In General, a foreigner doesn’t allow to obtain land in Thailand. However, in the case of an investor who invests 40 million Thai baht in minimum, Sections 96 bis and 96 ter of the Land Code of Thailand allow such an investor to have the ownership of land for the resident. This article summarizes the rules for obtaining land by a foreign investor as follows.

RELEVANT LAWS AND REGULATIONS

  1. Section 96 bis and 96 ter of the Land Code.
  2. Ministerial Regulations prescribing criteria, methods, and conditions for the acquisition of land to be used as residences of foreigners B.E. 2545 (2002).
  3. Regulations of the Department of Lands on the acquisition of land to be used as a residence for foreigners B.E. 2545 (2002).
  4. Order of the Ministry of Interior No. 153/2546; dated April 21, 2003; Subject; the authorization of The Minister of the Interior granted to the director general of Land and the governor to act on behalf of the Minister of the Interior.
  5. Letter of the Department of Lands No. MorTor0515/Wor10817; dated 30 April 2003; Subject; the acquisition of land to be used as a residence for aliens According to Section 96 bis of the Land Code.

1. INVESTED 40 MILLION THB

The applicant must be a foreigner who has invested at least forty million baht in a business or undertaking any of the following types.

1.1 Buy the following bonds.

– Thai government bonds.
– Bank of Thailand bonds.
– State Enterprise Bonds or bonds guaranteed by the Ministry of Finance for principal or interest.

1.2 Invest in a property mutual fund, a property mutual fund to solve problems in the system of financial institutions, or mutual funds for resolving problems in the financial institution system which has been established under the law on Securities and Exchange.

1.3 Invest in the stock capital of a juristic person who has been promoted under the investment promotion law.

1.4 Invest in a business that the Board of Investment has announced as an eligible business Investment promotion in accordance with the investment promotion law.

2. INVESTMENT OF AT LEAST 5 YEARS

Every year, the applicant must prove that he/she has been investing 40 million Thai baht for 5 years. If the investment is withdrawn before maturity, the investor must notify such withdrawal to the competent officials.

3. LAND AREA AND ZONING

The amount of land permissible for residential use, not exceeding 1 rai. The land must be in Bangkok. Pattaya, or in a municipality or legal residential area on town planning and outside the safe zone in military service.

Municipalities refer to urban areas. and outside municipalities means rural areas, In 2023, there are 2,472 municipalities in Thailand.

“Safe Zone” in military service means the surrounding area of military land where the military is necessary for the safety of the military service.

In the case where the money has been invested in forty million baht but the investor bought the land for less than 1 rai, and later wanted to buy more land within the investment holding period, can use evidence of previous investment to support the request.

4. APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION

An investor must apply for land acquisition with the competent officer under section 96 bis of the Land Code. In this case, the application must be approved by the Minister of Interior, which the Minister authorizes the Director-General of the Department of Lands and the Provincial Governor to be Representatives as follow;

If the land is in Bangkok, the Director-General of the Land Department shall act on his behalf. If the land is in another province, the Provincial Governor shall act on his behalf.

In the event that it should not be allowed, it shall submit it to the Minister of Interior for consideration and order.

5. FEE

In addition to fees, taxes, and duties stamp the applicant must pay the application fee as follow;

  • Application fee of 500 THB per person
  • Permission fee 100 THB per rai, minimum 100 THB
  • Inheritance transfer registration fee only between ascendants and descendants. or between spouses According to the appraisal price of 0.5 percent

CONCLUSION

Foreigners who invest 50 million Thai baht at minimum may apply for ownership of 1 Rai of land for a resident in the allowed zone for residential which covers every province in Thailand.