Getting money from UK to purchase land

[nigelandjan]

Hi all

I am sure this has been covered in a similar situation in another post , but I feel our position is from a different angle . I will just give you the bare facts as we intend to go with no bullcrap and any help would be appreciated.

1. We have located land ( chanote paper ) that the wife wants to buy.

2. The wife has her own UK bank account and as we live here at the moment her wages are paid in every month .
3. Its HER money that is paying for the land.
4. She still has a Thai bank acc.
5. She intends her elder sister to buy the land / do paperwork etc untill were back there to transfer into her name, ( the reason being her name will be changed to mine , passport etc reasons ) then put land in her new name in one go.

So thats the facts , all I would like to know is are we gonna be able to do this legally , and how . What concerns me a little is how SIL is going to explain this money in her acc ,, or mabe she wont have to . Having said that she aint short of a bob or two ,, she has a good paying job and a hell of an income from the old rubber trees , so its not like a lump just appearing into an empty pot so to speak.

Thanks in advance for any help Nigel

[the dogcatcher]

Wouldn,t worry.
They never argue about money coming in.
Just going out.

[Davis Knowlton]

^Agree. Thousands of Flips here get big dumps of money from relatives working abroad every day. It's the only thing that keeps this sorry ass excuse for a country afloat.

[Mid]

not sure where the current regulations are , there was a tax on incoming amounts over x a few years back and I seem to remember also that the reserve bank required a declaration of the intended purpose for the funds .

My recommendation is you seak some professional advise over and above a forum .

[the dogcatcher]

I 've brought in 100k this year.
No probs.

[jandajoy]

I 've brought in 100k this year. No probs.

me too with bank and ATMs.

[Thetyim]

If you put the land into the sister's name and then transfer into the wife's name then you will have to pay taxes/transfer fees twice.

[crippen]

Transferring funds via Internet Banking


Takes a few days,and not too expensive.


Click on transferring funds to Thailand.

Transfer in baht,the exchange rate here is a bit better.

[jandajoy]

Hmmmm, I'm no expert but getting the S.I.L. involved seems an unnecessary complication.

[superman]

There doesn't seem to be a problem, as long as your wife trusts her sister. Which I'm sure she does.

[nigelandjan]

Ok thanks lads dont seem to be too much aggro ,, I just didnt want to dump a prob to the SIL about the amount arriving in her bank from the UK.

Thanks for the obvious concern regarding SIL ,,,,,,,believe me thats no worry . Unfortunately we have no option as we will not be in Thai untill Feb next year ,, then we have to change the wifes name to mine first , then swap land papers into her new name if you get my drift .
I was under the wrong impression here that when you made a major purchase in Thai ie land / property with money coming from another Country you had to explain whose it was ie not the farang but the spouse .

Anyway once again thankyou all for your informed views Nigel

[DrAndy]

not sure where the current regulations are , there was a tax on incoming amounts over x a few years back and I seem to remember also that the reserve bank required a declaration of the intended purpose for the funds . My recommendation is you seak some professional advise over and above a forum .

I was under the wrong impression here that when you made a major purchase in Thai ie land / property with money coming from another Country you had to explain whose it was ie not the farang but the spouse .

I have transferred money several times to pay for land and houses, totally legal and no problems. They do sometimes call and ask what the money is for, sometimes not

just ask the Thai bank their address for receiving funds electronically transferred from the UK; sometimes there is an intermediate bank, sometimes not, depending on which Thai bank

[khun Per]

Transfer of money into Thailand is normally never a problem - I do all the time. The tax was only for a period a few years ago. Some people advise to transfer in foreign currency, as the exchange rate to bath is better in Thailand.
If the transfer is over a certain amount and to be used for property, the bank can make a document (from the National Bank), so you legally can take the same bath-amount out again, when selling the property.
When transferring land to another owner (name) you normally have to pay a transfer-fee and perhabs also tax of the Land Department's value of the land (like when selling/buying). You may have a proxy made up to SIL to register the land in your wife's name - quite normal in Thailand, especially with Chanote land - but then you may have the change-of-name problem. However, why is that name-change on the land deed so important - it will be your wife's land anyway?

[nigelandjan]

- it will be your wife's land anyway?

yes I am fully aware of the rules + regs regarding that angle its just that this year my wife will have a UK passport with my name in it and when we get back to Thailand next Feb she will be changing her Thai ID / passport to my name to ,,,,so the logical thing to do then is for her to then have the land in her new name that is registered to her ID card / passports etc . I know its a bit of faffin around but I have allways been the same ,, go the longer route but get it right ( hopefully ) first time . Cheers

[LooseBowels]

Slow down bud.
Who in their right mind would want to buy anything in this third world shithole run by a gunslinging military junta who wont think twice about grabbing it off you and shovin a bayonet up yer arse.
keep your dosh in blighty pal, read around a few of the horror stories, and dont believe for one nano-second that it wont/cant happen to you.
You cant argue with that

[geoff]

NAIVE. ??????????

[geoff]

NAIVE. is another word for stupid. !!!!!!!!!!!!

[DrAndy]

Who in their right mind would want to buy anything in this third world shithole run by a gunslinging military junta who wont think twice about grabbing it off you and shovin a bayonet up yer arse.

as he will not be buying it, your remarks are unnecessary; his wife will be buying it and even a military junta would think twice before stealing land from their own people

[CaptainNemo]

NAIVE. is another word for stupid. !!!!!!!!!!!!

No, it's another word for showing a lack of experience, understanding or sophistication.

Slow down bud.
...dont believe for one nano-second that it wont/cant happen to you.
You cant argue with that

Clocking The Speed Of Thought
You can't process a whole thought in a single nano-second.

[Mid]

yes I am fully aware of the rules + regs regarding that angle its just that this year my wife will have a UK passport with my name in it and when we get back to Thailand next Feb she will be changing her Thai ID / passport to my name

keep an eye on citizenship , only Thai citizens can own land .

[nigelandjan]

^ are you saying by taking my name Mid she will not be a Thai citizen ?? I would have thought she would be dual nationallity albeit with my name .
Is there a better way of doing it ie. my name in her UK passport and her maiden name in her Thai passport/ ID card ?
I have several friends here in the same position with wives that have dual citizenship albeit I have to admit I dont know what names they have in their passports / ID cards .
Whatever happens my wife will NOT be recinding her Thai citizenship , but thanks for pointing that out , will have to check it out further

[nigelandjan]

NAIVE. is another word for stupid. !!!!!!!!!!!!

er are you suggesting all those on here who are hapilly married to their Thai spouses and have bought land / built in Thailand fall into this category or just me ?

or is this something your quoting from one of the daily comics printed in the UK ?

even if I was purchasing the land ( which I am not ) it would be such an insignificant amount compared to what she would get if she decided to walk from me in the UK , we have joint bank accs. / savings / property

Suprisingly enuf despite and in amongst all the crap that is written in the daily rags here + Little Britain ( mostly by people that havent been within 5000 miles of Thailand ) some of us are actually capable of forming meaning full relationships ,,,,,,,,,allthough agreed it isnt for everyone

[khun Per]

- it will be your wife's land anyway?

yes I am fully aware of the rules + regs regarding that angle its just that this year my wife will have a UK passport with my name in it and when we get back to Thailand next Feb she will be changing her Thai ID / passport to my name to ,,,,so the logical thing to do then is for her to then have the land in her new name that is registered to her ID card / passports etc . I know its a bit of faffin around but I have allways been the same ,, go the longer route but get it right ( hopefully ) first time . Cheers

Might well be a benefit, that your wife get a chanote land registered in her maiden name.
Foreigners cannot own land and when married, you - as a foreigner - may suddently come into the picture as heir to your wife. I am aware of this, from a friend married to a Thai - but you may need to do a check-up on the rules, yourself - suggesting to keep low profile about (foreign) marriage and use the Thai maiden name.
Perhabs other people in the Forum may know more about this?

[nigelandjan]

Well if that is the case K P thanks for the info ,, mabe that will be best for her to have the land in her Thai name.

Infact a friend of mine could be going into a problem area now as he has been living with his Thai lady very hapilly for the past 6 years and they have a lovely home / business together and they are just about to get married ,, it will be interesting to hear from some other members about this area.

[taffyapple]

Well if that is the case K P thanks for the info ,, mabe that will be best for her to have the land in her Thai name.

Infact a friend of mine could be going into a problem area now as he has been living with his Thai lady very hapilly for the past 6 years and they have a lovely home / business together and they are just about to get married ,, it will be interesting to hear from some other members about this area.

me and the wife have been married 20years she has a uk passport and thai id.in her married name,2007 she bought land and had a house built with no problems at all,also if she wants to move money from the uk to pay for it use a currency dealer,we used moneycorpe of nightsbridge london,you will have to give details to the receiving bank in our case it was in bangkok once you satisfy them with info.eg.whats it for and where did the money come from they will transfer it to your bank.also you will get a better rate,good luck.