Can a foreigner own land in Thailand?

Foreigners have never been allowed to own land in Thailand (with a few exceptions)

In fact the rules were so prohibitive that not long ago a Thai who married a foreigner lost his/her rights to own property in Thailand.

Of course if you visit Thailand today you’ll notice that lots of foreigners own villas and houses in Thailand. What gives?

Until the new government took over in the recent coup, foreigners could take possession of houses and the land under them using a “shell company”. Though not technically legal, the government, anxious to encourage investment in Thailand ,turned a blind eye to this loophole.

Then new government marched in and decided to put a stop to the practice.
They are now in the process of revising the old Foreign Business Act.
What the new act will look like is anyone’s guess
Hence There is currently a lot of confusion and uncertainty in the Thai property market

For now Thai lawyers are recommending that their foreign clients steer clear of trying to form “companies” to own land.

Buying a house and Leasing land under it for 30 years is perfectly legal in Thailand
(although that begs the question..”what happens when the lease expires?” )
Most lawyers are recommending if you want to buy a house in Thailand you go this route for now….. or wait until the government finally revises the Foreign Business Act.
I’ll keep an eye on this and let you know if I hear of any changes.

Another route to buying a house in Thailand is to be married to a Thai or to have someone you really trust, like an adult Thai son or daughter buy the property in their name. I don’t have to elaborate on the pitfalls you could run into using this route. But if you’ve been married to a Thai woman for 30 years, like I have, you can probably sleep a little easier than they guy who meets a Thai bar girl and brilliantly decides to get married and buy a house in her name. Thailand is full of sad stories of “farangs” who made that mistake.

Hi, any more news on any changes to the foreign ownership laws?

Its not changed much, the new government that has just come on board has been sworn in, but there is still quite a bit of fighting, as it is similar to the Thaksin government, very pro-foreign investment, but there are many people who are still fighting such pro-foreign investment policies in Thailand.

Which is making it very difficult for investors and foreigners who are trying to do business there. The situation is very similar in Vietnam, where the property market is booming over there. And they have just relaxed rules slightly, allowing foreigners to buy property with a 50 year lease (which is slightly better than in Thailand).

I have a good friend (we're Singaporean), who was lucky enough to marry a Vietnamese, and is now a property developer in Vietnam, mainly HCMC based, this friend of mine can buy land and build shopping malls.

If you like that part of the world, you might want to consider Vietnam as well. The standard of living in Vietnam is soaring by leaps and bounds, and the Junta government doesn't seem to be as hard-nosed as it used to be.

Hi Khoo can you send me email at pectin232 at yahoo I am interested to ask you more. I am also from Singapore but living in the states and interested in some foreign investments....