ข้ามไปยังเนื้อหาหลัก

Foreign buyers and the condominium foreign quota: how many days it takes

Foreign nationals cannot generally own land in Thailand, but they can own a condominium unit within the building's 49% foreign quota, and they can hold registrable rights such as a lease, usufruct or superficies. Every registrable right is created at the Land Office, and an agreement kept in a drawer is not the same as a registered right.

How this case runs end to end

Obtain a current title search and check encumbrances, verify the seller's authority and marital status, confirm quota or foreign-exchange evidence where relevant, agree the contract and deposit terms, then register the transfer or the right at the Land Office and pay the transfer taxes and fees.

Stage-by-stage timeline

StageWorkOwnerWindow
ScopingReview the facts, documents and the deadline that governs the matterIVCOn enquiry
Document collectionCollect identity, corporate, title or court documents and prior correspondenceClient2–5 working days
DraftingDraft or review the agreement, application, petition or filingIVCDepends on complexity
Client reviewConfirm commercial terms, signatories and authority before executionClient and IVC1–3 working days
Execution and filingSign, register or file with the relevant authority and retain the receiptIVCBy the applicable deadline
Follow-upRespond to official queries and archive the executed fileIVCAs required

What to prepare

  • Passports or Thai ID cards of every party, plus company affidavits where a company is involved
  • The underlying documents: draft contract, title deed, register extract or court papers
  • The deadline or hearing date that governs the matter
  • Evidence of authority to sign: board resolution, power of attorney or shareholder approval
  • Certified translations where a document is not in Thai and will be filed with a Thai authority
  • Correspondence already exchanged with the counterparty or the authority
  • A single contact person who can confirm instructions and receive filings

What "Foreign buyers and the condominium foreign quota: how many days it takes" actually involves

This question sits within land, condominium and lease transactions. The authority or standard that governs it directly is the Land Department, the Land Code and the Condominium Act, and every case is assessed against the rules in force on the day of submission. IVC prepares the file, checks internal consistency and coordinates with the receiving office; we are not a government body and we never guarantee how an authority will decide.

A married Thai seller normally needs spousal consent for a matrimonial-property disposal, and the consent is checked at the counter.

A lease of over three years takes effect for the excess only if it is registered against the title.

A usufruct is personal and ends on the death of the holder; it is not inheritable.

Rules and requirements to settle before you start

A foreign buyer of a condominium unit must show that the purchase funds were remitted from abroad in foreign currency in the prescribed form.

The title search reveals mortgages, servitudes and pending litigation that never appear in the sale brochure.

BOI promotion is granted per project and per activity, and the conditions attached to it are audited afterwards rather than assumed.

Changes to directors, shareholding, capital or objectives must be registered within the statutory period, and a late filing is visible on the public record.

The mistakes that cost the most time

The costliest pattern in legal matters is signing first and asking afterwards. A contract, a deed or a resolution creates obligations from the moment of signature, and undoing one usually costs more than the review that would have prevented it — particularly where a registration has already been made against a title or the public record.

The second is treating deadlines as administrative rather than substantive. Prescription periods, appeal windows, licence renewals and registration periods are hard cut-offs; once one passes, the strength of the underlying position becomes irrelevant and the remaining options are far narrower and far more expensive.

Why files are delayed or returned

  • The foreign quota in the building is already full
  • Foreign-currency remittance evidence is missing or in the wrong name
  • A long lease was signed but never registered
  • Spousal consent for the disposal was not obtained
  • A capital increase is paid in without the required evidence of remittance
  • Foreign shareholding crosses a threshold without the corresponding licence

Key terms in land, condominium and lease transactions

Legal Execution Department
The agency that seizes and sells assets to enforce a civil judgment.
Prescription period
The statutory time limit within which a claim must be filed.
Record of processing
The PDPA documentation of what personal data an organisation processes and on what lawful basis.
Severance pay
Statutory compensation on termination, calculated by bands of continuous service.
Legitimation
The process by which a father acquires legal status and parental power over a child born outside marriage.
Usufruct
A registered personal right to use and take the fruits of land owned by another, ending on the holder's death.
BOI promotion
A project-based incentive granted by the Board of Investment, with conditions audited afterwards.

Official sources

Scope and limitations

IVC is a private legal, translation and document services firm. This page is general information about Thai practice, not advice on your specific matter, and it is not issued by any authority. Statutes, thresholds and official practice change, so confirm the current position before you act or sign. Fees are not published here; our staff quote after the matter is scoped by phone, LINE or email.

Information as of August 2026

Need an answer for your own case? Talk to our staff by phone, LINE or email.