Ownership & Legal
Is Thai company ownership of land legal for foreigners?
The honest answer, first. The reasoning, second. The trade-offs, last.
The Answer
A genuinely Thai-majority company (with active Thai shareholders, real capital and bona-fide commercial purpose) can legally own land. Using Thai nominee shareholders to give a foreigner de-facto control while satisfying the 51% Thai threshold on paper is illegal under the Foreign Business Act and increasingly enforced.
Why this is the answer.
The Land Code prohibits foreign land ownership, but Thai limited companies (51%+ Thai-owned) can own land. The structure is legitimate where the Thai shareholders are real, contribute capital, and the company has genuine commercial activity.
Nominee structures - Thai shareholders holding shares on behalf of a foreigner, with no real capital contribution, voting alignment with the foreigner, and no commercial purpose - are illegal under the Foreign Business Act. Enforcement has tightened, with audits and unwinding of nominee-held land.
Even where the structure is genuine, ongoing compliance costs (audited accounts, annual filings, tax returns, work-permit considerations for foreign directors) make it heavier than the leasehold alternative for purely residential property.
What to do about it.
- Prefer leasehold for landed residential property - cleaner and lower compliance overhead.
- Use genuine Thai-company structures only where commercial activity justifies them.
- Independent legal counsel is non-negotiable for any company-holding structure.
What can break the thesis.
- Nominee structures can be unwound by authorities with loss of the land asset.
- Ongoing compliance failures (filings, audits) can dissolve the company and force liquidation.
- Marketed Thai-company structures from agents often mask nominee arrangements.
Your Next Step
Review the Foreign Buyers Guide and your nationality-specific ownership guide before evaluating individual properties.
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