01Decision tool

Can foreigners own property in Thailand? Ownership checker

What can I own, and how?

Answer four questions and see the lawful ownership structure for the property you have in mind: freehold condominium, registered lease, or a route to avoid.

About 1 minute

What are you buying?

Branded residences are sold both as condominium units and as villas. The title decides what you can own.

What is it for?

How will you hold it?

Whose name the title or the lease would be registered in.

How long do you expect to hold?

A lease can be registered for up to 30 years, so the length of your hold matters.

Likely structure

Your answers decide what appears here.

Answer any of the four questions, in any order. This sheet then sets out the ownership structure that usually fits, what it means in practice, the points to take care over and the guides to read next.

What you will see

What a foreign buyer can and cannot own
How the structure changes with a spouse or a company
What your purpose and holding period add

General guidance, not legal advice. Take independent legal advice before you commit.

The method

How the ownership navigator works

Foreigners may own condominium units freehold, up to 49% of the saleable floor area of a building.
Foreigners cannot own land in their own name. The lawful route to a villa is a registered lease of up to 30 years, with the building owned separately.
Holding land through a Thai company with nominee shareholders is illegal.
This tool gives general guidance, not legal advice. Take independent legal advice before you commit.

Rates reviewed 12 November 2026. General guidance, not legal or tax advice. Take independent legal advice before you commit to a purchase.

Embed this tool on your site

Free to use with the credit line intact. Copy the code below.

<iframe src="https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/embed/ownership-navigator" title="Ownership navigator" width="100%" height="760" style="border:0" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p>Tool by <a href="https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/tools/ownership-navigator">Thailand Property Investor</a></p>

Questions

Ownership navigator: questions it answers

Can a foreigner own property in Thailand?

Yes, within limits. A foreigner can own a condominium unit outright, provided foreign ownership in the building stays within 49% of the saleable area and the funds come from abroad. A foreigner cannot own land, but can lease it for up to 30 years and own the building on it.

Can a foreigner own a villa in Thailand?

Not the land beneath it. The usual lawful structure is a registered 30-year lease of the land with the villa itself owned by the buyer, sometimes secured by a superficies.

Can I buy land through a Thai company?

Not with nominee shareholders: that is illegal and enforcement has tightened. A genuine operating company with real Thai shareholders is a different matter and needs specialist legal advice.

Read further

The guides behind the numbers

All guides

Guide