land ownership in Thai : dispelling rumour

C

Coffee

Guest
first >>> how sad for all of the CS family. 49 years smiling in this life. now for an eternity CS will have 'em laughing in heaven ! One day we will all meet above...some sooner, some later...RIP CS.

now my inquiry regarding the 'non-Thai persona' ownership of land (which I believe ATB should be able to knowledgeably reply and /or advise).

i once met an American gentleman that stated he "owned land outright" in Thai.
he told me his father was friends with the King. he has a picture of his father and himself with the King so it may be believed that the King has granted a personal ownership exemption or granted ownership of land to this man or his family.

that stated, i have heard told by some that "only Americans can own land in their name while all other expats can not own land."
i am under the belief that NO foreigner (American or any other nationality) can own land in Thai (outright) in their name...only a Thai can have ownership of land in Thai.
that stated - am i correct or mistaken ?
 
In a nutshell then, according to the article Kakara linked:

Americans cannot individually own land, but they can be majority shareholders in a company.

As for that Guy you met Coffee, who said he was granted land by the king. Who know's mate? perhaps it is true, anything can happen i suppose. Either that or he is a dab hand at photoshop. :wink::wink:
 
as I was never aware of that treaty between the US and Thai (probably has links to the VN-conflict period bases, monetary infusions, etc) ; I thank you very much, Karakara.
specifically in accordance to the Rene Phillipe attachment , Americans "can not own land" (period).
does anyone else have any information that would refute this information ?
 
Up untill 2001 under the Treaty of Amenity between the USA and Thailand an American Could and did own land. It was resplendent in 2001 by Mr. T when George Sr. visited Thailand and brought under the WTO laws. They that own land still do and were grandfathered into Thai law.
 
gotlost said:
Up untill 2001 under the Treaty of Amenity between the USA and Thailand an American Could and did own land. It was resplendent in 2001 by Mr. T when George Sr. visited Thailand and brought under the WTO laws. They that own land still do and were grandfathered into Thai law.
Click to expand...

But that's not what it it says in the linked reference GL. It doesn't state that individual Americans could own land. Forgive me if i am wrong, but from what i gathered from the article, American Shareholders could own the majority stake in a company, that would obviously hold land.

Quote]:
Restrictions.

There are only seven economical sectors which are restricted to US citizens as follows:
1) Owning land;
[End Quote

If you could forward us some evidence of Individual Americans owning land from the Thai-US treaty then i would appreciate it. It's just that i have never seen any proof before.
 
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Americans cannot own land under the Amity Treaty and it's a worthless article. Like any other foreign investor in Thailand, they can be majority shareholders in a Foreign owned company..used to be a minimum of 7 foreign shareholders, this has in the last 12 months been changed to 3. This is very different than a Thai company were at least 51% must be Thai owned. However, the foreigner can be a Director.

The only way to own land by a foreigner is by having a Board of Investment company and if that status was removed, the land would have to be sold. My company is a BOI company, but it would not be worth the worry having property that laws can become redundant at will in Thailand.
 
surin said:
Americans cannot own land under the Amity Treaty and it's a worthless article. Like any other foreign investor in Thailand, they can be majority shareholders in a Foreign owned company..used to be a minimum of 7 foreign shareholders, this has in the last 12 months been changed to 3. This is very different than a Thai company were at least 51% must be Thai owned. However, the foreigner can be a Director.

The only way to own land by a foreigner is by having a Board of Investment company and if that status was removed, the land would have to be sold. My company is a BOI company, but it would not be worth the worry having property that laws can become redundant at will in Thailand.
Click to expand...

Surin is correct as what he is saying. The date was 2003 when the treaty between the USA and Thailand was resended. Any one clamming foreign land ownership I would stay at arms length.
 
Doe's anyone know of any American individuals (Dual nationality aside) who do own land here due to this agreement? Or has it always been, as i thought, a bar stool myth?
 
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