Buying a Condo in Thailand as a Foreigner: What to Do in Order

You can buy a condo in Thailand as a foreigner if the money comes in from abroad, so send it first and keep the bank's evidence. You show that evidence at the Land Office when the unit is transferred. Expect to pay a 2% transfer fee, while the seller pays 3.3% specific business tax.

The order matters: money in from abroad first, bank evidence second, transfer at the Land Office third. Expect a 2% registration fee and, if the seller doesn’t pay specific business tax, a little stamp duty.

The purchase in order

1. Send the money in. Bring foreign currency into Thailand, or withdraw it from a baht account of a person resident abroad or from a foreign-currency deposit account. Tell your bank the details of the transaction.
2. Keep the bank’s evidence. After the transaction the bank issues you evidence of it. At USD 200,000 or more the bank asks for source-of-funds documents first.
3. Get the no-debt certificate. The officer registers the transfer only when the unit is free of debts, and the condominium’s manager must issue the certificate to the owner.
4. Transfer at the Land Office. The seller tells the official the foreign owners and their share of the building, and you show the evidence of the foreign currency.
5. Pay the fees and taxes in the table below.

Why the money comes first

The evidence you show must be for an amount not less than the price of the unit, so send the full price from abroad and not less.

หรือถอนเงินจากบัญชีเงินฝากเงินตราต่างประเทศในจํานวนไม่น้อยกว่าค่าห้องชุดที่จะซื้อ

…or withdrawal from a foreign-currency deposit account, in an amount not less than the price of the unit to be bought.

Condominium Act B.E. 2522, section 19 ter (5)

Below USD 200,000 you state the purpose and the bank need not ask for documents. At USD 200,000 or more it asks where the money came from, and for property investment it does so transaction by transaction since 29 December 2025, so have those papers ready before you transfer. For the sending side, see how to send money to Thailand and opening a Thai bank account.

At the Land Office

Go to the land office for the area where the building stands. It is open Monday to Friday, except official holidays. On your first visit, start with the public-relations officer, who checks your documents and gives you a queue ticket.

When the papers are correct and the foreign share of the building is within the quota, the official registers the transfer. Foreigners together may hold no more than 49% of a building; the foreign condo quota page has the detail.

Fees and taxes

A sale registered more than five years after the seller acquired the property is outside specific business tax, so ask the seller when they bought.

If you can’t buy: a lease

The Land Office does not register a lease longer than 30 years. A lease of more than three years must be in writing and registered, with a registration fee of 1%.

Before you pay a deposit

• Ask the seller for the foreign share already registered in the building.
• Ask for the no-debt certificate from the condominium manager, and allow up to 15 days for it.
• Ask to see the unit’s title deed (หนังสือกรรมสิทธิ์ห้องชุด), which is what gets registered at transfer.
• Agree in writing who pays the 2% registration fee.
• If you will rent the unit out or live there long term, read renting in Thailand and the moving to Thailand checklist.

More guides for settling in are on the living hub.

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Not confirmed: Who bears the 2% transfer fee: the fee schedule gives a rate and no payer, so agree it in writing before a deposit. Which bank paper a Land Office accepts as proof: the Act names no form.

General information checked against the sources listed above. Prices, opening hours and other details change; confirm them with the provider before you act. See how guides are checked.

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