Lawyers for Expats Thailand

Who We Are

Lawyers for Expats Thailand, the trading name of Lawyer for Expat (Thailand) Co., Ltd., is a dedicated Thai law firm built around one purpose: protecting foreigners who live, retire, invest, work, marry or do business in Thailand.

We are an all-Thai legal team supported by foreign-facing client liaison, which means our clients get genuine Thai legal authority delivered in plain English. Our lawyers appear before Thai authorities, Land Offices, the Department of Business Development and the Thai courts. Our client care team makes sure you understand every step in your own language.

Today we are recognised as the go-to law firm for foreigners in Thailand, with thousands of wins and success stories behind us and nationwide coverage from Chiang Mai to Phuket, Bangkok to Isaan, Pattaya to Hua Hin and Koh Samui.

Our Reputation

• Established firm with thousands of successful client matters, resolved cases and protected investments
• Over 22,000 followers across our Facebook community, where we publish free legal education for the expat community every week
• Nationwide coverage across all provinces of Thailand, with remote and in-person service
• A recognised leader in the Thai property market for foreign buyers, and one of the most trusted names in foreign property structuring in the Kingdom
• Setting new standards of protection for foreigners investing in Thai property through our Property Charter, now being adopted by a growing number of realtors and developers across Thailand
• Renowned for following the law, not bypassing it, and for giving clients legal, safe and durable solutions

We are best known for one thing above all: we tell foreign clients the truth about Thai law, even when it is not what they want to hear. That honesty is why clients, realtors and developers send their friends and customers to us.

Our Absolute No-Nominee Stance

Lawyers for Expats Thailand has never offered, and will never offer, nominee arrangements.

We do not set up Thai companies for foreigners to indirectly own land. We do not sell “30+30+30” lease promises that cannot be enforced. We do not use Thai nominee shareholders, fake shareholders or hidden loan-back structures.

Nominee structures are illegal under Thai law, and the enforcement environment is tightening every year. Foreign buyers who were sold these structures are the clients who now come to us to be rescued.

Instead, we build lawful, registered, enforceable protections: registered leases with special conditions, superficies, usufruct, habitation rights, Sap-Ing-Sith registered property rights, genuine and properly capitalised companies, Treaty of Amity structures, Foreign Business Licences and BOI promotion. Everything we build is designed to survive scrutiny by the Land Office, the DBD and a Thai court.

Legal and safe, every time. No shortcuts.

Property: A Leader in the Field

Property is where Lawyers for Expats Thailand now leads the market for foreign buyers in Thailand.

• Full title deed and Chanote due diligence
• Foreign quota verification and condominium purchases
• FET and remittance evidence for foreign funds
• Sale and purchase agreement drafting and review
• Registered 30-year leases with special conditions, drafted for real protection
• Superficies, usufruct, habitation and Sap-Ing-Sith registered rights
• House ownership and land lease separation for foreign buyers
• Off-plan and developer contract review
• Sinking fund, common fee and debt-free certificate checks
• Land Office transfer representation and fee calculation
• Building permits, land allotment and construction disputes
• Rescue and remediation work for buyers already inside unsafe structures

We also work directly with developers, realtors and property professionals to raise standards across the industry, so foreign buyers can purchase in Thailand with confidence rather than with crossed fingers.

The Lease with Special Conditions

One of the strongest lawful protections available to a foreign buyer in Thailand is a properly registered lease with special conditions, and it is one of the areas our firm is best known for.

Thirty years is the maximum lease term Thai law allows to be registered. We say that plainly. We do not sell “30+30” or “30+30+30” leases, because a promised future renewal of that kind is not enforceable and gives a buyer false comfort.

What we do instead is make the registered term itself far stronger. A lease with special conditions, properly drafted and registered at the Land Office, can address:

• Transferability, so the lease can be assigned and sold on during the registered term
• Succession, so the benefit of the lease can pass to a spouse or children within what the law allows
• Rights over the house and buildings, held separately from the land
• Building, renovating, extending and altering the property
• Sub-letting and rental income during the term
• Prepaid rent, so the buyer is not exposed to future rent demands
• Landowner obligations, restrictions on dealing with the land, and consent requirements
• Protection on a sale of the land, so the lease continues to bind a new owner
• A conditional first opportunity at a further term, expressed honestly as a better prospect and never as a guarantee

The result is not a loophole. It is a registered real right on the title, visible to the Land Office and enforceable in a Thai court, that gives a foreign buyer genuine security and a genuinely saleable asset.

Where a stronger right is available, we will say so. Superficies, usufruct, habitation and Sap-Ing-Sith may suit your situation better than a lease alone, and we frequently combine them.

The Property Charter: Setting a New Standard of Protection

We are not only advising foreign buyers, we are changing the market they buy in.

The Property Charter, issued by Lawyer for Expat (Thailand) Co., Ltd., is a formal code of practice for realtors and developers who sell Thai property to foreign buyers. Agencies and developers who sign it commit publicly to a written standard of conduct, and receive a display certificate they can show to their clients.

Signatories to the Property Charter undertake to:

• Never promote or facilitate nominee arrangements, or Thai companies formed solely to hold property for foreigners
• Give honest advice about what a foreign buyer can and cannot lawfully own in Thailand
• Disclose loans, mortgages and encumbrances affecting the property
• Respect and correctly verify the condominium foreign quota
• Provide written contracts in a language the client genuinely understands
• Protect client money and account for it properly
• Market honestly, without misleading ownership claims or unenforceable promises
• Never offer inducements to public officials
• Put the client's continuing interests first, before and after the sale

The Charter is being adopted by a growing number of realtors and developers across Thailand, and it is setting a new standard of protection for foreigners wishing to invest in the Thai property market. For buyers, the Charter is a simple signal: an agency that displays it has publicly committed to selling to you lawfully.

If you are a developer or realtor who wants to be part of it, contact us about becoming a signatory.

Immigration and Visas

• Long Term Resident (LTR) visas: Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioner, Work-from-Thailand and Highly Skilled Professional
• Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) in all its qualifying categories
• Retirement visas and annual extensions of stay
• Marriage visas and marriage extension financial requirements
• Non-Immigrant B, work permits and BOI work permits
• Visa exempt to Non-O conversions inside Thailand
• Permanent Residence and Thai citizenship applications
• TM30, 90-day reporting and residence certificates
• Overstay, entry ban and deportation matters

Business and Company

• Thai company formation, structuring and proper capitalisation
• Foreign Business Licences and Foreign Business Certificates
• Treaty of Amity registration for US nationals
• BOI promotion applications and compliance
• Branch offices and representative offices
• Shareholder agreements, share transfers and company exits
• Work permits and duty-scope compliance for foreign staff
• Employment contracts, PDPA compliance and corporate governance
• Ongoing accounting, filing and DBD compliance support

Marriage and Family

• Marriage registration in Thailand for foreign nationals
• Legalisation of foreign marriage and divorce documents for Thai use
• Prenuptial agreements, registered and enforceable
• Divorce, both consensual and contested
• Child custody, including cross-border and international custody disputes
• Thai-law wills, inheritance and estate administration
• Protection of the Thai spouse and the family home
• Powers of attorney and incapacity planning for couples

Working with the Department of Business Development and the Ministry of Commerce

Lawyers for Expats Thailand collaborates with the Department of Business Development (DBD) under the Ministry of Commerce to promote, educate and assist foreign businesses operating in Thailand.

That relationship shapes how we work. We act as a direct bridge between foreign investors and the Thai authorities: liaising with the registrar on structuring questions, filing and maintaining company records correctly, and helping foreign business owners understand what the Foreign Business Act actually requires of them.

We also carry that education outward, through seminars, roadshows, realtor and developer briefings, exhibitions, free consultation events, our legal blog and our video channel. The goal is simple: fewer foreigners falling into unlawful structures, and more foreign businesses operating in Thailand properly, confidently and legally.

Our Team

Kanokpich Ukritdutsadee (Lawyer Pook) — Head of Legal Department. A Thai lawyer and barrister with 21 years of experience, licensed under the Lawyers Council of Thailand, able to advise clients and represent them in the Thai courts. Lawyer Pook leads our all-Thai legal team and is the author of our legal blog.

Brian John Ramsden — General Manager of Foreign Affairs. Brian is our client liaison and spokesperson, and is the interface between foreign clients, the firm and the Thai authorities. Brian is not a lawyer. All legal advice is provided by our licensed Thai legal team.

Behind them stands a full team of Thai lawyers, case workers, translators and administrative staff who handle matters nationwide. Meet the team.

Why Clients Choose Us

• Foreigner-focused: this is all we do, every day
• Honest advice, including when the answer is no
• Absolutely no nominee structures, ever
• Setting new standards of buyer protection through our Property Charter
• Fixed, transparent fees with government charges shown separately
• Communication in English, with Thai legal precision behind it
• Nationwide service, wherever your property, business or family is
• Thousands of wins and success stories, and a community of over 22,000 followers

Contact Us

Office: 88/168 Moo 3, Soi Pattaya 1, Naimueang Subdistrict, Mueang District, Khon Kaen, Thailand.

Book a consultation today and get a clear, lawful answer about your property, visa, business, or family matter in Thailand.

Lawyers for Expats Thailand

Discuss your concerns before making a decision

Confidential consultation. Available Monday to Saturday.

+66 95 658 3038info@lawyersforexpatsthailand.com

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Lawyer for Expat (Thailand) Co., Ltd., trading as Lawyers for Expats Thailand. The content of this page is general legal information and does not constitute legal advice for any specific matter. Please contact us for advice on your individual circumstances.