How to transfer money to Thailand for a condo and get the right FET evidence

A condo purchase can be fully paid and still reach the title-transfer stage with the wrong banking trail. For a foreign buyer registering a unit within the foreign-ownership quota, the funding route needs to be designed before the first substantial payment: who sends the money, in what currency, to which account, with what payment purpose, and which Thai bank will issue evidence the Land Department will accept.

The familiar shorthand is “send foreign currency from overseas, let the Thai bank convert it, and obtain an FET.” That is the cleanest and most widely used route because it creates a simple chain from the overseas remittance to the condominium purchase. The evidence should cover the amount required for the acquisition and identify the transaction well enough to connect the money to the foreign buyer and the unit.

But the shorthand is not the whole legal picture. Department of Lands guidance for the Section 19(5) route also recognises qualifying withdrawals from a non-resident baht account and from a foreign-currency deposit account, with the relevant bank evidence. That distinction matters because “only foreign currency can ever work” is too absolute; the safer rule is to agree the exact documentary route with the receiving bank and the Land Office before sending money.

For an international buyer, the practical risk often sits outside Thailand as well. Correspondent banks, sanctions screening, source-of-funds checks and remittance fields can change the route or delay it. Before each material transfer, confirm that the sending bank can complete the payment lawfully and that the Thai receiving bank can preserve the sender, currency, purpose and beneficiary information needed for the property file.

FET usually means Foreign Exchange Transaction Form, sometimes written FETF. Buyers and agents also still use the older name Tor Tor 3. In practice, the important point is not the label printed at the top of a document; it is whether the Thai bank can issue evidence showing the inbound transaction in a form acceptable for the Land Department file.

A useful bank record ties together the amount, original currency, date, sender, recipient and stated purpose. For a condominium purchase, the purpose should describe the property transaction rather than a vague personal transfer. Bangkok Bank, for example, tells condo buyers to state “To purchase a condominium” when arranging an inward transfer and to request the bank documents needed for the Department of Lands.

The evidence is not proof that the condominium is legally eligible for foreign ownership. It documents the money side of the Section 19(5) route. Foreign quota, the seller's title, the unit, the sale agreement and the buyer's eligibility remain separate parts of the registration file.

This is why a screenshot of an international transfer or a generic account statement is not a reliable substitute. The receiving bank is the party that can confirm how the funds entered its system and, where applicable, how foreign currency was converted or withdrawn. Ask the bank what it will issue before the transfer, not only after the Land Office asks for it.

The first job of the banking evidence is title registration. Under the Department of Lands framework for a foreign buyer using Section 19(5), the acquisition file needs qualifying evidence that the required money was brought in or drawn from an accepted account route. If the documentary chain does not match the transaction, the problem appears at the worst moment: when buyer, seller and Land Office are trying to complete the transfer.

The second job is to preserve a defensible investment trail. Years later, if the unit is sold and the owner wants to send the proceeds abroad, the remitting bank will need to understand where the money came from and why the outward payment is legitimate. The original inward records, together with the sale and tax documents, make that review more straightforward.

That does not make an FET a permanent passport for money. Bank of Thailand rules broadly allow non-residents to repatriate investment funds, but the bank handling the future outward remittance still has compliance duties and may ask for the current sale agreement, title evidence, tax receipts, identity documents and other supporting records. Keeping the FET trail reduces uncertainty; it does not remove future checks.

The expensive misconception is “we will arrange the FET later.” A bank can only certify what its records support. If the payment arrived with the wrong purpose, through an unplanned account, or in a way that obscured the original sender, the buyer may spend days reconstructing evidence with no guarantee that the Land Office will accept the result.

For a straightforward foreign-quota condo purchase, the conservative route remains simple: send funds from outside Thailand in a major foreign currency, state the condominium purchase purpose clearly, and let the Thai receiving bank handle conversion or credit to the appropriate account. That produces the cleanest audit trail because the foreign origin and property purpose are visible in the bank's own records.

However, the legal evidence framework is wider than the slogan “foreign currency only.” Department of Lands guidance for Section 19(5) also accepts evidence tied to a withdrawal from a non-resident baht account or a foreign-currency deposit account. Bank of Thailand rules likewise allow both foreign currency and baht to be transferred into Thailand generally. For a specific closing, the question is therefore not merely what currency can enter Thailand, but which route creates evidence the Land Office will accept for this buyer and unit.

The payment purpose deserves more attention than it usually gets. Use the exact wording requested by the receiving bank and include the condominium, project, unit or buyer reference it asks for. Bangkok Bank's current guidance gives “To purchase a condominium” as the purpose for this type of inward remittance. A precise purpose helps the bank connect the transaction to the document it is later asked to issue.

Do not build the transaction around a single internet threshold. The Department of Lands regulation currently published on its website describes a USD 20,000 distinction for one set of foreign-exchange evidence, while the Bank of Thailand's current general exchange-control guidance uses USD 200,000 as the threshold above which supporting documents are generally required for certain foreign-exchange transactions. These figures serve different regulatory purposes; neither should be sold as a universal 2026 “FET threshold” for every bank and Land Office.

The sending side can be just as important for Russian, CIS and other cross-border buyers whose banks face changing correspondent or compliance restrictions. Use only a lawful route that both banks can process, and confirm it before each substantial payment. Do not rely on an agent's promise that a workaround will be accepted: the receiving bank, the closing lawyer and, where needed, the Land Office are the parties whose documentary requirements matter.

One common mistake is sending Thai baht from abroad simply because it looks convenient. Baht can be transferred into Thailand under the broader exchange-control rules, but a foreign-quota condo closing depends on the evidence route accepted for Section 19(5), not merely on whether the payment reached Thailand. If the bank has not pre-cleared that route, convenience can turn into a documentation problem.

Another is using a vague purpose such as personal transfer, savings or family support. The money may arrive perfectly well, but the receiving bank is then being asked to certify a property transaction that the original remittance did not describe. A clear condominium-purchase purpose is easier to defend and easier for the bank to trace.

Artificially splitting payments to stay below a perceived FET threshold is also a poor strategy. Different thresholds in Thai rules apply to different documentary and exchange-control functions, and a title transfer still needs a coherent evidence package for the acquisition amount. A series of small payments can create more records to reconcile without solving the underlying requirement.

Paying a third-party or developer account without agreeing the evidence trail first is another avoidable risk. Direct payment can be legitimate, but the bank documents must still show whose condominium purchase the funds relate to. If the recipient account, contracting seller and project company are different entities, make that relationship documentary rather than verbal.

Finally, buyers often leave the FET request until the week of title transfer. A bank may still be able to retrieve the transaction, but names, purpose fields, instalments and internal records are easier to fix while the payment is fresh. The safest workflow makes banking evidence a deliverable of each payment, not a closing-day surprise.

When the condo is sold, the outward transfer is a separate banking event. Bank of Thailand guidance broadly permits non-residents to repatriate investment funds, but the remitting bank still needs enough evidence to understand the source and purpose of the money. The original acquisition trail helps connect the incoming investment with the later disposal.

That is why the FET or equivalent bank evidence should stay with the property's permanent records. Add the original sale agreement, title-transfer documents and tax receipts rather than keeping only a scan in an old email account. A future bank may not ask for every historic page, but having the chain available is far better than trying to reconstruct it years later.

Do not assume that the original FET alone guarantees an outward remittance. The bank may require the new sale agreement, proof of ownership and transfer, tax documentation, identity and current source-of-funds or compliance information. Requirements can also change between purchase and sale.

The practical benefit of getting the purchase-side evidence right is therefore not a special tax exemption or an automatic right to wire any amount. It is a cleaner, more intelligible investment history. That matters both at the Land Office today and when another compliance team reviews the exit in the future.

A personal Thai bank account is useful, but it is not an absolute prerequisite for every foreign-quota condo purchase. Bangkok Bank's current guidance explicitly contemplates transferring funds to a developer or another party when the buyer does not have a Thai account. Department of Lands guidance also recognises direct payment to a project owner where the banking evidence identifies the foreign buyer and unit.

Your own account nevertheless gives you more control over the paper trail. You can see when the money arrives, ask your bank directly for the relevant evidence and reconcile multiple instalments yourself. It can also reduce dependence on the developer to obtain or preserve bank documents on your behalf.

Direct developer payment can be simpler for an off-plan schedule, especially when the developer already has a standard process for foreign buyers. The trade-off is that the buyer relies on the developer and its bank to preserve a record that clearly attributes the funds to the correct purchaser and condominium. Get that workflow in writing before the first transfer.

If opening an account is difficult because of visa status, nationality or current bank policy, do not improvise a third-party route merely to keep the deal moving. Ask the receiving bank and closing lawyer which lawful alternative they can document. Account-opening rules and compliance decisions are bank-specific and can change, so they should be checked at the time of the transaction.