Land: why foreigners cannot own it, the narrow exceptions, and the nominee trap

The baseline rule is Land Code B.E. 2497 (1954) section 86: a foreigner may acquire land only under a treaty giving that right and with the Minister of Interior's permission. No such treaty is in force today, so the section is a dead letter in practice. The real statutory exceptions are narrow. Section 96 bis (added 1999) lets a foreigner who invests at least 40 million baht in prescribed assets, maintained for at least three years, seek ministerial permission for up to 1 rai (1,600 sq m) of residential land in Bangkok, Pattaya, a municipality or a zoned residential area — and the land must actually be used as a residence within two years or the Director-General can order it sold. Section 93 allows a foreigner to inherit land as a statutory heir with permission, capped by the section 87 quotas (for example 1 rai per family for residence). Companies that are majority foreign-owned are treated as foreigners under section 97.

The folklore fix: putting land in a Thai company stuffed with Thai shareholders who hold shares for you, or in a Thai friend's or partner's name, is not a grey area. Acquiring land as an agent or nominee of a foreigner is a crime under section 113 (fine up to 20,000 baht, imprisonment up to two years, or both), the foreigner faces penalties under sections 111–112, and section 94 forces disposal of the land within 180 days to one year, failing which the Director-General sells it. The Department of Lands publishes explicit anti-nominee screening measures and land officers question suspicious structures at registration.