Thai cabinet open up country for sale to foreigners - but there's a 40 MB catch

[blackcab]

3 minutes ago, overherebc said:

If you withdraw the investment money at any time then I believe the 'land' must be returned to Thai ownership.

 

You have to hold your investment for 3 years. After 3 years you can withdraw the investment money and retain the property.

[BritScot]

5 hours ago, Gknrd said:

Same here. I had been here many years and enjoyed myself. You could see the writing on the wall before they stopped the embassy letter. I started positioning myself a couple of years before you.

 

 I kept a small home in the US,  stocked with car small RV.  I would go back every few years and do upgrades and make sure all was good.  Best thing I ever did. Especially now that the political climate is changing. Also it afforded me to travel closer to home and check out other counties. Now I only come back once in a blue moon.  Life is good.

Very good move. 2006 I saw the change with coup 1 for me. Attitudes changed almost overnight towards foreigners (I worked at an English school where all the native English speaking teachers were replaced by philipean teachers). Imigration rules changed and I left as did nearly all my friends. Then back in 2010 and life was OK built a house then another and this one is 10 times worse even the thai people are suffering. Do they not realise when people now are deciding their big holiday the go on the Internet and search.  Tourists beaten up by gangs of yobs hospitalised or murdered, deaths and government sanctioned 2 to 4 times over pricing depending on how rich your country of origin is. Who in their right mind takes their family there for a holiday or retires there.

[Boyn]

19 hours ago, blackcab said:

 

No, you have to put 40 million baht down before you start. You have to import 40 million baht of foreign currency and exchange it to Thai baht, and then invest that 40 million baht for 3 years in a government approved scheme.

 

Once you have done that, you then need to pay more money to purchase the land. The initial 40 million baht does not buy you even 1 square meter.

Not sure you are getting my sarcastic wit, poor as it may be

[moogradod]

On 10/26/2022 at 1:29 PM, Neeranam said:

No, as a Brit, I would also have to invest $500,000 for a retirement visa in the USA. 

Same in Australia, who are very choosy who they let in, unlike Thailand.

Until there is there is some kind of reciprocal agreement, Thailand will make it hard for foreigners to buy land. 

I know a few Thais who would want to retire to the US and Oz, but they can't. 

 

 

Dont they like Switzerland ? Investment requirement = 0 (Zero). You need a job, though, but after 5 years in the country you will get permanent residence.

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, moogradod said:

Dont they like Switzerland ? Investment requirement = 0 (Zero). You need a job, though, but after 5 years in the country you will get permanent residence.

Thais like Switzerland. 

 

Similar to here, if you are working, you can get PR after 5 years, citizenship if married to a local. 

[Gweiloman]

3 hours ago, moogradod said:

Dont they like Switzerland ? Investment requirement = 0 (Zero). You need a job, though, but after 5 years in the country you will get permanent residence.

Not easy to get a work permit in Switzerland though. I got one because my then employer, Reiseburo Kuoni, was a fairly large organisation.

[Jimbo551]

NOTHING NEW HERE -The Land Code (1954) Governing Foreign Ownership of Land

 

2)    Acquisition of land by virtue of Section 96 bis of the Land Code

 

A foreigner may acquire the land under the following conditions :-

 2.1 Acquisition of land for residential purpose not more than 1 rai

2.2 Acquisition of land by investment of at least 40 million baht in accordance  

       with the conditions concerning the period of investment and the location of  

 land prescribed by the Ministerial Regulation

      2.3 Acquisition must be approved by the Minister of Interior

[alex8912]

On 10/27/2022 at 9:27 PM, cocoonclub said:

So you finally got it that this announcement is nothing to moan and whine about. Congrats. 

 

It felt like I was talking to one given how you were throwing a tantrum about something that’s neither an issue nor unlikely to affect you anyway as I doubt you’d have 1m to invest here. 

 

On 10/27/2022 at 9:27 PM, cocoonclub said:

So you finally got it that this announcement is nothing to moan and whine about. Congrats. 

 

It felt like I was talking to one given how you were throwing a tantrum about something that’s neither an issue nor unlikely to affect you anyway as I doubt you’d have 1m to invest here. 

What a d bag. 

[Puccini]

12 hours ago, Jimbo551 said:

NOTHING NEW HERE -The Land Code (1954) Governing Foreign Ownership of Land

 

2)    Acquisition of land by virtue of Section 96 bis of the Land Code

 

A foreigner may acquire the land under the following conditions :-

 2.1 Acquisition of land for residential purpose not more than 1 rai

2.2 Acquisition of land by investment of at least 40 million baht in accordance  

       with the conditions concerning the period of investment and the location of  

 land prescribed by the Ministerial Regulation

      2.3 Acquisition must be approved by the Minister of Interior

Thank you, Jimbo551, for posting the above.

 

It seems that not the law is being changed, but a new Ministerial Regulation under the authority of the Land Code is being issued.

[NanLaew]

On 10/26/2022 at 4:31 AM, webfact said:

The land must only be used for self-residency and must be located within Bangkok, Pattaya, municipalities, or other suitable areas as stipulated by the urban planning law.

Is there any clarity on the "other suitable areas" beyond Bangkok and Pattaya? At the moment, I have no real interest in a 1 rai plot in either the lower bowel of Thailand or it's colostomy bag.

[NanLaew]

On 10/28/2022 at 7:36 AM, BritScot said:

Very good move. 2006 I saw the change with coup 1 for me. Attitudes changed almost overnight towards foreigners (I worked at an English school where all the native English speaking teachers were replaced by philipean teachers). Imigration rules changed and I left as did nearly all my friends. Then back in 2010 and life was OK built a house then another and this one is 10 times worse even the thai people are suffering. Do they not realise when people now are deciding their big holiday the go on the Internet and search.  Tourists beaten up by gangs of yobs hospitalised or murdered, deaths and government sanctioned 2 to 4 times over pricing depending on how rich your country of origin is. Who in their right mind takes their family there for a holiday or retires there.

Me.

 

It's not perfect, never has been but after visiting my sister in a care home in the UK, I think for the moment, my bread is buttered on the right side, right here.

 

What's a "philipean"?

[userabcd]

6 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Me.

 

It's not perfect, never has been but after visiting my sister in a care home in the UK, I think for the moment, my bread is buttered on the right side, right here.

 

What's a "philipean"?

"What's a "philipean"?"

 

Could be a philistine of European origin?

[userabcd]

There is a potential tap of 62 million millionaire sources from these top 40 countries in the world and a significant number of Chinese investors are the top national who buy property in Thailand.

 

Extract from an article on a news website last year:

 

"Nearly 730,000 condominiums throughout Thailand are owned by Chinese nationals, just shy of 52% of all foreign-owned condos in Thailand. China topped the list by a huge margin with nearly 10 times more condos being owned by people from the nation than any other country. Figures like this help explain Thailand’s China-centric tourism schemes, often heavily focused on bringing in the Chinese new middle class and their tourism and investment money."

 

Numbers of US dollar millionaires by country
per Credit Suisse (2022)^[3][2]

Country or subnational area	Number of millionaires	Share of global millionaires (%)	Percentage of millionaires (% of adult population)
United States *	24,480,110	39.1	9.7
China *	6,190,394	9.4	0.6
Japan *	3,365,616	6.5	3.2
United Kingdom *	2,849,344	5.3	5.4
France	2,796,334	4.4	5.6
Germany *	2,638,056	4.4	3.9
Australia *	2,176,868	3.2	11.2
Canada *	1,681,969	3.0	7.6
Italy *	1,412,789	2.6	2.8
South Korea *	1,289,917	2.0	3.0
Switzerland *	1,151,960	1.9	15.5
Netherlands *	1,148,740	1.9	8.5
Taiwan *	869,210	1.8	4.4
India *	769,416	1.2	0.1
Hong Kong *	631,860	1.1	10.0
Sweden *	610,214	1.0	7.3
Belgium *	588,968	0.9	6.5
Denmark *	384,828	0.9	8.5
Russia *	352,801	0.6	0.3
New Zealand *	347,478	0.5	9.6
Mexico *	318,298	0.5	0.4
Saudi Arabia *	313,298	0.5	1.3
Singapore *	298,650	0.4	6.1
Austria *	271,014	0.4	3.7
Brazil *	265,782	0.4	0.1
Norway	236,023	0.3	5.6
Israel *	203,623	0.3	3.6
Indonesia *	191,103	0.3	0.1
United Arab Emirates *	176,780	0.3	2.1
Ireland *	175,791	0.3	4.8
Portugal *	159,006	0.3	1.7
Iran *	146,638	0.2	0.3
Finland *	100,786	0.2	2.3
Kuwait *	100,746	0.2	3.2
Poland *	100,129	0.2	0.3
Egypt	87,206	0.1	0.1
South Africa *	86,175	0.1	0.2
Thailand *	82,466	0.1	0.2
Luxembourg *	81,915	0.1	16.3
Greece *	81,383	0.1	1.0

[ThailandRyan]

So it now appears the 1 Rai for 40 Mthb is only available for those who now obtain an LTR visa. So maybe I need to look into it...or then maybe not as I already own a home and Condo here.

Edited October 30, 2022 by ThailandRyan

[berrec]

"The laws will have a period of five years before being subject to review."

 

The old revolving door of Thailand government policies. Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes, No

 

Sorry Farangs, we are going to repeal that law, and you can't own land as a foreigner in Thailand.

 

You have to surrender the CHANOTE back to the Thai government.

 

<deleted>, you mean you have screwed the old Farang again!

 

 

[BritScot]

On 10/29/2022 at 9:39 PM, NanLaew said:

Me.

 

It's not perfect, never has been but after visiting my sister in a care home in the UK, I think for the moment, my bread is buttered on the right side, right here.

 

What's a "philipean"?

Seeing out the end of your day's in Thailand and you have the money to ride out any storms with good family around you is a good idea. Not all care homes in the uk are bad. My wife worked at one and it took very good care of of the resident's.  Its families in the uk that don't have the same feelings for their old.