| If you can't find the answer to your question here please contact us, buying Phuket land and property can be complicated. Remember though, that when you buy your property and land through Phuket Marbella we are experts in the process of buying Phuket property and land so that you don't need to be! Our experienced professional staff will guide you through the whole process from start to finish.
Can I own property in Phuket ??
FOREIGN NATIONALS MAY OWN
- A unit in a registered Condominium
- A building (as distinct from it's land)
- A registered leasehold of up to 30 years
for all types of titled land (and/or buildings). However with
appropriate extension and purchase options a 30 year lease can
become tantamount to freehold purchase.
FOREIGN NATIONALS MAY NOT OWN
- Freehold Land
- More than 49% of the shares in a Thai
company that owns freehold land
What will it cost me ??
Labour and local building material costs
are low, but imported materials and prime beach land cost more than
many would expect. Proximity to the beach is the single biggest
determinant of land cost. Beach front land can cost up to fifty
times that of land plots in the centre of the island.
What kind of visa
can I get to stay in Thailand ??
There are four basic types of visas available
for visitors and residents to Thailand .
Transit visa - valid for 14 days will be issued
to those people arriving in Thailand without a visa. Technically
you must have an onward flight ticket, but in practice this visa
will be issued almost without question. Note : There are a few countries
(not many) that do not require visas and will get a three month
entry stamp on arrival - in general these countries are the ones
that grant the same rights to Thai nationals visiting their countries.
Tourist visa - issued
by Thai embassy abroad - these visas will be valid for 60 or 90
days (varies from country to country). Of note is that you may apply
for more than one Tourist visa at a time and these multiple visas
may be used up consecutively. Many quasi resident visitors to Phuket
(who do not work - or want to avoid the red tape of a Non Immigrant
visa) live for years on a tourist visa (and go shopping in Singapore
or Penang every three months). So long as you are solvent and not
engaging in any local business activity, there is nothing wrong
with this approach.
Non Immigrant visa
- issued at an embassy outside Thailand and valid for a 90 day stay,
this visa may be extended within Thailand for periods up to one
year at a time. There are three basic grounds to obtain and renew
a Non Immigrant visa. 1) that you are employed (and have a work
permit) in Thailand . 2) That you have Thai family. 3) That you
are retired and can prove adequate pension or other financial means
to support yourself. Ownership (or long lease) of property has no
bearing on the extension of a Non Immigrant visa. Lengthy form filling
and copying of personal documents (in duplicate) are required both
when you first apply and for every subsequent renewal of this visa.
If you hold a non Immigrant visa, you should obtain a Re-Entry permit
if leaving the country if you do not wish your visa to lapse.
Resident visa - rarely
issued and hard to obtain. These visas are issued on a very selective
quota basis. Qualification requirements include reading and writing
Thai, a fairly strong local financial status and some good (influential)
Thai references.
Can I work in Phuket ??
There are generally very few employment opportunities
for a foreigner in Phuket. The biggest employers of foreigners are
the hotels (management, finance and chefs), but these appointments
are usually filled from abroad. The second biggest employer of foreigners
will be the International schools (some of these positions are local
hire). Most other legally employed foreigners (and the biggest group
overall) on the island are the owner/proprietors of small businesses.
Every foreigner employed needs to have
a work permit before he can work. The company employing you must
apply for this. Generally no company with a registered capital under
3,000,000 Baht may employ a foreigner (unless it can be proved that
the job he will engage in cannot be done by a Thai). There are no
fixed capital rules for obtaining a second foreign work permit within
any given company. Applications will be judged individually on the
basis of total capital investment and the absence of Thai's who
could perform the same roles
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