Thailand: serving expat and cross-border buyers

Buyers in Phuket and elsewhere in Thailand often do not fit the textbook picture: one citizenship, a second country of residence and money held in a third. Agencies that sell to them need to settle two questions before taking instructions: is the structure the buyer wants lawful, and would the file stand up if a bank, the Land Office or an investigator read it later. This briefing sets out what to collect, what to verify and which structures to refuse.

Step one: what a foreigner may own

Under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979), a foreigner may own a condominium unit freehold as long as foreign-owned floor space does not exceed 49 percent of the total saleable area of the building (summary by terms.law). The quota is counted by floor area rather than by number of units, and it applies building by building, so one tower in a complex can be full while the next still has room. Foreigners cannot own land. Houses and villas are therefore usually offered on a lease or through a company, and those are the structures under scrutiny this year.

Check the quota in writing

Ask the condominium's juristic person for an official letter confirming the current foreign share and the quota still available, and keep it on file. The Land Office verifies the quota at registration, and a quota that was open when your buyer signed can be used up before the transfer, so ask for the letter close to the transfer date. A proposal to raise the quota to 75 percent has been discussed, but the same source says it was not law as of February 2026. Do not sell on the basis of a proposal.

What to collect from the buyer

Treat the file as something a regulator might read later. For each buyer, collect:

• a valid passport, and a record of the buyer's stay status in Thailand, which does not decide whether they may own but does decide how long they can be in the country to sign
• proof of address in the country of residence when it differs from the country of citizenship
• documents that explain where the money comes from, such as a property sale, savings, business proceeds or an inheritance, matched to the amount
• the details of the account the money will leave from, which should be in the buyer's own name for reasons explained in the payments briefing
• a note of the buyer's tax residence, because the purchase has tax consequences at home that you do not advise on

If a buyer proposes to buy through a company, stop and send the question to a Thai lawyer before you go further.

Screening, done lawfully

Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office issued five customer due diligence guidelines in April 2024, and a Baker McKenzie summary says real estate brokers and agents are among the businesses they cover. We could not read the guidelines, so confirm with a Thai lawyer which duties apply to your agency: identification, beneficial owners, source of funds, record keeping and reports of suspicious transactions. In 2026 the Bank of Thailand also consulted on wider KYC rules for cash-related transactions at banks, and law-firm commentary says real estate clients should expect more source-of-funds questions.

Alongside the Thai rules, screen the buyer, any beneficial owner and any third party who pays against the sanctions lists that apply to you and your bank, and keep a dated record. A buyer's nationality is not a reason to refuse the file, and it is not a reason to skip checks. If a red flag appears, stop, take legal advice and report as the rules require. Never advise a client how to avoid a check.

Structures to refuse

In 2026 Thai authorities ran a coordinated check of nominee arrangements. The Nation reported that the Commerce Ministry was screening 125,622 companies, of which 36,277 had foreign investment and together held 305,838 land plots, and that 66 companies were found using Thai shareholders as proxies for property worth more than one billion baht (Nation Thailand). Pattaya Mail describes a "Lightning Strike" operation on 18 to 20 March 2026 aimed at law and accounting firms in Pattaya, with criminal prosecution and loss of professional licences for those who build such structures (Pattaya Mail). A pilot covered Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, with expansion to Phuket and Pattaya planned.

None of the sources we read says what happens to estate agents who introduce such deals, and we do not guess. A simple rule serves any agency: do not introduce a structure in which a Thai shareholder holds shares for a foreigner, has put no real money into the company or has no say in it.

Red flags in a file

• a buyer who cannot explain the source of funds, or whose explanation changes
• funds that arrive from a third party who has no clear link to the buyer
• pressure to pay in cash or to skip the bank's paperwork
• a company with no business activity that is buying land
• a price far from the appraised value with no explanation

What to do with this

• keep the quota letter, passport copy, source-of-funds papers and screening record in one dated file
• refuse nominee structures and tell the buyer why
• confirm your own reporting duties with a Thai lawyer and write them into your onboarding
• tell cross-border buyers early that the money must come in from abroad in their own name

Working with D.H. Realting

D.H. Realting is a trilingual (Russian, English, Polish) overseas-property platform. We introduce buyers, including expats and cross-border buyers, and support the process. Agencies that handle the deal locally and want to be introduced to such buyers can contact us through our partners page.

This briefing is informational only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Facts were checked on 12 October 2026 from the sources named in the text; rules change, so confirm with a local lawyer before relying on any point.