17923-2557

Glossaries

Term	Definition
17923-2557	Using a Thai company as a nominee to acquire land for foreigners violates Land Code section 86. The Court cancelled the title and declared the contract void. Decision 17923-2557 (2014): Nominee-Company Land Purchase Cancelled A foreign couple set up a new Thai limited company, funded it entirely with their own money, and used it to buy two beachfront plots on Koh Samui. Although Thai nationals held 51 % of the shares on paper, the Supreme Court found they were mere nominees; the foreigners supplied all capital and controlled the venture. Under Land Code section 86 and section 150 the arrangement was an illegal circumvention of the foreign-ownership ban. The purchase contract was declared void and the land titles were ordered cancelled and re-vested in the Thai state. Practical impact Any company acting as a front for foreign land ownership will be treated as a foreign entity and lose the land. Nominee shareholders face criminal liability; foreigners risk fines, jail, and loss of the property. Confirms substance-over-form: courts look at funding and control, not just the share register. Thai Real Estate Legal 'start' →

Term

Definition

Using a Thai company as a nominee to acquire land for foreigners violates Land Code section 86. The Court cancelled the title and declared the contract void.

Decision 17923-2557 (2014): Nominee-Company Land Purchase Cancelled

A foreign couple set up a new Thai limited company, funded it entirely with their own money, and used it to buy two beachfront plots on Koh Samui. Although Thai nationals held 51 % of the shares on paper, the Supreme Court found they were mere nominees; the foreigners supplied all capital and controlled the venture. Under Land Code section 86 and section 150 the arrangement was an illegal circumvention of the foreign-ownership ban. The purchase contract was declared void and the land titles were ordered cancelled and re-vested in the Thai state.

Practical impact

Any company acting as a front for foreign land ownership will be treated as a foreign entity and lose the land.
Nominee shareholders face criminal liability; foreigners risk fines, jail, and loss of the property.
Confirms substance-over-form: courts look at funding and control, not just the share register.

Thai Real Estate Legal 'start' →