A foreigner can own a condo within the 49% foreign quota and a house on someone else's land through superficies, and can use a plot under a registered lease of up to 30 years or a usufruct. What you cannot do is buy the land in your own name: Land Code s. 86 bars it, and no treaty overrides it today, including the one with the United States. Current as of 6 October 2026.
In short
- A foreigner cannot own land: Land Code s. 86, and no treaty overrides it, including with the US. The narrow s. 96 bis exception is rarely used (ThaiLawOnline; as of 6 October 2026).
- Ownership is open to a condo within 49% of a building's floor area and to a building on someone else's land (superficies).
- Land can be used under a registered lease of up to 30 years or a usufruct; for a company the usufruct is fixed-term.
- Nominee shareholders breach Foreign Business Act s. 36: up to three years in prison and/or a fine of THB 100,000 to 1,000,000 (ThaiLawOnline; Lex Bangkok).
- Phuket is a priority province in Department of Lands circulars of 15 May 2026.
What can a foreigner actually own in Phuket?
A foreigner can own a condo within the quota and a building on someone else's land. "Freehold" in a listing usually describes how the seller holds the land: without a time limit. A foreign buyer cannot take that title (ThaiLawOnline, 26 September 2026), so ask who the land is registered to and which right you get.
| What you want | Open to a foreigner? | How it is held | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land in your own name | No | Land Code s. 86 | No treaty overrides it, including with the US |
| A condo | Yes | Title to the unit | Up to 49% of the building's area |
| A house on someone else's land | Yes | Superficies (Civil and Commercial Code ss. 1410 to 1416) | Up to 30 years or for life; must be registered |
| Use of a plot | Yes | Lease of up to 30 years, or usufruct | A lease is renewed only by a new agreement; usufruct ends when the person holding it dies and is fixed-term for a company |
According to one agent source, lawyers most often pair a lease of the plot with superficies over the house, though that is practice, not a rule (Anan Property Group, 2026). See leasehold villa, freehold vs leasehold in Thailand and buy a villa in Phuket.
If you are married to a Thai, your spouse usually owns the land and you hold a lifetime usufruct, which ends when you die and returns the right in full to the land's owner (ThaiLawOnline, 27 September 2026). In our reading, such an arrangement is judged on substance, not form, and the Thai buyer faces source-of-funds checks from THB 2 million in cash or THB 5 million in appraised value (circulars of 15 May 2026). Our sources do not confirm how the Phuket Land Office registers usufruct and superficies for foreigners in 2026, so we check that before any deal.
Can you buy a villa through a Thai company?
Not as a way to own a private home. The Foreign Business Act treats a company as foreign when half or more of its capital is foreign-held. If Thai shareholders appear only on paper while the money and decisions are yours, that is a nominee arrangement and a breach of s. 36, charged against both sides (ThaiLawOnline; Lex Bangkok, 2026).
The penalty is up to three years in prison and/or a fine of THB 100,000 to 1,000,000, with THB 10,000 to 50,000 a day for ignoring a court order. Directors can be personally liable (s. 41), the Land Code adds forced disposal (s. 111), and the company can be dissolved. The limitation period runs from the offence, not from closing the company.
Enforcement runs on several fronts. The Department of Business Development (DBD) has required bank statements of the Thai shareholders for new companies with under 50% foreign capital or a foreign authorised director since 1 January 2026 (aimbangkok; ThaiLawOnline), for amendments since 1 April 2026 (ThaiLawOnline), and under Order 2/2569 since 1 August 2026 (LawPlus; Dejudom). On 20 June 2026 police raided nominee networks across the Andaman provinces; the Phuket figures were 10 suspected nominee companies and 39 mixed-shareholder companies (Nation Thailand). Thaiger reported on 21 September 2026 that the Department of Special Investigation is examining about 360 firms where Thai nominees hold Phuket property for foreigners.
When a Thai company is lawful
A company is Thai in substance, not just on the register: the Thai shareholders put in their own money and make their own decisions. If the money and the will are a foreigner's, it is a nominee arrangement, even when foreigners hold under half of the capital. For foreign control the law offers BOI promotion, with up to 100% foreign ownership and land for the promoted activity, and the Foreign Business Licence (FBL), which needs capital from THB 2 million and takes 4 to 8 months in practice (ThaiLawOnline; aimbangkok). Both are routes for a business, not a private home. The Land Code has its own tests for companies, so we check them against the statute first. Setting one up: company registration in Thailand.
If your villa is already held by a nominee company
We start with an audit, not with new signatures: who paid in and from where, how the shares are recorded, what the Chanote says. Then we set out the lawful options. The outcome depends on the facts, and we cannot promise it in advance. A typical situation: a villa restructured before a DBD check.
How long does it take, and what does it cost?
By our estimate, a structure check takes 1 to 2 weeks, an audit of a company-held villa 2 to 4 weeks, and a purchase with registration 4 to 8 weeks. A foreigner pays a 2% transfer fee on appraised value; the Cabinet extended the 0.01% rate to 30 June 2027 for Thai individuals only, up to THB 7 million (Nation Thailand, 2 July 2026).
Government fees are paid separately, and we agree the estimate before work starts. Keep bank records from your first transfer.
If you hold a US, UK or Australian passport
A US passport allows a Treaty of Amity certificate for running a business, but the treaty gives no right to land (ThaiLawOnline; as of 6 October 2026). Pay from your own USD or GBP account, not through a third party. Documents signed at home go through a notary, your foreign ministry and the Thai embassy (Bangkok Translation, 16 August 2026), until an apostille replaces that step on 28 February 2027 for states that do not object; the window for objections runs to about 30 December 2026 (HCCH; Federal Apostille, 29 September 2026).
What we do
- We obtain a certified copy of the Chanote, check the title type and search for mortgages, encumbrances, disputes and seizure.
- We find out who the land is registered to and who stands behind any company: DBD DataWarehouse+, shareholders, directors.
- We choose a lawful way to hold: lease, superficies, usufruct, a condo, or BOI or FBL when there is a real business.
- We draft the contracts in Thai, explain the risks in plain English, handle the payments and keep the bank records.
- We register the rights at the Land Department, with a licensed lawyer beside you.
Describe your situation in the form below. Within 24 hours we will tell you which structure is lawful for your villa, what it costs and how long it takes.
