Legal know-how
Every Lawmanee article about Foreigners, in plain language.
As a rule, foreigners cannot buy land in Thailand, but they can own a house, take a long registered lease or register a superficies, usufruct or right of habitation. How long each right lasts, whether it passes to heirs, and why a nominee arrangement puts both sides at risk.
If you hold an extension of stay in Thailand and leave without a re-entry permit, your permission to stay ends the moment you depart. Who needs one, single versus multiple, the fees, the documents and where to apply.
A lost Thai ID card must be replaced within 60 days, with no police report, while a lost title deed needs a replacement and a 30-day public notice. Where to go for each document, what to bring, what it costs and when to call the police.
A birth in Thailand must be reported within 15 days. Who reports it, where, which documents you need, what happens if you are late, and when a child with a foreign parent is Thai by birth.
After a move, the move-out and move-in must be reported within 15 days. The three ways to move a house registration, the documents, who the householder is, fees, late fines, and the yellow book (Tor Ror 13) for foreigners.
If a foreigner stays in your house or condo, you must file a TM30 within 24 hours; a foreigner staying in Thailand over 90 days must report every 90 days. Who does what, how to file, the filing window and the fines under the Immigration Act.
Foreigners aged 50 or over have several ways to retire in Thailand, from a yearly extension on a Non-O visa to the O-A, O-X and LTR visas. The money, income and health-insurance tests, the fees, and what you must do every 90 days.
A marriage exists in Thai law only once it is registered. The conditions, the embassy document the foreign partner needs, translation and legalisation, the district office, personal versus marital property, and how to make a valid prenup.
Staying in Thailand even one day past your permitted date is an offence. The fine, the 1- to 10-year re-entry bans, the difference between turning yourself in and being caught, and what to do as soon as you realise you have overstayed.
Since 2023, two promoters are enough to form a Thai limited company, and with the paperwork ready it can be registered in a single day. The six steps, the fees, and what to watch when a shareholder is a foreigner.
Foreigners can own condominium units outright in Thailand under the Condominium Act, but the unit must fall within the 49% foreign quota and the purchase money must come from abroad in foreign currency. The steps, documents and costs to prepare.
