Thailand is stepping up its assistance for foreign retirees and their Thai spouses by providing free counselling on inheritance and other legal issues under international laws.

This support is being carried out by the Office of International Peoples' Rights Protection, which falls under the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).

The kingdom has become a popular destination for foreign retirees to spend the rest of their days, where they can enjoy its advanced healthcare system, low cost of living, good weather and culture.

In cases where the foreign retiree tends to marry a Thai spouse, they can face problems including inheritance issues when they divorce or if their spouse dies.

To deal with such matters, Charkrawan Saengkhae, executive director of the aforementioned office, said the OAG is now providing a free counselling service.

Apart from inheritance issues, they can consult about matters related to their children's nationality, conscription for male offspring, and domestic violence.

As a basic rule, Mr Charkrawan said all healthy males with Thai citizenship who reside in Thailand are required to report to a conscription officer when they reach age 20.

"Most Thais don't realise that our regulations prohibit children who are born in the kingdom from holding multiple citizenships. The Nationality Act states that when they turn 20, they must decide whether to keep their Thai citizenship or not," Artra Khunthongjan of OAG said, adding foreign spouses are more likely to take their adopted children or stepchildren back to their home country before reaching this age.

"Many foreigners have asked the Consular Affairs Department for help in numerous cases. We have also provided assistance in the event of deaths or road accidents, and also transferred cases to their country of origin," Mr Artra added.

Pol Capt Tippiroon Suwannakul of the OAG referred to a 2019 case when the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service asked the office to search for a tourist who had gone missing on Koh Samui, as his wife also had inheritance issues to deal with. The office asked a local court to grant her the rights she needed to resolve this, she said.

"We don't provide help to Thais who live in other countries, but we do for foreigners in Thailand in accordance with international human rights laws and related human rights conventions," Pol Capt Tippiroon said. (Bangkok Post 22/01/22)

 Recently, good initiatives have often been announced and canceled in Thailand. Making life in Thailand more convenient and legally more transparent is a good idea. There are many elderly foreigners living in the country and many of them continue to be active in the Land of Smiles (rent their own villas or apartments, own hotels /bars / shops, etc.) And how do you rate this news?

The Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday put the brakes on proposals to increase foreign ownership quotas for condominiums from 49% and expand property leasehold rights for foreigners from 30 years to 50 years.

But it agreed in principle on a proposal to allow foreigners to hold land ownership of one rai for residential purposes.

The Land Department has been tasked with studying the feasibility for two months, then making a proposal to CESA for reconsideration.

According to a source at Government House who requested anonymity, it was Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda who opposed the two proposals prepared by an ad hoc committee on new investment privileges for foreigners.

The committee was chaired by M.L. Chayotid Kridakorn, personal adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow.

At the meeting, the source said Gen Anupong argued the two issues are sensitive and the government would face a public backlash if it approves the proposals.

Mr Supattanapong said the government will continue the policy to lure wealthy foreign visitors to the country because it can generate income for Thailand in the long term.

As part of its investment promotion package to rehabilitate the economy, the government aims to draw four groups of rich foreign visitors -- wealthy global citizens, wealthy pensioners, remote work professionals, and highly skilled professionals -- with privileges including a long-term visa for up to 10 years and land and property ownership.

The government hopes to attract more than a million qualified people to Thailand over five years.

The state expects these foreigners to spend on average a million baht per person per year while staying and working here, generating about a trillion baht total the next five years.

According to Mr Supattanapong, the government expects to conduct a survey soon to evaluate whether these four groups of wealthy foreigners remain interested in a long stay in Thailand based on existing privileges.

On Jan 18, the cabinet approved two Interior Ministry regulations. One is for issuance of long-stay visas for 10 years or long-term resident visas to four wealthy groups of visitors, while the other allows foreigners to work in Thailand.

A survey conducted by M.L. Chayotid among investors previously found they were interested a long stay in Thailand after government promises of 10-year visas and work permits. (Bangkok post).

 The discussion is difficult. Neither side is in the mood for concessions. The debate will continue! We are waiting for news!

Thai property sector recovery delayed amid Omicron -state loan agency.

 BANGKOK, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Thailand's property market may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024, due to a slower-than-expected economic recovery amid a new coronavirus outbreak and higher inflation, the research unit of a state home loan lender said on Friday.

 In November, the research centre had forecast the property market would normalise in 2023 following an easing of mortgage rules to revive a key sector that accounts for about 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 2.8 million people.

 But the COVID-19 outbreak driven by the Omicron variant that emerged late last year had slowed domestic activity, said Vichai Viratkapan, head of the Government Housing Bank's real estate information centre.

 "Rising inflation is also impacting people's income and purchasing power," he said. Inflation hit a nine-month high of 3.23% in January. read more

 However, the property sector had bottomed out and should be supported by the relaxed rules and government measures, he said, adding the number of newly built houses and apartments were expected to rise by 35% to 105,000 this year.

 But demand from foreign buyers will remain low this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, he said.

 Developers look to the future with optimism and do not share the opinions of analysts. Representatives of developers do a lot of preparatory work - approvals, negotiations, financing, advertising campaigns, creating a positive image of a particular property both among the local population and investors, contractual construction terms and much more.And therefore, developers cannot let their partners down.We will follow developments.

Purchasingcondominium in Thailand

The most common way for foreigners to purchase a property in Thailand is to purchase a condominium. The only restrictions applied to foreigners on purchasing a condominium are:

The percentage of units sold to foreigner must not be over forty-nine percent (49%) of total units in that condominium

The funds used to purchase the condominium must have been remitted from abroad and recorded as such by a Thai bank on a Thor Tor 3 (Thor Tor Sam) document, which is an official bank document issued by the receiving bank upon the receipt of foreign currency into a bank account in Thailand. A foreigner must request a Thor Tor 3 from a bank when he/she is remitting funds to Thailand in order to purchase a condominium and the Thor Tor 3 must specify that the remittance is solely for the purpose of purchasing a property.

After transfer of ownership, a title deed, a certificate of ownership, will be given to the owner of each condominium unit with statement stating that how many percentages of rights over the common area of the condominium each owner possesses.

Purchasing landand house in Thailand

It is clearly stated under Thai law that foreigner cannot own freehold land. However, according to Thai law, any person can register any type of building in their own name. Thus, a foreigner can own a building and may register such ownership at local district?s land authority office. Certainty of possession of land and house is determined by ownership of the house. Therefore, a foreigner can have a 30-year lease on the land with a prepaid option to renew for a further two times of 30 years each, and the house will be separate from the land, and will not be considered a component part of the land under Civil Law.

For foreigner married to a Thai spouse, the Thai-national spouse can purchase and own freehold land in Thailand. However, the Thai spouse must be able to prove that the money used in the purchase of freehold land is legally and solely theirs with no foreign claim to it.

Step involved in purchasing a property in Thailand
01 Buyer makes a booking on the purchase property unit.
02 Buyer signs an agreement to purchase the property unit with the developer.
03 Buyer pays installments as part of the down payment sum to the developer as shown in the agreement signed (only applicable to under-construction project/unit).
04 Buyer applies for a mortgage loan (if applicable) with a financial institution.
05 Developer transfers the ownership of the property to the buyer as the buyer pays the outstanding sum of the property price agreed to the developer.