What if we are not married — my Thai girlfriend buys the house with my money?

Legally, the house belongs to her. Money you gave her to buy it is usually treated as a gift unless there is clear evidence of something else, such as a documented loan. An unmarried partner has none of the rights of a spouse on separation or death.

Can I buy land in the name of my Thai child?

A Thai child can own land, and the parents manage it as the child's legal representatives. But the parents cannot sell or mortgage the child's land without permission from the court. The land is the child's, not a family asset the parents can use freely, and that matters if circumstances change.

Can I set up a Thai company to own the land instead?

Only if the company is genuinely Thai-owned and controlled. Using Thai shareholders who hold shares on behalf of a foreigner to get round land restrictions is a nominee arrangement, which carries criminal liability and can lead to the land being ordered sold. It is not a safe route for a family home.

How can the person who paid be protected?

With registered rights and clear documents: a lifetime usufruct or a right of habitation over the land, a superficies giving ownership of the house separately from the land, a registered lease, or a documented loan secured by a mortgage. Wills on both sides complete the picture. Which fits depends on your relationship, who paid, and what you want to happen on separation or death.

Buying a House or Land in Your Thai Partner's or Child's Name: The Risks and How to Protect Yourself

Q: If I pay for a house in my Thai wife's name, who owns it?

The registered owner does. When a Thai spouse buys land, the land office commonly requires the foreign spouse to declare that the money is the Thai spouse's own funds and not joint marital property. That makes the land the Thai spouse's personal property, which affects what the foreign spouse can claim on divorce or death.

The situation

A foreigner wants a house in Thailand for the family. Foreigners cannot own land, so the house and land are bought in the name of a Thai spouse, a Thai partner, or a Thai child. The foreigner pays.

This is lawful in many forms. What surprises people is how little the paying partner is left with legally, unless steps are taken at the time of purchase.

1. What the law allows

A foreigner cannot own land in Thailand, apart from limited routes that rarely apply to a family home
A foreigner can own a building separately from the land, and can own a condo unit within the foreign quota
A foreigner can hold registered rights over someone else's land — lease, usufruct, habitation, superficies, mortgage

If a condo would meet the family's needs, owning it outright is often the simpler route. See buying property in Thailand as a foreigner.

2. Buying in a Thai spouse's name

When a Thai spouse buys land during a marriage to a foreigner, the land office commonly requires the foreign spouse to declare that the purchase money is the Thai spouse's own funds and not joint marital property.

The consequence: the land is the Thai spouse's personal property.

On divorce, it is generally not divided as marital property
On the Thai spouse's death, it passes under the Thai spouse's will or to the statutory heirs, and a foreign heir generally cannot keep land. See my Thai wife died and the land is in her name

3. Buying in an unmarried partner's name

Without a registered marriage, the paying partner has no spouse's rights at all.

The house belongs to the registered owner
Money given to buy it is usually treated as a gift, unless there is clear evidence otherwise
On separation, the paying partner's position depends almost entirely on documents signed at the time

A documented loan, secured by a mortgage registered over the land, is one way to give the paying partner a legal claim.

4. Buying in a Thai child's name

A Thai child can own land, and parents manage it as the child's legal representatives. But:

The parents cannot sell or mortgage the child's land without court permission
The land belongs to the child, not to the parents
If the family's plans change — relocation, divorce, a need for cash — the land cannot simply be sold

Buying in a child's name suits a long-term intention to give the land to that child. It is a poor fit where the parents may need to use the value later.

5. The company and nominee trap

A common suggestion is to set up a Thai company to own the land, with Thai shareholders holding shares on the foreigner's behalf. That is a nominee arrangement:

It carries criminal liability for those involved
It can lead to the land being ordered sold
Side documents meant to give the foreigner control are often unenforceable

A company that genuinely operates a business can own property it needs, but a company set up only to hold a family home is the pattern the law targets. See starting a Thai company with a foreign partner.

6. Tools that actually protect the person who paid

Tool	What it gives
Usufruct (registered)	The right to possess, use and benefit from the land — for a term or for life
Habitation (registered)	The right to live in the house
Superficies (registered)	Ownership of the house separately from the land
Lease (registered)	Use of the land for a fixed term
Loan + mortgage	A secured claim for the money provided
Wills	What happens to each person's assets on death

Each needs to be registered at the land office to bind third parties. See protecting your home with a usufruct and a will.

7. Which approach fits

Married, long-term home: registration in the Thai spouse's name, plus a registered lifetime usufruct or habitation for the foreign spouse, plus wills
Unmarried: a documented loan secured by mortgage, and/or a registered right over the land, agreed before purchase
For a child's future: purchase in the child's name, accepting that it is the child's asset
Investment: consider a condo in the foreigner's own name instead

Before you pay

Decide in whose name the property will be registered, and why
Understand any declaration you will be asked to sign
Choose the protective right or security, and register it at the same time as the purchase
Document where the money came from and on what terms
Make wills that fit the arrangement
Avoid any structure that relies on nominees