Three letters that trip up DIY buyers: FET. It’s the bank confirmation that foreign currency entered Thailand, without which you can’t register a condo to a foreigner in freehold. A mistake in the money transfer can block the deal at registration. Here’s what FET is, when it’s mandatory, how to obtain it — and why leasehold has no such requirement, which makes payment more flexible.
Contents
1. What an FET is
FET (Foreign Exchange Transaction), formerly known as Tor Tor 3, is a Thai bank document confirming that foreign currency was brought into the country. It proves to the Land Department that the money for the condo came from abroad in currency, rather than being obtained inside Thailand. This is a key condition for registering freehold to a foreigner under the Condominium Act.
2. When FET is mandatory
- Freehold (full ownership): FET is mandatory. Without it foreign ownership isn’t registered.
- Leasehold (long-term lease): FET is not required — a lease is registered, not foreign ownership.
| Form | FET | Payment |
|---|---|---|
| Freehold | Mandatory | Currency inflow + FET |
| Leasehold | Not needed | Wider set of methods |
🔗 Ownership breakdown: Freehold vs leasehold → · Foreigner ownership →
3. How to obtain an FET: step by step
- Transfer in currency. Send the amount in USD/EUR from abroad to the developer’s or your Thai account.
- Payment reference. State “purchase of property/condominium.”
- Amount with a buffer. Send a little over the unit price to cover fees and rate swings.
- Request the FET. After it’s credited, ask the bank to issue the FET (default for large amounts).
- Hand to developer/lawyer. The FET is attached to the registration document package.
4. Transfer rules
- Funds must arrive in foreign currency and be converted to baht in Thailand.
- The transfer carries a reference tied to the property purchase.
- Check the payee details against the contract, not correspondence.
- For freehold the FET is issued in the buyer’s name — the future owner.
5. Leasehold: no FET
Since leasehold is a lease, not registration of foreign ownership, no FET is needed. The practical upside: payment can be made through a wider set of methods and with fewer source-of-funds formalities on the Thai side. Reporting in your own jurisdiction remains your responsibility. That’s why leasehold is often chosen as a more flexible entry, with the right to convert to freehold later while quota remains.
6. Pitfalls
- Transferring in baht. Money that arrived in baht or from a local account won’t get an FET.
- Wrong reference. A payment not tied to a property purchase complicates registration.
- Under-sending. Not enough for fees/rate — you’ll have to top up the transfer.
- Forgetting to request the FET. Do it right after the credit.
- Delaying. While you unwind a transfer, a freehold unit can go.
7. Case: paying in baht
Consider a typical scenario. A buyer sent the developer a deposit in Thai baht from a Bangkok account opened earlier, “to save on conversion.” The unit was in the freehold quota. At registration the bank couldn’t issue an FET: the money hadn’t entered the country in currency. They had to return the funds and re-send via a foreign-currency transfer from abroad — two weeks lost and the risk of losing the unit.
Takeaway: for freehold the sequence “currency → FET → registration” matters as much as the unit choice. With support this step is handled in advance; for leasehold the FET question doesn’t arise at all.
I’ll structure the correct payment scheme for your ownership form and guide the FET.
[ Enquiry form: payment and FET support ]
Informational only, not legal/tax advice; confirm the transfer scheme with the bank and a lawyer.