FET form in Thailand: the proof of funds the Land Office needs for a condo

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A FET form (Foreign Exchange Transaction form) is the certificate a Thai bank issues when it receives foreign currency from abroad and converts it into baht. For a foreigner buying a condo in Thailand, it is the document that proves the purchase money arrived the way section 19(5) of the Condominium Act requires. The Land Office checks it on transfer day, together with the building's 49% foreign quota. Both points are fixed by statute, so both can be settled before you pay a deposit.

What a FET form is

A FET form is the receiving bank's certificate of an inbound foreign currency transfer: who sent it, how much arrived, and what it was for. Thai law does not use the words "FET form". The statute asks for evidence that foreign currency was brought into Thailand, and the bank certificate is how buyers supply it.

The legal test sits in two provisions. Section 19(5) names, among the foreigners who may own a unit, a foreigner "who brings foreign currency into the Kingdom", or who withdraws money from a non-resident baht account or a foreign currency deposit account.¹ Section 19 ter(5) then tells the buyer what to show the land officer: evidence of that inflow or withdrawal "in an amount not less than the price of the unit".³

The Bank of Thailand's summary of the inbound transfer rules describes the bank's side in one line: the customer states the amount and purpose, and the bank issues evidence of the transaction to the customer.⁶ The Thai government's information portal adds the practice buyers meet at the counter. For a remittance of USD 50,000 or the equivalent, the bank receives the foreign exchange transaction form with supporting documents and issues the certificate. For a smaller transfer, the buyer asks the bank for its own certificate.⁵ Either way, the Land Office wants a bank document that ties the money to the purchase.

Sending the purchase money

Send foreign currency from an account abroad, let the Thai bank convert it, and make the transfer describe the purchase. Keep one certificate for every tranche. Added together, the certificates must reach the full price of the unit, because section 19 ter(5) sets that floor.

• Currency. Send US dollars, pounds, euros or another foreign currency. Conversion into baht should happen at the Thai bank, which is the event the certificate records.
• Purpose line. The government portal asks the sender to state on the transfer instruction, in English, "For Purchasing Condominium", the name of the condominium and the unit number under the buyer's full name.⁵ Use the name exactly as it appears in your passport.
• Every tranche. Off-plan purchases are paid in installments. Ask for a certificate each time. Missing one tranche leaves a gap between the evidence and the price.
• Originals. Bring the certificates and the transfer confirmations to the Land Office on transfer day.

Section 19(5) also accepts two other routes: withdrawals from a non-resident baht account and withdrawals from a foreign currency deposit account.¹ Money that took some other path, such as cash baht deposited locally, does not match the wording of the section. The money may also be taxable when it arrives. A Thai tax resident who brings foreign income into Thailand can owe Thai income tax on it; see our guide to the remittance tax before you plan the transfer. The Thai-language rules are explained on Eksiam Tax's page on foreign income brought into Thailand.

How the 49% foreign quota is checked

The quota is 49% of the total floor area of all units in the building, measured as at the building's registration as a condominium. It is not 49% of the number of units. The seller must disclose the current foreign holdings to the land officer, and the officer registers the transfer only if the total stays within the cap.

Section 19 bis sets the cap for each condominium building separately.² Because the measure is area, a building can have fewer than half of its units in foreign hands and still be full, if the foreign-owned units are the large ones.

The check happens in two steps. Under section 19 ter, the person transferring the unit must give the officer the list of foreign owners and the proportion of floor area they already hold. The buyer, at the same time, presents the evidence described above.³ Under section 19 quater, the officer registers the transfer only if the documents are in order and the foreign holdings, existing and new together, do not exceed the section 19 bis limit.⁴

The disclosure duty falls on the seller. Ask for the same list and proportion in writing before you pay anything. A developer or owner who cannot produce it now will not be able to produce it on transfer day either. If the building is already at the cap, the officer cannot register the unit to you. A registered lease is a different right with different rules; see renting and long-term leases.

Permanent residents and other routes

Section 19 lists five categories of foreign owner. A retiree usually qualifies under section 19(5), through money brought in from abroad. A foreigner permitted to reside in Thailand under the immigration law qualifies under section 19(1) and proves that residence status instead.

Section 19 ter(1) asks a section 19(1) buyer for evidence of permission to reside under the immigration law.³ The government portal reads this as permanent residence and says such a buyer may pay in baht without a FET certificate.⁵ A retirement extension of stay granted on a Non-Immigrant O visa (วีซ่าประเภทคนอยู่ชั่วคราว รหัส O) is permission to stay temporarily. In our reading it is not the residence status section 19(1) describes, so a retiree on an extension should plan on the section 19(5) route.

The other categories concern foreigners admitted under the investment promotion law and certain juristic persons. They rarely apply to an individual retiree.¹

How Australia and Canada treat foreign buyers

Thailand lets foreigners buy condo units but conditions ownership on a per-building quota and on proof that the money came from abroad. Australia and Canada take the opposite approach for existing homes: both have imposed temporary bans on most foreign purchases, including condominium units in Canada.

Australia. From 1 April 2025, foreign persons, including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies, have been barred from buying established dwellings unless an exception applies. In the 2026–27 Budget the Government announced an extension of the ban until 30 June 2029. Permanent residents and New Zealand citizens remain outside it.⁷

Canada. The Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act took effect on 1 January 2023. The Government later announced an extension to 1 January 2027. The Act covers buildings with three dwelling units or fewer, and CMHC states that this includes condominium units. Property outside census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations is outside the ban.⁸

For a reader from either country, the contrast is useful. Thailand does not ask whether you may buy at all. It asks two narrower questions: is there room in this building, and can you prove where the money came from?

Law and Economics and Related Disciplines

Governments control foreign demand for housing with three kinds of tool: outright bans, taxes on foreign buyers, and quantity caps. Thailand uses a quantity cap for each building, plus a condition on how the money arrives. Research on foreign capital in housing helps explain why the cap matters to an individual buyer.

Caitlin Gorback and Benjamin Keys studied how foreign demand moves local housing markets. They used the foreign-buyer taxes that other countries introduced from 2011 as a shock to demand in the United States. Their abstract reports that house prices grew 8 percentage points more in US zip codes with large foreign-born Chinese populations after 2011. It also reports that a 1% increase in foreign capital raised zip-code house prices by 0.27% but housing supply by only 0.004%.⁹

The finding describes the United States, not Thailand. The mechanism still carries over: in the short run, housing supply barely responds to outside money. In our reading, a per-building cap like section 19 bis turns the remaining foreign quota in a sought-after building into a scarce entitlement of its own. That is why the quota should be confirmed in writing before you negotiate the price, not after.

The currency condition in section 19(5) does something else. It ties each foreign purchase to a traceable bank record of an inflow. That is also why the Land Office can check the rule in a single sitting: the bank has already created the paper trail.

After the purchase

Keep the FET certificates with the title deed. They are the evidence of how the unit was acquired, and a buyer from you who is a foreigner will need their own. Put the unit in a Thai will so that the heir's position is settled before it matters.

Our guide to the Thai will covers what happens when a foreign heir inherits a condo. The underlying Thai rules on succession and the forms of a will are set out on Eksiam Legal's page on inheritance and wills. The wider purchase process, including title checks and transfer costs, is in buying a condo in Thailand.

Common questions

These answers rest on sections 19, 19 bis, 19 ter and 19 quater of the Condominium Act B.E. 2522, as published by the Department of Lands, and on the government's guidance on transfers for asset purchases.

What is a FET form in Thailand?

A FET form (Foreign Exchange Transaction form) is the certificate a Thai bank issues when it receives foreign currency from abroad and converts it into baht. Foreign condo buyers present it at the Land Office as the evidence section 19 ter(5) of the Condominium Act requires: proof of foreign currency brought into Thailand in an amount not less than the price of the unit.

Do I need a FET form to buy a condo in Thailand?

A retiree buying under section 19(5) of the Condominium Act needs bank evidence that foreign currency was brought in, or that money was withdrawn from a non-resident baht account or a foreign currency deposit account, covering at least the unit price. The certificate is the usual form of that evidence. A foreigner permitted to reside in Thailand under the immigration law buys under section 19(1) and proves residence status instead.

Can I pay for a Thai condo in baht?

Only through the routes section 19(5) names: foreign currency brought into Thailand, or withdrawals from a non-resident baht account or a foreign currency deposit account. Baht that reached you any other way does not match the wording of the section. The government's guidance says a permanent resident may pay in baht, because that buyer qualifies under section 19(1).

How do I check the 49% foreign quota of a condo building?

Ask the seller in writing for the list of foreign owners and the proportion of floor area they hold. Section 19 ter obliges the seller to give exactly this to the land officer at transfer, and section 19 bis measures the cap as 49% of the total unit area of the building as at its registration as a condominium, not by number of units.

What happens if the building's foreign quota is full?

Section 19 quater allows the land officer to register a transfer to a foreigner only if foreign holdings, existing and new together, stay within the 49% limit. If the quota is full, the unit cannot be registered in your name. A registered lease is a different right with its own rules.