The short answer

Send the purchase money from your own account abroad, in foreign currency, to a Thai bank, with the purpose stated as the purchase of a condominium unit, naming the project and unit. For each transfer of USD 50,000 or more, collect the FET form; for smaller ones, keep every credit advice and ask for a bank confirmation letter. Get the originals before transfer day, keep them with your title deed, and scan them. Use a specialist such as Vita Capital, our FX partner, so a specialist checks every detail — and you get a better rate than your bank.

What the FET form is

The Foreign Exchange Transaction form — formerly called the Tor Tor 3 — is the Thai bank's record that foreign currency came into Thailand and was converted into baht. It's issued by the bank that receives the money, under the Bank of Thailand's exchange control rules.

• It's evidence, not a permit. It proves the money's origin; it doesn't approve the purchase.
• It shows six things: sender, receiver, foreign currency amount, exchange rate, baht amount and purpose.
• It's issued for USD 50,000 or more (or the equivalent) — a practice point rather than law.
• It's needed for freehold condos. The Land Office relies on it under the Condominium Act.
• The officer can't waive it. A Supreme Court decision confirms there's no discretion when evidence is missing.
• It matters again when you sell, to show the money you send out matches what came in.

The documents, stage by stage

What you need at each point, from planning the transfer to long after transfer day.

General pattern; your lawyer confirms what your Land Office asks for. FET threshold and bank practice from ThaiLawOnline (September 2026).

A worked example: three payments, three sets of paperwork

A ฿5,000,000 resale condo paid in three stages, at ฿44.38 = £1. Each payment is purchase money, so each needs its own evidence.

Illustration. Payments sent in foreign currency from the buyer's own account, purpose "purchase of condominium unit". The first two are below USD 50,000, so no FET is issued for them.

Getting the purpose wording right

The purpose field is the line on the FET that matters most. It's what connects the money to your purchase. Ask both the sending and receiving banks — or your FX provider — to record it clearly.

Some Land Offices accept a later bank letter clarifying the purpose; some don't. It's far easier to get it right first time.

The third-party payer problem

The person who sends the money should be the person who'll be registered as owner. When someone else pays, the FET names them — and the Land Office may not accept it as evidence for you.

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Transfers under USD 50,000

Smaller transfers — a reservation deposit, an early instalment — don't get an FET form. They still count as purchase money, so you need other evidence:

• Keep every credit advice the Thai bank issues when money arrives.
• Ask for a bank confirmation letter listing each inward remittance, the foreign currency amount, the baht amount and the purpose.
• Ask while the deal is live. Old remittance records are much harder to retrieve later.
• Use the same purpose wording as on your larger transfers.

Asking your Thai bank for the paperwork

Thai banks issue this paperwork every day, but it helps to ask clearly, and early.

• Tell the branch before the money arrives — the amount, the currency and that it's for a condo purchase.
• Ask by name for the "FET form" (some staff still call it the Tor Tor 3) and for credit advices.
• Check the details on the spot — your name, the amount, the rate and the purpose — before you leave.
• Request the confirmation letter as soon as the last payment lands, not on the eve of transfer day.

If you're not in Thailand while the money arrives, ask your lawyer to collect the documents for you, and have the bank email copies so you can check them straight away.

Off-plan purchases

With off-plan, you may pay the developer directly over a year or more. The developer's bank can issue the FET form for money paid to it. The rules are the same; there are just more transfers to track.

• Confirm with the developer how each instalment's paperwork will be provided.
• Get the original FET for every instalment, not a photocopy later.
• Collect them all before transfer day — don't wait for the developer to bring them.
• Check the total of all your FETs and credit advices against the purchase price.

The UK-side documents

Before the money leaves, your FX provider — and sometimes your UK bank — will ask where it came from. Have these ready:

• Your passport, in date.
• Proof of address — UK or Thai.
• A house-sale completion statement, if that's the source.
• Savings statements showing how the balance built up.
• A pension provider's letter for a lump sum.
• A gift letter and the giver's evidence, if family is helping.
• The sale and purchase agreement or reservation form for the Thai property.
• The recipient's bank details, confirmed by phone.

Who does what

Several people handle a property payment. Knowing who is responsible for each document avoids gaps.

General pattern. Ask your lawyer to confirm the list for your Land Office.

When a form is missing or wrong

It happens: baht sent instead of pounds, a blank purpose, a payment from the wrong account. Lost paperwork isn't usually an absolute blocker, but rebuilding it can take months. Act early:

1. Get the bank's own record of the transfer.
2. Ask for a corrective letter, often confirming the purpose.
3. Have your lawyer check the Land Office's position at least a week before transfer day.
4. Consider re-sending correctly documented funds if the original can't be fixed.
5. Take advice before re-papering any part of the deal.
6. Keep everything — the original, the correction and the bank's letter.

Which purchases need an FET?

The FET requirement is specific to freehold condominium units. But a clean paper trail helps whatever you buy.

ThaiLawOnline (September 2026). Take legal advice on your own purchase.

Your property document file

Keep one file — paper and scanned — with everything to do with the money and the purchase. You'll need it on transfer day, for tax, for visas and, one day, when you sell.

• Sale and purchase agreement and any addenda.
• Every FET form, in the original.
• Every credit advice and the bank confirmation letter.
• Your FX provider's confirmations for each transfer.
• Source-of-funds evidence — completion statement, savings statements.
• The building's foreign quota and fees letter.
• Land Office receipts for fees and taxes.
• The title deed, with a note of where the original is kept.

Why it matters again when you sell

When you sell and want to send the proceeds abroad, the outward bank will want to see that the money leaving matches the money that originally came in, plus any gain. Clean inward FETs make that straightforward. Missing ones can turn a simple transfer into weeks of questions.

That's one more reason to treat the paperwork as part of the asset. It's worth as much as the deed when the time comes to sell — and when you do, ask a specialist for a quote to convert the baht back to pounds rather than accepting the first rate offered.

The paperwork mistakes we see most

1. Sending baht instead of foreign currency.
2. Leaving the purpose blank or writing "investment".
3. Paying from a company, parent or partner's account.
4. Splitting payments to stay under the FET threshold.
5. Waiting until transfer day to collect the originals.
6. Keeping no scans — and losing the originals years later.

Protecting the payment and the paperwork

• Confirm bank details by phone before any property payment.
• Be suspicious of last-minute changes to where money should go.
• Send scans through a private, protected connection, not open hotel or café Wi-Fi.
• Store scans securely, with a strong password manager for your accounts.

How we researched this guide

We used ThaiLawOnline's guide to the FET form (published 5 August 2026, reviewed 28 September 2026), which notes that the USD 50,000 threshold and bank and Land Office practice are practice points rather than statute; Vita Capital's own published information on its private client and escrow services (October 2026); Wise's August 2026 comparison of UK banks' margins; and our own guides to Thai bank accounts for property buyers. Worked examples use ฿44.38 = £1 (Wise, 12 October 2026). Vita Capital is JLIT's FX and escrow partner; we arrange introductions and may receive a fee, which never changes the rate you're quoted. Checked 13 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice — always use an independent Thai lawyer.