Falang's wife owning Land

[pompui]

Hi,

What supprised me was the wife's name stayed the same, she had to go to another office in town to get her name changed. The same office that issues the ID cards. but it is up to you if you want to do this.
Anyway good luck on your marriage and have a good day.
Cheers Doug.

I was always under the impression that if the Thai wife changes her name to your surname then she loses the right to own land etc.My wife has therefore kept her surname just a change to mrs on the id card etc.
Also at the weddings, people return your invite envelopes with money and it is all logged, so if any of the women get married and you are invited to their bash,then you give the same as they gave you, whether it be 1000 or 100 baht,no double pricing for farangs here

[Galee]

I was always under the impression that if the Thai wife changes her name to your surname then she loses the right to own land etc.My wife has therefore kept her surname just a change to mrs on the id card etc.

Not so pompui. My wife was able to buy land with my surname.

[beer monkey]

I was always under the impression that if the Thai wife changes her name to your surname then she loses the right to own land etc.My wife has therefore kept her surname just a change to mrs on the id card etc.

Not so pompui. My wife was able to buy land with my surname.

Mine too pompers....didn't make any differance with my surname on her ID.

[pompui]

BM,seems the TW has been winding me somefin proper about not being able to buy land/house with a farang surname,Nevermind, she is happy with her id card with her surname,20 letters long

[papaguido]

BM,seems the TW has been winding me somefin proper about not being able to buy land/house with a farang surname,Nevermind, she is happy with her id card with her surname,20 letters long

It's a thing of the past. Not sure when the law changed, but there still are people who think that.

[pompui]

BM,seems the TW has been winding me somefin proper about not being able to buy land/house with a farang surname,Nevermind, she is happy with her id card with her surname,20 letters long

It's a thing of the past. Not sure when the law changed, but there still are people who think that.

Thanks for that,I will update the TW accordingly

[maaka]

in regards the misses not being able to buy land after she marries and takes your name..as I am in the middle of trying to come up with abit of terra firma for myself, and I was searching the web for the thai legal stuff, land law, and came across one of the major law firms saying that the misses couldnt buy once married, but if other dudes have cracked it, and the law has changed then all well and good..hate to see the misses rights curtailed just because she married farang..

[jimboLV]

We definitely need a definitive answer on this. I read somewhere that it used to be that a Thai married to a farang couldn't buy land, on the theory that if SHE passed away then the dreaded farang would inherit the land, and we can't have that happening, can we? But then the law was changed, and I think there is still a lot of confusion on the matter. I believe that she can buy the land if she certifies that it's her money and the farang has no ownership interest.

We ran into something like this when the wife inquired about a mortgage to build a house (she already owns the land). She was told she couldn't get a mortgage because she was married to a farang! We didn't pursue it as we decided to go in another direction. I'm sure the loan officer who told her that was wrong. Possibly she meant that my retirement income could not qualify for the loan, as It would end if I kicked the bucket. But we'll cross that bridge when we decide what to do. Right now we're evaluating building vs. just renting, but that plot of ground is tempting.

[maaka]

jimboLV have you got some assets back home..my bank back home is willing to give me a loan to purchase it thailand, as long as I use my asset back home as collateral for the loan..I will dig into this wifey thing and see if I can come up with a definite answer for us..

[maaka]

.4 Thai Spouse: According to Thai real estate law, a Thai spouse of a foreigner may be allowed to buy land or property in Thailand in his or her own name. However the married couple may be asked to sign declarations at the Land Department to state that the funds used are the separate property of the Thai spouse. This may have the effect of waiving any claim on the land or property by the non-Thai spouse. This may become problematic in a divorce case as it may be difficult for the non-Thai spouse to prove that the land was marital property. In this case, a skillfully drafted Thailand prenuptial agreement may come in handy to minimize the risk to the non-Thai spouse.

[jimboLV]

jimboLV have you got some assets back home..my bank back home is willing to give me a loan to purchase it thailand, as long as I use my asset back home as collateral for the loan..I will dig into this wifey thing and see if I can come up with a definite answer for us..

Nope, all my meager assets are here. I'm like the proverbial snake that was so poor he didn't have a pit to hiss in. :-" It's not a problem as we did talk to a real bank here in Udon and were assured that we could get a loan when the time comes, providing we meet the requirements for income, assets, etc. In other words being married to a foreign devil would not negate loan possibilities for the wife. But really haven't pursued it in depth.

[jackspratt]

I suggest people have a look at this - which I understand gives authoritative advice on things such as Thai spouse (of farang) owning land, what happens in the case of death of either, etc etc.

http://www.samuiforsale.com/Land_Thai_spouse.html

[Garnet]

That link makes it pretty clear.

My own wife, Jack, bought two rai of land in her Nong Soong village last year. She had to travel back there from Canada to close the deal, but her non-residency -- as well as her last name (mine) -- didn't seem to be an issue for anyone.

I didn't appreciate the debt this started up for me, especially since I already knew that the property could never be mine. But it's amazing what is done for harmony in the home!

[kjellsnell]

Hello there!
I been a member on this forum for long time but this is the firsth time i write something here and i try two give some answer about the issue if thaiwife can buy land if she take here husbands forreing surename:

My wife (she is a teacher in businesseconomic and work earlier for the gowerment whit workpermitissues) says that the wife can buy land if she has taken farangshurename but.....here husband will be asked where the money come from and he must also garanti the money. You all know the issues about (some bad ones) taking money from husbands account and by land from relatives for double-up price and farang dont no nothing. The gowerments policy about this thing is to protect in two ways:

1. Gowerment check up up where the money come from so farang dont use dirty moneyloundry in Thailand'
2. When they know the money is clean they protect farang from being cheated by wife and relatives.

My wifes sister (uneversityteacher) is married whit an englishman and they buy land in Udonthani for 1 year ago and they have to follow the steps i tell you about so it looks like the gowerment policy follows the step i write down about this issue. If somebody have another opinion i am happy to know more about this. I am myself a socionom from Sweden but in the last ten years i have been working whit developing leadingsystems for big medianetworks, big companys and for the gowerment of sweden and whit my background background i find it intresting to know about the thai system....

Regards.......

[oangh]

BM,seems the TW has been winding me somefin proper about not being able to buy land/house with a farang surname,Nevermind, she is happy with her id card with her surname,20 letters long

It's a thing of the past. Not sure when the law changed, but there still are people who think that.

It changed about 10 years ago because a new law gave men and women even rights.

[parrot]

The law changed just prior to March 2001. No fanfare, nothing in the press (that we saw). At the time, my wife changed the deed on our land from a 30 year lease to ownership and has since bought another piece of land. For us, it's the single biggest change that's affected our outlook on living here. Second biggest change......same-day retirement visas.
The title of the thread should read: Falang's Thai wife owning land........as a Falang's Philippino wife (there are a few here) wouldn't fall into the same category.

[FrazeeDK]

Yes, the law changed around 10 years ago when Thailand was still in the Asian economic recession. When it changed, I remember the Bangkok Post running an article on the Thai Foreign Ministry doing a road show throughout Europe to advise Thai wives of Farang there that they now could come back and legally buy land... Gess they figured they wanted some cash coming back into the country at that time.

the legal process:

Thai wife goes with land seller to Provincial land office.
Thai wife takes Farang husband who brings passport.
Thai wife advises land official she has Farang husband (or they'll see you sitting there and ask)
When land deed (chanote) is processed the land official will ask the Farang husband for his passport to copy the face and visa page. A document will be prepared that essentially says "my Thai wife is buying this land with her money." and also says, "I understand I have no legal right to this land." In other words, it t'ain't my money and it t'ain't my land.
The Chanote is then processed, land taxes paid, and deal is finished..

When my wife and I did it in June 2002 it took about an hour at the land office. Very polite, very professional, no tea money, no nonsense..

Same process in 2005 when the wife bought another rai of land to expand her land plot.. No muss, no fuss.. At that time I was living in Laos and there were no problems with copying the passport/face page once again..

Now, the question of course arises... Does the land office keep a separate database for "Thai women married to
Farang who bought land?" If politics get real silly, then adhering to the spirit of the law could come back to bite you if things go ultra-nationalist.. On the other hand, what about those Farang married to Thais over here on a Thai spousal visa or even a retirement visa where the Thai wife was married to a Farang yet didnt' have the spouse present to sign the "not my land, not my money paperwork?" I suppose that also could come back and bite you if Immigration and the land office started comparing databases..

all-in-all I don't worry about it... too much puat hua and all that...

[parrot]

"If politics get real silly"

If? You mean that general who keeps showing up on the front page of the newspapers could get even sillier?

If I understand the old-timers (35+ years here), way back when the spouses were allowed to own land. Then the law changed (I think in the mid-70's when the GIs left). Those who owned land got to keep it.

I'd hate to think things could ever go the route of Zimbabwe, but t.i.t..........I'd have to implement my hip-pocket plan B and get out of Nakhon Dodge.

[keith555]

If the wife owns the land and you decide to build a nice house on this land,what would happen if your wife died before you did,i think there could be a little problem there.

[jackspratt]

If the wife owns the land and you decide to build a nice house on this land,what would happen if your wife died before you did,i think there could be a little problem there.

My understanding is that if you have structured things correctly, the law allows you 12 months to dispose of the land (and the house on top) to someone entitled to own the land (ie a Thai).