Thailand has significantly increased enforcement against the use of Thai “nominee” shareholders to acquire land and real estate on behalf of foreigners. During 2025 and 2026, government agencies have stepped up investigations of companies in Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Pattaya, Chonburi, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, and other areas popular with foreign property buyers.
For foreigners who already own property in Thailand—or are considering buying—the crackdown deserves attention. However, it is important to understand what Thailand is actually targeting.
Foreigners are not being prohibited from investing in Thai real estate. Foreign ownership of qualifying condominium units remains legal. Long-term leases and several other property arrangements also remain available.
The authorities are primarily targeting structures in which Thai citizens appear to own a company or property on paper. These paper Thai owners are actually acting on behalf of a foreign investor.
A nominee arrangement generally involves a Thai person being listed as a shareholder or owner. These shareholders are not genuine investors, but the foreigner is.
A typical structure might look like this: a foreign buyer wants to purchase a villa and the land beneath it. Because foreigners generally cannot directly own land in Thailand, a Thai limited company is created. The foreign investor owns 49% of the shares, while Thai individuals hold the remaining 51%. On paper, the company therefore appears Thai-owned.
The problem arises when the Thai shareholders did not actually invest their own money. They have no genuine financial interest in the business, or are simply holding their shares for the benefit of the foreign investor.
In other words, having 51% of a company’s shares registered to Thai citizens does not automatically make the arrangement legal. Authorities increasingly want to know who actually provided the capital. They was to know who controls the company, who receives the economic benefit and whether the Thai shareholders are genuine investors.
Thailand’s Department of Business Development has specifically identified real estate and land-related businesses as a high-risk area for nominee investigations. Its 2025 annual report described investigations designed to identify Thai nationals holding shares on behalf of foreigners to circumvent the Foreign Business Act.
Nominee companies are not a new issue in Thailand. Structures involving Thai majority shareholders have been used for decades. What has changed is the scale and sophistication of enforcement.
The Department of Business Development has made nominee prevention a major enforcement priority for 2026. Its program includes deeper screening of high-risk companies, examination of accounting records and financial statements. They conduct further investigation of accounting and law offices believed to organize nominee structures. There is now information sharing with agencies including the Department of Special Investigation and anti-money-laundering authorities.
The Department of Lands has also introduced measures intended to prevent land being held by Thai nationals on behalf of foreigners.
The result has been a series of highly publicized investigations. In June 2026, police investigated suspected nominee structures in Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga. They reported seizing 89 land plots and buildings valued at more than 1 billion baht. In July, authorities investigated 33 companies in Chonburi. These properties were connected with land and luxury properties reportedly worth more than 5 billion baht. Another investigation involved 33 luxury houses in eastern Bangkok reportedly worth approximately 1.275 billion baht. In August 2026, authorities reported on a Koh Samui nominee investigation. This investigation expanded to 60 cases involving 59 companies and 88 suspects. These properties were valued at approximately 1.2 billion baht.
These actions make it clear that nominee enforcement is no longer confined to an occasional investigation.
Yes.
For most foreign buyers, a condominium remains the simplest way to obtain direct freehold ownership of Thai real estate.
Under Thailand’s Condominium Act, foreigners may own condominium units provided total foreign ownership does not exceed 49% of the aggregate unit area of the condominium building.
Before a transfer, the condominium juristic person normally provides documentation confirming that the unit falls within the available foreign ownership quota. The Department of Lands requires this documentation when registering the transfer. Foreign buyers also generally need to properly document money transferred into Thailand for the purchase.
A condominium purchased correctly within the foreign quota is fundamentally different from purchasing land through Thai nominee shareholders.
This is where foreign buyers need to be particularly careful.
A house and the land underneath it are legally distinct assets. A foreigner may own a building but cannot directly own the underlying land.
Foreigners are generally prohibited from owning land except under limited statutory exceptions. One such exception allows qualifying foreigners who invest at least 40 million baht, meet other requirements and obtain government approval to acquire up to one rai of residential land. This is a specialized exception rather than the normal route used by foreign homebuyers.
Other legitimate structures can include registered leases and certain rights relating to use or ownership of buildings. A land lease can generally be registered for up to 30 years. A renewal may be possible by agreement, but a promised future term should not be treated as guaranteed ownership. Buyers should understand, however, that a lease is not the same as freehold ownership, and promises concerning future renewals should be reviewed carefully by an independent Thai property lawyer.
A Thai citizen married to a foreigner can own land in Thailand. However, using a Thai spouse’s name does not mean that the foreign spouse secretly owns the property.
When land is acquired in the Thai spouse’s name, documentation may be required. This will proove that the purchase money is the Thai spouse’s separate property. They conform the foreign spouse has no ownership claim over the land.
This is very different from creating an artificial Thai owner whose only role is to hide foreign ownership.
Foreigners who purchased houses, villas or investment properties through Thai companies years ago should not automatically assume they have done something illegal.
A legitimate operating company with genuine Thai shareholders, genuine capital contributions, proper accounting, actual business activity and commercially realistic corporate governance is not the same thing as a shell company created simply to hold a foreigner’s home. But this distinction is exactly why older structures deserve review.
Potential warning signs include Thai shareholders who cannot explain their investment, shareholders who contributed little or no capital, foreign investors funding the Thai shareholders’ shares, unusual voting arrangements giving the foreign shareholder complete control, companies with no genuine commercial activity, and Thai shareholders appearing across large numbers of unrelated foreign-owned companies.
Authorities are increasingly examining the financial reality behind the shareholder register rather than simply accepting the percentages printed on company documents.
The safest approach is straightforward: structure the transaction legally from the beginning rather than attempting to manufacture Thai ownership.
Before transferring substantial funds, buyers should confirm the title, ownership history, condominium foreign quota when applicable, building permissions, encumbrances, company structure, source of shareholder capital and any lease or other registered property rights.
Buyers purchasing through a company should have independent legal counsel determine whether there is a genuine commercial reason for the company and whether the Thai shareholders are actual investors rather than nominees.
Foreign owners who already hold property through a Thai company may also want their corporate structure reviewed before selling, restructuring or purchasing additional property.
Thailand continues to welcome foreign residents, retirees and investors, and foreigners can still legally purchase many types of Thai property.
What is changing is the government’s willingness to look beyond paperwork. The old assumption that placing 51% of a company’s shares in Thai names automatically makes foreign-controlled land ownership acceptable is increasingly dangerous.
For most individual foreign buyers looking for secure ownership, a properly registered foreign-quota condominium remains one of the clearest options. For houses, villas, land and company-owned property, professional legal advice is becoming increasingly important.
BangkokFinder has been helping people find property in Bangkok since 2004. Whether you are looking to rent, purchase a condominium or evaluate an investment property, understanding the ownership structure before committing to a transaction can prevent expensive problems later.
Important: This article is provided for general information and should not be considered legal advice. Thai property and corporate laws can be complex, and buyers should obtain advice from a qualified Thai lawyer regarding their individual circumstances.
Official Regulatory Publications and Reference Materials
· Thailand Department of Business Development – Annual Report 2025
· Thailand Department of Business Development – 2026 nominee-prevention measures
· Thailand Department of Lands – Anti-nominee foreign land ownership
· Thailand Government – Foreign condominium ownership information
· Thailand Government – Foreign land ownership information
· The Nation Thailand – Phuket, Krabi and Phangnga nominee enforcement, June 2026
· The Nation Thailand – Chonburi nominee investigation, July 2026
· The Nation Thailand – Eastern Bangkok luxury housing investigation, 2026
· The Nation Thailand – Koh Samui nominee investigation, August 2026
I considered buying a Bangkok Condo when I was 40 years old. I was very interested in Muay Thai kick boxing. Consequently, I found myself going to Bangkok once every 2 months or so for training. We would stay most of the time at Grand Sukhumvit a really nice hotel.
After many years of going , my wife and I started thinking maybe we should buy a Bangkok condo or flat. So we started looking around talking to people and see what it took to do so. We checked with some of the bigger real estate companies and found them to be too impersonal and it seemed they tried to push us into their inventory rather than what we wanted. So finally we started looking around on our own and found an agent in this company to guide us through the process.
Investment or not?We were not looking for an investment, but more of a place we could call our own and in fact the agent said that though condos never went down in price the investment may not be so great if we were looking for return. That was fine for us.
There were several new projects we looked at in areas we were interested in finally finding a place called “Manhattan Chidlom ” located in a very nice section of Bangkok off of Petchuburi road near the Central World Shopping Mall. There were some downsides such as low end neighborhood and really only this high rise in the middle as the only good building around. The upside was it was easy walking distance to the mall and BTS (skytrain). The building was very nice and we were in early and could get a high floor. The unit was large 150 square meters and 4 bathrooms and balcony.
So we both decided to go for it and asked the agent what next. The process was fairly easy and so we proceeded with the purchase. You can read the details elsewhere of specifics of how to purchase or contact the agents here through this web site. It only took about a month to close the deal.
Making a Bangkok condo a homeWe purchased furniture and decorated adding things to make the condo feel like home. It was our true home away from home and considered retiring one day there. Good medical care was near by along with shopping and dining. So it was perfect.
The most interesting part of our buying a condo in Bangkok was indeed it did turn out to be a superior investment. Over he next ten years the old neighborhood was torn down. New buildings and more shopping malls were added. The most recent being the “Bangkok Market” less than 100 yards from our back door. This allows us to walk out the condo and into the air conditioning quickly where we can travel over to Central World and not get over heated.
Bangkok Condo InvestmentRecently, I had several real estate agents tell me what they could sell it for. What a surprise that was. In American dollars we purchased it for around 380,000.00 so it was a high end condo. Ten years later the value has become 1.2. million so yes I am happy , very happy. Lucky ? Don’t care just glad we bought in an undeveloped area and its grown which I think was the key. We do miss the elephants across the street though !