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HomeProperty LawBuying Property With
How We Help
Buying Property With
a Thai Spouse
Marriage does not give a foreign national the right to own land. The land goes into your Thai spouse’s name, and a declaration is signed at the Land Department. What we do is build the protection around that: a registered right to occupy, the house held separately where possible, and wills on both sides.
The Legal Position
What the title deed can and cannot say
A foreign national cannot be registered as the owner of land in Thailand, and marriage does not change that. When a couple buys, the land is registered in the Thai spouse’s sole name, and at the transfer both spouses normally sign a declaration that the funds were the Thai spouse’s personal property (sin suan tua).
That is the starting point, not the finish. These are the three things that decide how well the foreign spouse is protected.
The Land Is in One Name
The land is registered to the Thai spouse alone. The foreign spouse signs a declaration at the Land Department confirming the purchase funds were the Thai spouse's personal property.
The Building Can Be Separate
Ownership of a house is a distinct legal right from ownership of the land under it. The building can be registered to the foreign spouse through a superficies.
Rights Are Registered, Not Assumed
A usufruct, a superficies or a lease only protects you once it is drawn correctly and entered on the title deed at the Land Office. A promise is not a right.
What We Do
The scope of work on a spousal purchase
From the first advice through to registration at the Land Office, this is the work.
- Advice on how ownership will actually work for your specific property — land, house, condominium or a plot still to be built on
- Preparation and explanation of the Land Department sin suan tua declaration before the transfer date
- Registration of a usufruct in the foreign spouse's favour, giving a lifetime right to occupy and use
- A superficies where the foreign spouse is to own the house as a structure separate from the land
- Review of financial contributions and a written record of what was a gift and what was a loan
- Wills for both partners, coordinated so the property and the protective rights pass as intended
- Full due diligence on the land and title, and representation at the Land Office on the transfer day
- A written scope and fee estimate before you instruct us
Where It Goes Wrong
What we are most often asked to fix
The protection is cheapest and strongest when it is put in place at the purchase. These are the situations that arise when it was not.
No Registered Right at All
The most common situation we are asked to fix: land bought years ago in a spouse's name, with nothing registered for the foreign partner. Options narrow once the relationship is under strain.
The Declaration Signed Unread
The sin suan tua declaration is often produced at the counter and signed on the spot. Its wording affects any later claim and should be seen in advance.
Assuming Marriage Creates a Share
It does not. Land in the Thai spouse's name after the declaration is that spouse's separate property. The foreign spouse's money is not on the title.
A Loan With No Paper
Money moved between partners with no record of whether it was a gift or a loan is the root of most later disputes — not the amount, the ambiguity.
Our Commitment
How we handle a purchase between partners
These matters are personal as well as legal. Our job is to make the legal side solid so the personal side is not tested by it later.
- We act for you as an individual, and we will say so plainly if your interests and your spouse's diverge
- We put protective rights in writing and on the title, not in a side letter
- We explain every document to both partners before anyone signs
- We never present a structure as making the foreign spouse an owner of land — that is not lawful and we will not imply it
- We raise wills and succession as part of the purchase, not as an afterthought
- Every contribution is recorded as a gift or a loan, in writing, at the time
Before You Instruct Us
Where to be before the first conversation
None of this needs to be resolved before you call. It is what makes the first meeting productive.
- Know what you are buying — bare land, a house and land, a condominium, or a plot to build on
- Be clear, between the two of you, on who is contributing what
- Decide whether contributions are gifts or loans, and be willing to record it
- Be open to registering a usufruct or superficies rather than relying on trust alone
- Both partners available for at least one meeting together
- Be prepared to make or update a will as part of the same process
Before You Instruct Us
Questions couples ask
Q
If my spouse buys the land, do I own any of it?
No. A foreign national cannot own land in Thailand, and that does not change on marriage. The land is registered in your Thai spouse's sole name. At the transfer the Land Department normally requires both spouses to sign a declaration confirming the funds are the Thai spouse's personal property (sin suan tua) and that the foreign spouse has no claim to the land itself. What you can hold is a registered right over that land — most commonly a usufruct — and ownership of the building separately.
Q
What is the declaration at the Land Office, and why does it matter?
It is a written statement, signed by both spouses, that the money used to buy the land belongs to the Thai spouse alone. It exists to keep the purchase within the foreign ownership rules. It is routine, but its wording has real consequences for any later claim, so it should be read and understood before it is signed — not seen for the first time at the counter.
Q
Can I protect my position if the relationship ends or my spouse dies?
To a significant degree, yes, and this is the core of what we do on these matters. A usufruct registered in your favour gives you a lifetime right to live in and use the property regardless of what happens to the marriage. Owning the house as a structure separate from the land, a superficies, and properly drawn wills on both sides all add protection. None of it is automatic — each has to be put in place correctly and registered.
Q
Is land bought during the marriage marital property?
Land registered in the Thai spouse's name after the sin suan tua declaration is treated as that spouse's separate property, not shared marital property. This is precisely why the protective rights above matter: without them, the foreign spouse's contribution is not reflected on the title at all.
Q
Should both of us see the lawyer?
Wherever possible, yes. Both partners hearing the same explanation, and each able to ask their own questions, makes for better decisions and removes any later suggestion that one side did not understand what was signed.
Related Resources
Protecting a foreign spouse’s position
The factual detail behind the protective rights lives in the Property Law guidance.
Usufruct in Thailand
→Guide: the lifetime right to use and occupy land owned by someone else, and how it is registered.
Superficies in Thailand
→Guide: owning a building as a legal right separate from the land beneath it.
Marriage to a Thai National
→The wider legal picture for a mixed-nationality marriage — property, finances and status.
Wills & Estate Planning
→Coordinated wills so the property and the rights over it pass as you intend.
Lawyers for Expats Thailand, 2026. This page is general information about buying property with a Thai spouse and does not constitute legal advice. Marital property, the Land Department declaration and protective structures all turn on individual circumstances. Contact us for advice on your specific situation.