Inheriting Property in Thailand: Guide for Foreign Heirs

Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline, a licensed Thai law firm practising in Thailand since 2006. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556.

Last updated on August 23, 2026

Foreigners often have problems when inheriting property in Thailand. This is due to a mix of strong inheritance rights and strict public laws. This guide clearly explains how these two legal frameworks interact, especially when inheriting land, condominiums, or buildings.

The statutory basis for all of this is Land Code sections 86 to 96, which you can read in Chapter 8 of the Thai Land Code, bilingual and section by section. For condominium units the governing text is a different statute: sections 19 to 19 novem of the Condominium Act B.E. 2522. Section numbers are given below so every rule on this page can be checked against the consolidated Thai text.

Foreign heirs face a disposal requirement on land, which sits within our guide to inheritance law in Thailand.

Understanding Thai Succession Law

In Thailand, there are two types of heirs:

• Statutory Heirs: These are relatives designated by Thai law to inherit automatically if there is no valid will. Thai law recognizes six classes of statutory heirs, including spouses.
• Legatees: These heirs are specifically named in a valid will, either Thai or foreign.

Both statutory heirs and legatees can be foreigners. However, different rules apply when they inherit land or condos because of public-law restrictions.

Probate Court Role

Before inheriting property, an estate administrator must be appointed by the Thai probate court. Without this court order, property title transfers at the Land Office or Condominium Registry cannot proceed.

Inheriting Land: Key Restrictions

Thai land inheritance is governed mainly by sections 93-96 of the Land Code:

• Section 93 covers a STATUTORY heir only. Where a foreigner acquires land by inheritance as a statutory heir (ทายาทโดยธรรม), the Minister of Interior may permit the acquisition, provided that the land, added to whatever the foreigner already holds, stays within the section 87 limits. Section 87 sets those limits: 1 rai per family for residence, 1 rai for commerce, 10 rai for industry, 10 rai per family for agriculture, 1 rai for religious use, 5 rai for public charity and half a rai per family for burial. Permission is discretionary, not automatic.
  A foreign LEGATEE under a will is not within section 93 at all. This page says elsewhere that both statutory heirs and legatees can be foreigners, and that is true of the civil right to inherit. It is not true of the right to hold the land: a foreign legatee has no route through section 93, so the acquisition is one made without permission and goes straight to section 94.
• Section 94, forced disposal. Land a foreigner acquires unlawfully or without permission must be disposed of within the period the Director-General of the Department of Lands fixes, and that period cannot be shorter than 180 days or longer than one year. The bounds are on the Director-General’s discretion, not a window the heir chooses. If the land is not sold inside it, the Director-General has the power to sell it, applying the compulsory-disposal provisions in Chapter 3 of the Land Code. Section 94 itself carries no fine and no prison term.
• Section 95 is about losing Thai nationality, not about inheriting too much. It applies to someone who acquired land while Thai and later becomes a foreigner: they keep as much as a foreigner is entitled to hold and must dispose of the rest, with section 94 applying to that disposal. It matters to a family where an heir has naturalised, which is common enough to be worth knowing. The rule for an heir who is granted permission but ends up over the limit is in section 93 itself, through the section 87 ceiling.
• Section 96, holding land for a foreigner. Where a person has acquired land as owner on behalf of a foreigner, or on behalf of a juristic person treated as foreign under sections 97 or 98, the Director-General may sell the land, again applying section 94. Section 96 itself imposes no penalty. The criminal exposure is in section 113: acquiring land as agent of a foreigner or of a section 97 or 98 juristic person carries a fine not exceeding 20,000 baht, imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both. Contravening section 86, the general prohibition on foreign acquisition, carries the same range under section 111.

Condominium Inheritance: Easier but Conditional

Inheriting condominiums in Thailand is more straightforward but still has specific rules:

• The quota is section 19 bis of the Condominium Act, and it is not measured on the building. Foreign holdings combined must not exceed 49% of the area of all the units in that condominium (เนื้อที่ของห้องชุดทั้งหมด), and the denominator is fixed at the time the condominium was registered under section 6. It is not 49% of the number of units and it is not 49% of the building’s floor space, which would include common property. Separately, the heir has to qualify in their own right under section 19: permanent residence, admission under the investment promotion law, a juristic person within Land Code sections 97 or 98, a BOI-promoted foreign juristic person, or bringing in foreign currency. For that last route section 19 ter requires evidence of an amount not less than the price of the unit.
• The one-year rule, and the 60-day step almost nobody mentions. Which provision applies depends on whether the heir qualifies under section 19 at all.
  If the heir does qualify but the unit takes the building over the section 19 bis quota, section 19 quinque applies. Its first trigger is expressly the inheritance case: acquisition as a statutory heir, as a legatee under a will, or otherwise. The heir must notify the competent official in writing within 60 days of the cause arising, and must dispose within not more than one year of acquiring ownership. On this trigger only the excess has to go, not the whole holding.
  If the heir does not qualify under section 19, section 19 septem applies instead: notify in writing within 60 days of acquiring ownership and dispose of the unit within one year.
  Either way, if the year passes the Director-General of the Department of Lands may sell the unit, applying the Land Code Chapter 3 compulsory-disposal provisions. The 60-day notice is a separate duty from the sale and it runs first.

Special Case: Fully Foreign-Owned Condos

Some buildings sit entirely or almost entirely in foreign hands under earlier rules. That changes nothing for an heir: the qualification test in section 19 is personal to the heir, and where the building is already at or over the section 19 bis quota the section 19 quinque clock starts anyway. Two sections that do help a family are section 19 octo and section 19 novem, which deal with an owner who acquired the unit while Thai and later lost Thai nationality: if that person is not a section 19 foreigner they notify within 60 days and dispose of everything within a year, but if they are within section 19 they may keep the unit on notifying and producing evidence that they qualify.

Buildings on Leased Land

Foreigners can inherit buildings separate from the land, as land restrictions do not apply to buildings. However, lease agreements must explicitly include inheritance clauses, and lease renewals beyond 30 years face legal scrutiny.

Practical Checklist for Foreign Heirs

To ensure smooth inheritance:

1. Determine heir status (statutory or legatee).
2. Identify property type (land, condominium, or building only).
3. Check qualification for ministerial approval or condo ownership quota.
4. Obtain probate order and necessary documents (e.g., foreign currency transaction forms).
5. If forced disposal is required, promptly initiate property sale within legal deadlines.
6. Consider alternative options like leases or usufruct agreements if direct ownership is not permitted.

Taxes and Fees

Inheritance-related property transfers incur certain fees:

• Transfer fees: Typically 2% of property appraisal value. The reduced 0.01% rate running to 30 June 2027 applies only to purchases by individual Thai nationals, so it does not cover a transfer to heirs.
• Inheritance tax: Applicable only if the estate exceeds 100 million THB, with varying rates and exemptions.

Conclusion

Foreigners can inherit property in Thailand, but they must carefully follow civil rights and public-law rules. Foreign heirs can manage property inheritance better by understanding the rules, getting professional help, and following clear steps. This way, they can avoid expensive forced sales.

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