How hard (Visa, immigration etc) is it for an Aussie to buy a house and live and work in Thailand?
We are in love with Samui and are seriously considering moving there permanently. Any advice on where to start looking to see if we fit the requirements? My partner is a builder and would like to work in that field. My background is hospitality, but am currently learning Thai and would perhaps consider teaching English. Any advice on the first steps to take or which department to contact will be most appreciated.
Thailand - 8 Answers
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1 :
You might be able to get work as English teachers, but thats about it.. Did your partner see how builders work in Thailand,, a few bamboo poles or eucaliptus tree poles for scaffolds welding without welder;s hemets and in the rain ETC. for about 200 Baht per day a work permit is required and not easy to get unless you have an employer. As for owning a house, No.. You can ownly own a condo as long as it is not on the ground floor and is less than 10% of the building a retirement visa is available for over 50yo'ds
2 :
You can work here as an English Teacher if qualified with a college degree and have the school do the necessary paper work for a work permit. You can also own your own business but lots of requirements to meet here also. If one or both of you are over 50 you can come here on retirement visas but you can't work with a retirement visa. As for owning a house yes you can own one but you can't own the land it's on, you can lease the land for 30 years but after that you may lost the land and also the house. Best choice would be a condo, you need to meet requirements such as the money to buy the condo must come from overseas and you can not own the ground floor,. also 51% of owners must be Thai in the condo development. I be here all day going over details so you need to do some research online and make some choices. Good Luck. From everything I understand Tom is right and the Farmer is totally wrong on this one. Another item that the Farmer is wrong about is leasing with two renewals for a total of 90 years. Sorry but you can only have one renewal for a total of 60 years. However, recently the government has begin to consider changing the law to make it to renewals of the lease for 90 years, but this hasn't happen yet.
3 :
I hope this helps
4 :
First, get a job, have them help you get work permit. Then apply for a non-immigrant visa from the Immigration department, given of course you know how to get a visa to get into Thailand already (with Thai Embassy in Australia: should be getting non-immigrant Visa Category B). You can only buy condominium not a house unless you gain Thai citizenship. If you have a permanent job, with work permit, then you can apply for residency, which should extend your stay in Thailand from three months to a year. If you want to change your nationality, you should learn to speak Thai, develop an interest and the love for the country, learn some Thai history and show to the authority you seriously want to change into Thai nationality. This is difficult and may take 3-5 years. Alternative is to buy a VIP visa which is about 1.5 million baht, which will grant you indifinte stay with multiple entry and memberships to several facilities including golf courses and VIP treatment at the airport. The problem is this is initiated during Taksin's period, but still is honoured at the moment. Don't know for how long. Good luck. I think Australia is a nice country too.
5 :
Bob is spot on with what he said- I will add a couple things. First off builders are NOT laborers and Keven is wrong. That does happen to be a line of work where it is possible for your partner to legally engage in commerce here. However, the workmanship of his contractors and subcontractors will be significantly lower than the quality you are accustomed to. And while he can be a builder here, he can not import his talent pool of laborers, those do have to be local boys. Second off- the question you have asked in its current form is sufficient to send to a Bangkok-based Thai-Western law firm. I would recommend emailing that question to Sunbelt Legal Advisors and seeing what they have to say about it. Good Luck! EDIT: I would seriously question a 'VIP' visa. In all my time in Thailand I have never heard of one. I have entered into talks about investing in Thai corporations and attaining visas for that purpose, and the monetary requirements of that were in the multiples of 1.5 million baht. However, I am NOT a banker, I have never worked on legislation in the Thai government, and I have never had a reason to to use a Thai job database- so I might not be overly informed. I simply run an English language school, and most of my thoughts are derived from my work here as such.
6 :
First thing is about buying a house - Technically you could own the house, but you cannot own the land its on unless you are Thai ...Only other option is to buy a condo and could own it outright...provided you buy per the stipulations mentioned by one of the other posters or form a limited company and buy the house through the company...bear in mind a company in Thailand, (Non-BOI) needs to have a majority Thai stake hold ie 51% so you could only own 49% of the company... Working wise, as mentioned you would need a job that would get you a work permit...Teaching English has been mentioned, but expat wise the salaries are pretty poor and a lot of the time English teachers/institutions they are working for dont bother applying for a W/P - This is illegal, but does go on... As regards possible solutions - if you manage to get a job with a W/P (and extension of stay), You partner could piggyback on your Non-imm B and W/P and get a type O visa as a dependent and then look for work and then go through the W/P process himself...you would have to check on how to go about this as have heard two different versions of the rules.. Regarding building work...you partner would have to be looking for a construction manager/Supervisor job not hands on work with a big construction company... .....Or form your own company....THB 2 million paid up capital, employ 8 thai nationals and you could get yourself 2 work permits to run the company and then could buy property through the company....this a route a lot of Farangs go to stay long term in Thailand On the VIP visa option somebody mentioned....this is a very expensive route to go and you cannot get a work permit under this system...it used to be THB 1mil to get and recently raised to THB 1.5mil with what appears to be less benefits...understand the price has been raised due to lack of interest...!!!!!..so that should tell you something about the program... Hpe this helps Edit.. James B....the VIP program mentioned is the ThaiElite program put place by Khun T.S..other than fast tracking at the airport, preferential rates at golf clubs/restaurants and a 5 year renewable visa..doesnt really offer much...for the price.... THB 1.5 mil Edit... "Safer is to invest (over) 3 million baht in Thai financial assets that make an alien eligible for non-imm visa" African Famer...Stand to be corrected but you can not obtain a visa this way any more....People getting visa's this way in the past will be honoured but no new visa's will be issued Edit.. Khun African Farmer Thanks for the link....but see this link http://www.sunbeltlegaladvisors.com/Thailand-Investment-Visa.php The link you have given is related to being approved under the BOI system...which think would be hard to get under the OP's circumstances...plse correct me if reading something wrong here Baie dankie...lekker dag..
7 :
The Alien Occupation Law, adopted in 1973, requires all aliens working in Thailand to obtain a Work Permit prior to starting to work in the Kingdom. Section 8 of the Act stipulates that while a prospective employer may file an application on the alien’s behalf in advance of his commencing work, the actual Work Permit will not be issued until the alien has entered Thailand in accordance with the immigration laws (on a non-imm B visa) and has presented himself in person to receive his Work Permit. A Royal Decree in 1973 listed 39 occupations and professions that were then prohibited to aliens. This list has been amended on several occasions by subsequent Royal Decrees. On the most recent list of prohibited occupations are laborer and construction work. In order for a Thai company with limited liability to be allowed to sponsor Work Permits, the paid-up capital must be at least 2 million baht per Work Permit (so, 4 million for 2 Work Permits) and the company must employ at least four Thai citizens for each Work Permit. The SME route is definitely the most cumbersome way for aliens to get a non-imm visa as there are many other restrictions (mostly related to the running of the company) than the ones already mentioned. Much easier is the Thailand Privilege Card (http://www.thailandelite.com/home.php), but in my view this is an extremely risky proposition. Safer is to invest (over) 3 million baht in Thai financial assets that make an alien eligible for non-imm visa. Thai citizenship cannot be obtained after only a few years on non-imm visa. What can be obtained is a permanent Thai residence permit. The alien applicant must hold a passport that bears a Non-Immigrant Visa and was granted with one-year visa extensions which reveal that up until the date of application submission, the applicant have been staying in the Kingdom for at least 3 consecutive years. But there are more rules and restrictions than mentioned and they depend on which category the alien wants to apply under, e.g. work or investment. And yes, the alien has to pass an "interview" or "verbal test" (in Thai) at the Thai Immigration Bureau. Foreigners can lease condominiums, land, or other immovable properties (i. e., houses) for business, investment or for living purposes. Current law allows 30-year leaseholds, which must be registered with the relevant Land Department. The lease agreement can contain an option to renew, but the renewal cannot be automatic. Maximum two renewals are allowed (i.e., max. 90 years). Leaseholds with usufruct interest (in Thai "sidthi-kep-kin") that are properly registered can later be sold or transferred. Foreigners can purchase condominium or other immovable properties for business, investment or for living purposes. Foreigners purchasing a condominium in Thailand must show a valid Tor Tor 3 form which is provided by the receiving bank upon the receipt of foreign currency into their bank account in Thailand. Ownership of land is governed by the Land Code BE 2497 (1954), the Civil and Commercial Code, Land Reform for Agriculture Act BE 2518 (1975) and regulations set forth by the Ministry of the Interior. Under strict application of the existing law it is officially prohibited for foreigners, including both individuals and juristic entities (e.g., companies or partnerships), to own land in Thailand. However, the Land Code has been amended with Section 96 bis providing that since January 19th, 2002, a foreigner is allowed to purchase land in Thailand for residential purpose and the land to be purchased shall be not exceed 1 rai in area, and no less than 40 million baht is remitted into Kingdom of Thailand for investment (and the investment is maintained for not less than five years) and permission is granted by the Minister of Ministry of Interior. The Thai Immigration Bureau handles visa applications, Commercial Registration Department handles company registrations, Labor Department handles work permit applications etc etc. You are better off initially by contacting the Thai embassy in OZ. I hope the above answered most of your questions. Edit: Dear Tom Yum, The 3m baht rule was still included in the latest announcement (Order of the Royal Thai Police Headquarters No. 606/2549 dated September 8, 2006) that I am awary of. Moreover, you will also find the 3m baht rule on the official websites from relevant government agencies, e.g., http://www.pattaya-immigration.org/visas.php?cat=invester&menuOther=_Click&lang=EN
8 :
African Farmer has it right on to the letter. Some of the other posters have posted incorrect information. Please read African Farmers advice carefully and start doing your research. The fact is, any job that a Thai can do is reserved for the Thais and that severely limits your ability to get a job other than teaching english. The best avenue is to start your own company which is doable with money and patience. As African Farmer mentioned, if you are your partner started a company, that is (2) work permits required and a total of (8) additional Thai employees to meet the regulations. Everyone in the world wants to move to Thailand to live and work. In reality is is much harder to achieve than you would know, especially if you do not have the financials to start your own business. Plus the cost of Samui is much higher than say somewhere else like Isaan. Good luck
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