Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing rules apparently coming online with respect to the possibility that foreign nationals those could own Freehold title to land here in Thailand. I have done other videos contemporaneously with this one where we discussed this. We have actually been discussing this for some months since it was proposed but yes it does appear possible albeit I think in the end by the time we actually see this regulatory structure fully hammered out, that it is going to be heavily caveated. I don't think this is going to be a broad piece of legislation, piece of regulation that is going to apply broadly to a large number of expats in Thailand. Now that is speculation. It remains to be seen but based on prior experience that is how I see this thing coming together. 

So, a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Thailand's new rules for retiree visas sound alarm bells. This has been just across basically all news services; everybody has been talking about this. Quoting directly: "The Government says it is now committed," committed to; that is key, I saw a Bangkok Post article when they were talking about all this that it was just being promulgated in principle, that was one element. So quoting directly: "The Government says it is now committed to allowing some "rich" foreigners to own freehold land. This is likely to mean a newly built house on specially agreed estates with the proviso that the dwelling is bought directly from the developer. The perk was publicized as a possibility last June when it was suggested that some Elite Visa holders might qualify provided they kept on investing over a 5-year period but the most recent Cabinet statement doesn't mention Elite." 

Now a couple of things here. A year ago there was no Cabinet statement. This most recent Cabinet statement, that is of a higher magnitude than just discussion from TAT, or even discussion among possible policy makers even within Immigration. Cabinet statements are major, major things but again as we have noted, we have yet to see a regulatory structure come out of this. This remains a statement in principle. So exactly what this looks like remains to be seen. I think there is some insight in this Pattaya Mail article especially talking about developers, buying directly from a developer. I suspect this will be a very narrow exception to a very broadly applied rule. It is not going to be something that you can just go and enjoy particularly quickly I expect. Nor do I think it is going to be something that the vast majority of expats in Thailand are going to be able to avail themselves of.