Land Ownership Laws

	Land Ownership Laws
	Possession of land must be in accordance with land administration laws. There is a controlling Thai Land Department. Some land is still controlled by other governmental authorities, such as the Forestry Department which is responsible for land in forest zones, [Sor Por Gor] is responsible for all land in reformed land zones, and many District Offices and Municipalities [Or Bor Tor] which maintain public land zones. The law has no retroacctive effect on the individual's rights to land under the law before it became a government controlled zone. That individual person still maintains their rights to the land. Land Title Deed A Land Title Deed is a government issued certificate for ownership of land. Any person named on the deed has the legal right to the land, and can use it as evidence to confirm the right to government authorities. The title deed is issued following a highly accurate survey by global positioning system (GPS) to set the area and boundaries of the land. The property may be used or developed at any time in any way at the owner's discretion as per the right of ownership. Land partition of more than 9 plots must be carried out according to the Land Allotment Law, Section 286. Condominiums Condominiums may be used as drafted. Buildings on Land Foreigners have the right to ownership of buildings only, where land is not included. Legal acts are unlimited. A suggestion for foreigners is to lease the land for 30 years with an option to an extension of the lease, then purchase ownership of the house built on the land. Certainty of possession of land and house is assured, by being the owner of the house. The ownership of the land shall be leased out. If arranged as stated above, then the house will be separate from the land, and will not be a component part under the Civil Law. Ownership of buildings can be confirmed, and the lessor cannot seize the house upon expiration the lease. Company Formations If you are purchasing a business or property in Thailand , the law requires that you register a Thai limited company and, if you are going to work in your business or receive any income from that business, you must apply for a work permit. The penalties for working and receiving an income from your business without a work permit are severe, resulting in possible detention and deportation. The advantages of having a work permit are that you can apply for a 1 year non-immigrant B visa, purchase a car, motorbike, telephone and open a bank account in your own or company name. If you have decided to make Thailand your home and wish to register a Thai limited Company, the procedure is as follows ; You will need to contact a Thai law office, and they will process the necessary papers to register a company which will take approximately 4 weeks. Once your registration is approved, you can then apply for a 1 year non-immigrant B visa, followed by your application for a work permit. Your work permit will take approximately 1 month to process . Company Formation Requirements NB: The minimum requirement for one work permit is a 2m baht Ltd Co. 2 x Copies of the front page of your passport and visa page, each copy signed by yourself. 5 x Copies of house registrations and I.D. cards of your Thai shareholders. 3 x Company names, in order of preference. The company name does not have to be the same as your trading name. Minimum number of shareholders is 7. i.e. one foreigner, 6 Thai. Work Permit Requirements Form WP2 3 x Recent photo's; 5 x 6 cms Letter of employment Copy of company registration certificate, including objectives. Copy of shareholders list. Copy of VAT registration; Phor Phor.01 Organization chart Copy of front page of passport and visa. Education certificate and resume of previous employment. Health certificate Map of place of business. Documents Required For Work Permit Renewal ( Every 90 Days ) Letter of power of attorney Copy of company certificate Work permit Copy of passport and visa Documents Required For Work Permit Renewal (Annually) Copy of company certificate. Income year end report ( Por Ngor Dor.1,50,51 and 90,91 ) Letter of employment Audited accounts Letter of power of attorney Work permit Documents required for Non-Immigrant Visa Letter of VISA application signed by Thai director 2 x Recent photo's; 3.5 x 4.5 cms Copy of company certificate Copy of list of shareholders There are two types of rights to private land: The first is the right of possession (Possessory right), i.e. people who possess and use the benefit of land will have the right to possess such land under the Civil and Commercial Code. The second is ownership by a person who has a title deed and documents concerning the land. Sor Kor 1 Sor Kor 1 is a notification form of possessed land. There is a certificate to show the right to the land. This maintains existing rights. Notification of [Sor Kor 1]; on December 1st 1954, the government advised all land proprietors to notify such possession to the government as per form [Sor Kor 1]. After it was proven that such a proprietor had possessed the land legally and used the benefit of the land, then the government would issue [Nor Sor 3] or [Nor Sor 3 Gor] as evidence. Nor Sor 3 and Nor Sor 3 Gor Nor Sor 3 and Nor Sor 3 Gor are legal certificates provided that any name shown on the title is a person who has the right to the land (according to the principle law). This right will be recognized by the law and can be used as evidence in any dispute with an ordinary person or the government. Por Bor Tor 6 Por Bor Tor 6 Is evidenced by the issuance of a tax number for the purpose of paying tax for using the benefit of the land. Such land has not yet been assessed as to the person's right to possess such land. In the event that there is no title for the land, then it may be land in a conserved forest, public land or land which existed under [Sor Kor 1], [Nor Sor 3], [Nor Sor 3 Gor] or a title deed. Any of these titles must have a [Por Bor Tor 6] as tax must be paid, the same as any land without a title. Purchase of such land is possible by handing over the possession of the land to the buyer along with the tax number. The right to land under [Por Bor Tor 6] can not be used as evidence in any dispute with authorities. Sor Por Gor 4-01 Sor Por Gor 4-01 is an allotment of land from the land reformative committee, and under no circumstances may this land be bought or sold. It may be transferred to heirs only. Nor Sor 3 Nor Sor 3 is an instrument certifying the use of land issued by the government to the proprietor of land not a possessory title, i.e. it is confirmed by law that a person holding [Nor Sor 3] has the legal right to possess the land. This land title can be used as a legal document or to use the benefit of the land as an owner. [Nor Sor 3] is a floating map with no parcel points. It is issued for a specific plot of land and is not connected to other land plots. This causes problems in verifying the land area. Any legal acts must be publicized for 30 days. Nor Sor 3 Gor Nor Sor 3 Gor is a legal land title with the same legal basis as [Nor Sor 3]. The difference being that [Nor Sor 3 Gor] has parcel points on the map, and is set by using an aerial survey to set the points and the land area. It is possible to verify a nearby land area. It always uses the same scale of 1:5000. There is no need to publicize any legal acts, and it is possible to partition (divide) the land into smaller plots.