to the leaders of countries seem to have the interests of their own country and citizens as their priority.  If enough money is funneled to those in power they would sell out their own family. 

 

True that. And since corporations do not influence the government, but rather own the leaders outright, anything they want seems to be what they get. Here, just as in the US. 

 

 

[cmiuc]

The Government needs to take stock in the world around us.  More and more jobs now do not require degrees, because well, a degree doesn't mean you have skills and employers understand this... also with the pandemic for 15 months now, leaves employment up and down... so putting all these restrictions to catch rich and the high class will not happen.  There are people who may want to do digital work for a short time, not permanently.  It also seems the mentality here is to get all our money lost due to the pandemic all at once... and we all know, "Rome wasn't 're-built' in a day"...  So flex the rules, bend on certain requirements, be hospitable and not demanding, then maybe people may come.   Then too we have this forcing people to take the vaccination, it has not been tested and approved 100%, just coz it seems ok, doesn't mean it will be ok... there are more downs than ups right now about it... I personally won't go and get it because of the all the bad things I've heard, yet we don't know underneath what is factual... I never had covid, and I take precautions, doesn't mean I must be forced to take it, I am sure Phuket will suffer because of the forced rules. Again flexibility while being cautious. 

Edited June 13, 2021 by cmiuc
add

[crazykopite]

If it does happen they might attract a 50 millionaires if they are lucky multi millionaires wouldn’t waste there time in Thailand they go for the Tax Free havens such as Belize ,Virgin Islands and many more these guys are living in dreamland it’s sounds like a desperation idea to generate income into an economy that is about to see real hardship millions unemployed suicide rates at the highest ever recorded in Thailand , shoos boarded up ,hotels struggling and a government that couldn’t organise a PI$$ UP in a brewery 

[Thomas J]

2 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

True that. And since corporations do not influence the government, but rather own the leaders outright, anything they want seems to be what they get. Here, just as in the US.

I know that the corporations have influence but it is also the foreign influence as well.  If you look at China they staunchly defend the Chinese manufacturers and get U.S. leaders to bend to their will.  I suspect they use the same techniques worldwide including Thailand. 

[Fex Bluse]

This has State-backed scam written all over it. 

 

If it's Chinese, they will benefit as they are more clever and ruthless than their Thai cousins.

 

If Farang, there will be many men with stories in the forums in a few years of how their properties were stolen from them.

[crazykopite]

Just now, crazykopite said:

 

If you dislike it that much why are you still reading Thai visa 7 years on !

[crazykopite]

3 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

 

If that’s the case why are you still following Thai visa 7 years on. 

[kennw]

8 hours ago, ezzra said:

Lofty plans, it will be very hard sell to the people of this country, Thais are very proud people and guarded of their home-land to all of a sudden do all that, just see what draconian measures are they putting in place just to come to Phuket, so now all of a sudden allowed to own land, no work permits, what's next? easy Thai citizenship now?... 

Unfortunately these are not plans, they are pie in the sky wishes. Now IF they had said we have conducted several extensive studies that indicate up to one million potential investors and similar wealthy others would be willing to settle in Thailand given the incentives such as .......................................................................................................  Then maybe we would listen with interest. But that is not currently the Thai at the moment.  

[Call]

Digital Nomads, what a joke! 

They don´t spend anything except on Starbucks, were they use the Internet connection.

 

 

[the green light]

Another rehashed article with no logic and gets us nowhere.

 

Thailand is well loved by their people .they allowed farangs to be in Thailand for their  needs, curiosity, and money. Thai adage is simple . "Thais make  the money and the Farangs will spends theirs"

 

1. Adding people to the work force will reduce available jobs for the Thai.

No rich farang will want to work in Thailand for Bht500/day

 

2. Buying land: that will create problem with Thai wives unable to  control their husband money.  Rich farangs have always bought land through their corporation. 

 

Their desperate money scheme on how to "take " from farangs  is burning their brains. They are going  backward.

 

So we are left with only the retiree with limited income.  Thailand is a best 3rd world country with cheap living. It surely attract people who can't make they money stretch in their home country and not the rich one

 

and let us not forget the girls and sex.. that is a motivation to  come and stay in thailand.

 

the government should allow more girls to come from Burma and laos, and Impose a   pseudo tax on a protection card. Open more sex district in Bangkok. 

 

All surely will attract the money flow back to thailand and not working or owing land. 

 

 

 

 

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, Thomas J said:

I know that the corporations have influence but it is also the foreign influence as well.  If you look at China they staunchly defend the Chinese manufacturers and get U.S. leaders to bend to their will.  I suspect they use the same techniques worldwide including Thailand. 

 

Absolutely no question about that. And they are in a mighty position to flex their muscles. And it is likely they do it with as little grace as Trump did. However Trump had less to work with, and as we know he was badly beaten in the first round. It was a bit like Tyson vs. Michael Spinks, or Tyson vs. Ricardo Spain. 

 

As much as it makes me sick to think about it, I cannot envision a scenario where the US will not continue to weaken, and lose influence, and China will not continue to become more dominant, economically. Asia in general will continue to rise, and the West in general will continue to decline in both influence and economic might, for the next several decades. I guess we had our moment in the sun. But China? Yikes. Let us pray for a revolution. And not only there, if you get my meaning. 

[JamieM]

6 hours ago, Strongheart said:

The present Junta couldn't care less about what the average Thai person thinks. This is a plan to sell out Thailand to the Chinese.

Someone who gets it, people here assume this is for our benefit but it's clear what they are doing here. 

 

They make the requirements undesirable to potential western expats while selling Thailand to the Chinese under the guise of luring tourists.

[spidermike007]

5 minutes ago, Call said:

Digital Nomads, what a joke! 

They don´t spend anything except on Starbucks, were they use the Internet connection.

 

 

I think that is a very "baby boomer" perspective. Some have hundreds of thousands of "followers", and make upwards of $10,000 a month, or far more. And it is likely tax free income.

 

The platforms pay them, the sponsors pay them, and for some, they even have paid subscribers. It is a brave new world. 

[TheFishman1]

 Foreigners or second rate citizen there’s a lot of racial problems here not to mention double pricing difficulties about getting money out of the country immigration policies etc. TIT 

[MrJ2U]

Never happen in our lifetime.

[F Groenen]

I hope this working party will review each category seperately.
Currently there are thousand of 'digital nomads' working in Thailand. Many of them (if not all) for companies outside of Thailand. This community of digital nomads is growing rapidly, especially with many companies being more open to virtual work environments.
Finding a legal way to allow these people to live in Thailand and work from here, would benefit all of Thailand.
As it is not possible to obtain a work permit for a company outside of Thailand, these people currently have to 'fly under the radar'.
Many of these people would prefer to be legally here and are willing to pay local income tax, if it were possible in a reasonable manner.
The mention of 'permission to work without a work permit, personal income tax charged on income in Thailand at a flat rate of 17%', might make this possible. Owning property is not their primary concern.
One concern is liability of the foreign company the digital nomad works for. Would that company also be excluded from current employment regulations such as; employ 4 Thai employees for each foreigner and pay corporate tax in Thailand ?

[Dexxter]

If Thais are going to let foreigners own land they might have to change line #2 in their National Anthem.

Thai National Anthem (translated to English).

Thailand embraces in its bosom all people of Thai blood.
Every inch of Thailand belongs to the Thais.
It has long maintained its sovereignty,
Because the Thais have always been united.
The Thai people are peace-loving,
But they are no cowards at war.
They shall allow no one to rob them of their independence,
Nor shall they suffer tyranny.
All Thais are ready to give up every drop of blood
For the nation’s safety, freedom and progress.

[bangon04]

12 hours ago, fusion58 said:

 

…because everybody knows such individuals grow on trees. ????

but there are quite  few in China.... and some more in India.

[whaleboneman]

7 hours ago, petedk said:

They are doing already.

 

I see the same Chinese gang (about 5 or 6 men) buying up houses and other property near here. They also own massage places (prostitutes), restaurants and transport companies. They then operate the whole lot together as a business. Rent out the houses to rich Chinese tourists for a month. The tourist buys girls, who in turn buy brand name handbags, perfume and jewellery, all food for the big parties they have is delivered from the same Chinese restaurant, all the Chinese gamblers guests that come drive Rolls Royces, Porches, Mercedes, BMWs and so on. It's one big operation where the money stays in Chinese hands.

How exactly do you see all this? Are you following the gang and investigating their business dealings? I'm pretty sure your imagination has gone wild.

[Rickster]

Pesky sexpats need not apply....????

[kiwikeith]

6 hours ago, the green light said:

Another rehashed article with no logic and gets us nowhere.

 

Thailand is well loved by their people .they allowed farangs to be in Thailand for their  needs, curiosity, and money. Thai adage is simple . "Thais make  the money and the Farangs will spends theirs"

 

1. Adding people to the work force will reduce available jobs for the Thai.

No rich farang will want to work in Thailand for Bht500/day

 

2. Buying land: that will create problem with Thai wives unable to  control their husband money.  Rich farangs have always bought land through their corporation. 

 

Their desperate money scheme on how to "take " from farangs  is burning their brains. They are going  backward.

 

So we are left with only the retiree with limited income.  Thailand is a best 3rd world country with cheap living. It surely attract people who can't make they money stretch in their home country and not the rich one

 

and let us not forget the girls and sex.. that is a motivation to  come and stay in thailand.

 

the government should allow more girls to come from Burma and laos, and Impose a   pseudo tax on a protection card. Open more sex district in Bangkok. 

 

All surely will attract the money flow back to thailand and not working or owing land. 

 

 

 

 

That would just make it a uncontrollable Brothel, full of junkies and gangs, it is a mess now, that would make it worse. 

The world's in a big serious mess, Covid-19 is giving some environmental relief, but the maddnes, wars and environmental rape from the greedy corporate giants goes on. 

The world is broken, with some parts of it on the boarder line of the point of no return. The ocean is rapidly becoming acidic and is at breaking point, so serious it will cause a mass extinction event if nothing is is done

Attenbourgh, latest doco on Netflix, have a watch.