The short answer

Fund a Thai condo by sending foreign currency from your own account abroad to your own Thai bank account, with the purpose stated, so the Thai bank converts it and issues the FET form (or a credit advice for smaller sums) the Land Office needs. Budget for the price, your share of the transfer fee and the exchange rate. Get a quote from an FX specialist such as Vita Capital, our FX partner, rather than accepting your bank's rate — and if completion is months away, fix the rate with a forward contract so a fall in the pound can't raise the price.

The rules your money must follow

Foreigners can own a condo unit freehold in their own name in Thailand. The conditions are about the building and the money:

• From abroad. The purchase money must be brought into Thailand from overseas.
• In foreign currency. It should arrive as pounds (or another foreign currency) and be converted by the Thai bank.
• In your name. The sender should be the buyer, from the buyer's own account.
• With a stated purpose — "purchase of condominium unit" with the building and unit number.
• With proof. An FET form for USD 50,000 or more; a credit advice and bank letter for smaller amounts.
• Within the 49% quota. Foreign ownership in the building must stay within 49% of the total floor area.

Where the money usually comes from

Whichever it is, you'll be asked where the money came from — by your FX provider, by your UK bank and sometimes by the Thai bank. Have the evidence in one folder before you start.

How Thai property purchases are usually paid

Typical stages for a resale condo and an off-plan unit. Your sale contract sets the actual amounts and dates.

General pattern; amounts and timing vary. Ask your lawyer to check every payment against the foreign-currency rule.

Our recommended way to fund the purchase

Our number one for moving the purchase money, the Thai account to receive it, and a cheap option for everything else.

A full budget for a ฿5 million condo

A resale condo at ฿5,000,000 — about £112,663 at the mid-market rate of ฿44.38 — with the costs a buyer typically pays.

Illustration. Transfer fee 2% of the Land Office assessed value, often split on resales; the 2026–27 reduced fee applies to Thai nationals only (ThaiLawOnline). Exchange-rate cost: ฿5,000,000 at ฿43.05 (3% below mid-market) = £116,148.

What the exchange rate costs on ฿5 million

The same condo, paid at different exchange rates. The baht price never changes — the pounds do.

At ฿44.38 = £1 (Wise, 12 October 2026). UK banks' margins are reported at about 1% to 3.55% (Wise, August 2026). Before any transfer or receiving fees.

Funding a purchase, step by step

1. Set your budget in baht and pounds, including fees and a margin for the exchange rate.
2. Gather source-of-funds evidence — savings statements, a completion statement or a pension letter.
3. Open a Thai bank account in your name, or confirm the route your lawyer recommends.
4. Get a specialist quote through our team, and compare it with your bank's rate.
5. Fix the rate for completion with a forward contract if it's weeks or months away.
6. Send each payment from abroad in foreign currency, in your name, with the purpose stated.
7. Collect the FET form or credit advice from the Thai bank for every inward transfer.
8. Get a cashier's cheque for the balance and take it, with your paperwork, to the Land Office.

Fix your price in pounds

The day you sign, you know the price in baht. You don't know the price in pounds — that depends on the exchange rate on the day you pay. On a ฿5 million condo, a 5% fall in the pound adds about £5,930. On ฿10 million, nearly £12,000.

A forward contract removes that risk. You agree today's rate (adjusted slightly for interest rates) for a payment on your completion date, pay a deposit — around 10% is common — and the balance when it's due. Whatever happens to the pound, your cost in pounds is fixed.

Transfer day at the Land Office

On transfer day, buyer and seller (or their representatives) meet at the Land Office, pay the fees and taxes, and the unit is registered in the buyer's name. The balance is usually paid by cashier's cheque drawn on your Thai bank.

• Your passport and, if asked, proof of address.
• Every FET form or credit advice for the purchase money, plus any bank letter.
• The cashier's cheque for the balance, made out as the seller and lawyer instruct.
• Funds for your share of fees, also usually by cashier's cheque.

Most buyers have their lawyer attend, and many give the lawyer power of attorney so they don't need to be there in person.

Villas, houses and leases

Foreigners generally can't own land in Thailand, so houses and villas are usually bought on a registered lease of up to 30 years, sometimes with the building owned separately. The 49% condo quota and its foreign-currency rule don't apply in the same way, but the same funding principles do: send the money from your own account abroad, keep a clear paper trail, and get a specialist rate rather than a bank margin.

These deals carry more legal complexity — lease terms, renewal promises and who owns the land. Take independent legal advice, and consider escrow so money only reaches the seller or developer when agreed conditions are met.

Off-plan: funding a purchase in stages

Buying off-plan spreads the cost over the build — but it multiplies the number of international payments, and each one is exposed to the exchange rate and needs its own paperwork. A two-year build with six instalments means six transfers, six rates and six sets of documents.

• Treat every instalment as purchase money — from abroad, in foreign currency, with the purpose stated.
• Keep each FET form or credit advice in order; you'll need all of them at completion.
• Fix the schedule with a forward for each due date, so the total in pounds is known.
• Ask about escrow so instalments are only released as agreed construction stages are reached.

Thinking ahead: selling and sending money back

The paperwork you collect now matters again when you sell. Showing that the purchase money came into Thailand from abroad helps when you want to send the sale proceeds back out of the country. Keep every FET form, credit advice, bank letter and transfer confirmation with your title deed — ideally scanned as well as on paper.

When the time comes, the same principles apply in reverse: compare the rate you're offered for converting baht back to pounds, and ask a specialist for a quote rather than accepting the first rate you're given.

Questions to ask your lawyer and FX provider

• Is the building's foreign quota still available for this unit?
• Which account should each payment go to — mine, the seller's or the developer's?
• What purpose wording should the transfer use?
• Will each payment arrive in foreign currency so the bank can issue the paperwork?
• What's your rate against the mid-market rate, and what will arrive?
• Can I fix the rate for the completion date or each instalment?
• What source-of-funds evidence do you need from me?
• Should any payment go through escrow until conditions are met?

Ask through our team and Vita Capital's specialists will cover the currency side with you, alongside your lawyer.

Mistakes that stall a purchase

1. Sending baht for the purchase price, so no FET form is issued.
2. Sending from someone else's account — a partner's, a company's — without checking with your lawyer.
3. Leaving the purpose blank on the transfer.
4. Accepting the bank's rate on a six-figure sum without a specialist quote.
5. Leaving the currency open for months while the pound moves.
6. Trusting new bank details by email just before completion.

Protecting a six-figure payment

Property payments are a favourite target for fraudsters, who send convincing emails "updating" a seller's or developer's bank details just before a payment is due.

• Confirm every set of bank details by phone, on a number from your contract.
• Never act on changed details by email alone. Call your lawyer first.
• Use a private, protected connection for banking from hotels, cafés and show flats.
• Consider escrow for off-plan and conditional payments.

How we researched this guide

We used ThaiLawOnline's guide to the FET form (updated 28 September 2026) and its summary of property transfer taxes, Aster of Asia's 2026 summary of the transfer-fee changes, 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 guide to Thai bank accounts for property buyers. Worked examples use ฿44.38 = £1 (Wise, 12 October 2026) and are illustrations, not quotes. 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 or financial advice — always use an independent Thai lawyer.