Legal Information

Acquiring a condominium is gaining in popularity amongst foreigners. A condominium is a building that can have its separate portions sold  to individuals or groups for personal property ownership.

Foreign purchasers are allowed under Thai law to purchase and own condominiums in Thailand.

  
There are five classes of criteria which alternative qualify foreigners as owners of condominium:

  • Holding a residency permit under Thai Immigration law, or

  • Permitted to stay in Thailand under the Investment Promotion law (BIO), or

  • A Thai registered entity with at least 51% of share held by Thai shareholder, or

  • Foreign juristic entity in receipt of a promotion certificate under the Investment Promotion law (BOI), or

  • A foreigner or foreign entity remitting a foreign currency into Thailand, or withdrawing money from Thai Baht account of the persons residing abroad, or withdrawing from foreign currency account.

Fortunately the last criteria applies to most foreign condominium purchasers and therefore it is the most typical way for foreigners to buy a condominium in Thailand.

According to the condominium act, foreigners or a foreign legal entity normally can acquire up to, but not exceeding 49% of a condominium block (direct freehold).

If a foreigner wants to register the purchase at the Land Office he has to submit a letter of guarantee from the condominium juristic person which proofs the proportion of foreign ownership among other documents. If the quota of 49% is already used, he can set a Thai company to purchase a condominium without restrictions. Another option is leasing. Condo-minimum leases, like land leased are generally prepaid for 30 years with option s of renewing for two additional 30 year periods. In effect, the pre-paid rent is the same as a freehold or purchase price.

A further restriction according to the Condominium Act is that a foreigner must bring currency into Thailand to finance the purchase of the condominium. However, expatriates which are working in Thailand can use funds earned in Thailand on condition that their funds are paid into a non-resident account.

Further, the purchaser must obtain a Foreign Exchange Transaction form (FET) from the bank as proof of the remittance. This form will be issued by the receiving bank and is filed at the Land Department when the foreign purchaser registers the purchase. The amount of money fixed in the FET form must cover the whole of the condominium price. Should the remittance be less than $20,000 USD, the bank will issue a "credit advice" in English which is not acceptable by the Land Office as proof of remittance for the condominium purchase. In case of this, the purchaser has to ask the bank to issue a "letter of guarantee" as evidence of remittance.

 

  
         

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