Thailand’s Condominium Act lets a foreigner own a condominium unit outright, in their own name. Two conditions apply. One is a 49% cap on foreign ownership in each building. The other is settled before you reach the Land Office, because it depends on how the money was sent.
This page draws on the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 as amended, read in the Department of Lands’ Thai consolidated text and its English translation of the 1999 amendment; the Department of Lands’ English page on the rule; the Government Public Relations Department’s guide to foreign transfers for buying assets; the Bank of Thailand’s notices; and the Revenue Department’s English pages on specific business tax and stamp duty. All were read on 9 October 2026. The Department of Lands’ pages now sit behind a security check, so they were read in copies archived in 2018 and June 2022.
Who may own a unit
Section 19 of the Act lists five groups of foreigners who may hold ownership of a condominium unit:
- foreigners granted residence in Thailand under the immigration law;
- foreigners admitted under the investment promotion law;
- juristic persons under sections 97 and 98 of the Land Code that are registered under Thai law;
- foreign juristic persons holding an investment promotion certificate;
- foreigners, or juristic persons treated as foreign, who bring foreign currency into Thailand, or who withdraw the money from a Non-Resident Baht Account or a foreign currency deposit account.
Residence in the first group is a legal status, not a visa stay. The Government Public Relations Department’s guide says a foreigner with permanent residence may buy in baht without the transfer proof. A retiree on a retirement visa or an annual extension falls in the fifth group, which turns on where the money came from, not on your visa.
Section 19 tri sets the proof. A buyer in that group must show the Land Office evidence of bringing foreign currency into Thailand, or of the withdrawal from one of those two accounts, in an amount not less than the price of the unit. The Department of Lands’ English page quotes the Act: the buyer “shall present evidence of bringing foreign currency into the Kingdom”.
The 49% quota
Section 19 bis caps foreign ownership in each building. Units owned by foreigners and foreign juristic persons under Section 19 must not exceed 49% of the total floor area of all units in the condominium, measured as at the building’s registration as a condominium.
The quota counts floor area, not the number of units. Under Section 19 tri the seller tells the Land Office who the existing foreign owners are and what share of the floor area they hold. Under Section 19 quater the Land Office registers the transfer only if the total stays within the limit.
The check comes at registration, after you have agreed a price and sent the money. Ask whether foreign quota remains, and how much, before any deposit.
The 1999 amendment briefly allowed a higher foreign share in buildings on plots of no more than five rai in Bangkok and other designated municipal areas. That paragraph lapsed five years after the amendment came into force, and the amending Act lets units bought under it be kept. For a purchase today, the figure is 49%.
When a foreign owner must sell
Section 19 quinque lists the cases in which a foreign owner has to dispose of a unit. Two matter to a retiree:
- Inheritance over the quota. A foreigner who inherits a unit, by law or by will, must sell it if adding it would take the building’s foreign share above 49%. Only the excess has to go.
- Deportation. A foreigner in the fifth group who is ordered deported and not granted relief must sell every unit they own.
In each case the owner must notify the Land Office in writing within 60 days and dispose of the unit within one year. Otherwise the Director-General of the Department of Lands may sell it.
Two ways to bring the money in
The Department of Lands’ page, in its June 2022 copy, gives two routes.
By bank transfer. The money goes into the developer’s bank account with the purpose stated as the purchase of a condominium unit. The bank issues the document, and you present it at the Land Office when the unit is transferred.
In cash. On arrival at Suvarnabhumi, you go straight to Thai Customs and declare the currency, the amount and the purpose. Customs issues a certificate of bringing in foreign currency, which you present at the Land Office.
The Government Public Relations Department’s guide adds what a sender needs. The transfer must arrive in foreign currency. On the sending bank’s transfer form, write the purpose in English as “For Purchasing Condominium”, with the name of the condominium and the unit number under the buyer’s full name.
FET, Tor Tor 3, credit advice: what to ask for
The Government Public Relations Department’s guide says that for a remittance of USD 50,000 or the equivalent, the bank issues a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form. Below that amount you obtain a certificate from the bank itself. It is the only official page we found that states the USD 50,000 figure most guides repeat.
The Bank of Thailand’s pages tell a later story. An explainer by its foreign exchange policy department, from November 2017, describes the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form, the “FX Form”, being withdrawn in a reform of exchange control. Banks instead issue a credit or debit advice carrying the details the Bank of Thailand requires. It was written about business customers and does not mention property. We found no current Bank of Thailand page that sets a USD 50,000 threshold for this document.
The Land Office’s test is unchanged: evidence that foreign currency was brought in, for not less than the price. So do not ask for a form by name. Ask the receiving bank for written proof that the transfer arrived from abroad in foreign currency, showing your name, the amount, and the purpose of buying the named unit.
Before the money is sent, ask whether that bank and branch issues the proof, what it charges, and whether several smaller transfers can be covered. If you pay a developer directly, the developer’s bank holds the record.
Large transfers since December 2025
On 29 December 2025 the Bank of Thailand tightened its checks on money coming in. Where a Thai resident sells USD 200,000 or more, or the equivalent, of foreign currency for baht, commercial banks must check supporting documents on every transaction, without exception, when the source of the money is among other things the sale of real estate to foreigners.
The rule falls on the resident side, which for a new unit is the developer. For a purchase of that size, expect the paperwork to be examined and have the sale and purchase agreement ready.
Money transfer services
Some transfer services pay into Thai accounts through local banking partners. Wise says in its own Help Centre that it is not authorised by the Bank of Thailand to issue a confirmation of an international transfer. Its THB transfers are sent locally, so they do not register as foreign transactions, and the recipient must ask the receiving Thai bank for a Confirmation Letter of International Fund Transfer instead. Its page lists the documents Bangkok Bank asks for, including the sale and purchase agreement when the money is for a condominium.
The same page says some transfers go through a partner that cannot provide that letter, and that if you definitely need one, it is best to send a Swift transfer with your own bank. A condominium purchase needs one. Whatever the route, get the receiving bank’s confirmation that it will issue the proof before the purchase money moves.
Fees and taxes at the Land Office
Three charges arise when a unit is transferred. The sale contract sets who pays which, since the law names only who is liable for the taxes.
The transfer fee. The fee schedule attached to the Condominium Act sets the fee for registering rights and juristic acts at 2% of the capital value.
The fee cut you may have read about is not for foreign buyers. The Ministry of Finance’s release of 8 April 2025 set the transfer fee at 0.01% for homes, including condominium units, priced at no more than 7 million baht, until 30 June 2026. It named the beneficiary as a buyer who is an individual of Thai nationality. We did not find the text of any later extension on an official page. A foreign buyer should plan on 2%.
Specific business tax, or stamp duty. Under Royal Decree No. 342, specific business tax applies to sales of condominium units by developers registered under the condominium law, and to any other sale of property within five years of the seller acquiring it. Exceptions include inherited property and a seller’s home where their name has been on the house registration for at least a year. The Revenue Code sets the rate at 3%, and the Revenue Department adds that a local tax of 10% is charged on top, which makes 3.3% of the price.
Where specific business tax does not apply, stamp duty does. The Revenue Department’s schedule charges 1 baht for every 200 baht, which is 0.5%, on the receipt for a registered transfer of immovable property. It exempts the receipt when the seller is liable to specific business tax instead.
| On a 4,000,000 baht unit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Transfer fee, 2% | 80,000 baht |
| Specific business tax and local tax, 3.3%, if it applies | 132,000 baht |
| Stamp duty, 0.5%, if specific business tax does not | 20,000 baht |
A new unit from a developer, or a resale by an owner who bought within five years, carries 3.3%. A resale by a private owner after five years carries 0.5%. Income tax withheld from the seller is a further charge that this page does not calculate.
Where this sits in a retirement plan
Buying is optional on every Thai retirement route. Malaysia differs: MM2H makes it compulsory and Penang adds its own price floor. The exception in Thailand is the LTR visa’s investment option, where Thai property is one of the three listed ways to hold the US$250,000, covered in the Wealthy Pensioner category.
The purchase money is also a remittance. If any of it is foreign income earned while you were a Thai tax resident, the Revenue Department’s rule on income brought into Thailand can reach it, so keep the record of where each transfer came from. Before any purchase, a month in an ordinary rented flat in the neighbourhood you would live in answers questions none of these pages can.
Gaps in the official pages
The sources do not cover owning land, which falls under the Land Code, or leasehold as an alternative. They do not say how the Land Office values a unit for the 2% fee, and they do not give the seller’s withheld income tax. The Department of Lands’ live text may have moved on since June 2022.
This page is not legal advice. A Thai lawyer acting for you, not for the developer, should check the foreign quota, the title and the bank’s proof before the transfer is registered.