Question: How many Thai Shareholders do I need to for a Thai Limited Company?

Answer: This depends on the number of foreign shareholders. The minimum requirement is a total of 7 shareholders, 1 foreign and 6 Thai, 2 foreign and 5 Thai or 3 foreign and 4 Thai.

Question: What is the maximum number of shares I can hold if I register a Thai Limited Company?

Answer: All foreigners can hold a maximum of 49 % shares in a Thai Limited Company but if the Thai company would like to purchase land, the foreigners can hold only 39 % shares together.

Question: How can a foreigner hawing control over the company with only 39 % shares?

Answer: With some changes to the Articles of Association the foreigner can be the only director of the company and the only officer of the company who can commit or bind the company in any contractual dealings (he alone can purchase or sell property and act for his company), effectively giving the minority shareholders control over the company.

Question: Can I as a foreigner purchase land in Thailand in my own name?

Answer: A foreigner cannot own land on his own name.
He can purchase the land or land and house through his Thai Limited Company. He also can lease the land or land and house for 30 years and the Leasehold will be registered at the Land Department for this period of time.

Question: My wife is a Thai National, can she own land?

Answer: Yes, since 1999! Prior to 1998, any Thai woman who married a foreigner would lose her right to purchase land in Thailand. She could, however, still retain land that she owned prior to marrying the foreigner. However, the recent Ministerial regulation from 1999 now allows Thai national's married to foreigners the right to purchase land, but the Thai spouse must prove that the money used in the purchase of freehold land is legally solely theirs with no foreign claim to it. This is usually achieved by the foreign spouse signing a declaration stating that the funds used for the purchase of property belonged to the Thai spouse prior to the marriage and are beyond his claim.

Question: If I purchase a restaurant or a bar, but do not work in that business, do I need a work permit?

Answer: Thai law stipulates that as a foreigner, if you are working and do not receive an income you still need a work permit. Even if you purchase a business and do not physically work, buy you receive an income from that business, you need a work permit.

Question: What are the advantages of having a work permit?

Answer: Having a work permit means you are legally
allowed to work and receive an income in Thailand. You also can obtain a one year business visa or a one year multiple entry visa. There are advantages if you would like to buy a car or a telephone in your own name.

Question: How is land measured in Thailand?

Answer: In Thailand we are using other measurements;
1 Talang Wah is 4 square meters or 42.7 square feet, 1 Ngan is 100 Talang Wah or 400 square meters or 4,277 square fee and 1 Rai or 4 Ngan or 400 Talang Wah is 1,600 square meters and 17,108 square feet.

Question: Can I own 100 % freehold a Condominium in Thailand?

Answer: Buying a Condominium in Thailand is perhaps the simplest and easiest option available to foreigners. The only restriction on purchasing a Condominium in Thailand are that the percentage of units sold to foreigners cannot exceed 49% of the total number of units in the complex and that the funds used to buy the condominium have been remitted from abroad and recorded as such by a Thai Bank on a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form. The owner of each Condominium unit is issued with a certificate of 100% unit ownership.

Question: What is a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form?

Answer: This is an official bank document issued by the receiving bank upon the receipt of foreign currency into your bank account in Thailand. You must request a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form from your bank when you are remitting funds ot Thailand for the purpose of purchasing a Condominium in Thailand, and the Foreign Exchange Transaction Form must specify that the remittance is solely for the purpose of purchasing a property in Thailand.

Question: What is a Chanot?

Answer: A Chanot or Land Title Deed is the purest form of evidence that an individual owns a piece of land. Title Deeds are given only for areas of Thailand, which are surveyed.

Question: Can I get a Mortgage Loan?

Answer: Foreigners generally cannot mortgage properties in Thailand, most of the financial institutions in Thailand provide loans for real estate purchasing to Thais and Thai Companies.

Question: What Taxes, Fees and Costs are applicable to purchasing a property in Thailand?

Answer: On all purchase - sale of property in Thailand there is a Stamp Duty of 0.5%, a Transfer Fee of 0.01%, a Business Tax of 0.11% levied against an owner who has been in registered possession of the property less than 5 years, and an Income Tax. There is no Capital Gains Tax in Thailand, unlike many countries, and Income Tax (between 1.0% and 3.0%) on property is the comparable replacement. There are no set rules on who pays the Income Tax, and it is just another part of the bargaining process, as with all the other costs of the transfer of ownership.

Question: What is most important if I want to buy property?

Answer: Whether you are considering to purchase, rent or lease property in Thailand, there are several infrastructure and other considerations which must be taken into account:

Location: Roads, proximity and access to business, hospital, schools and shops.
Telephone: Access to direct lines and IDD facilities
Water: Connection to main water system and maybe supplementary water storage facilities.
Electricity: Mains connection
Security: 24 hours security service
TV: Cable TV or Satellite TV connection
Air Conditioning: A necessity in Thailand