Singapore and Phuket are an hour and fifty minutes apart on a scheduled non-stop flight, and the island clock is one hour behind. For many people who live in Singapore, that is the whole case for a second home: the sea is closer than the commute of most large cities. The case still needs checking. Below is what to check, in the order buyers usually ask.
The flight and the clock
Several flights a day connect Changi and Phuket International, with typical block times of about 1 h 50 min. Leave after breakfast, swim before lunch. When it is 9:00 in Singapore it is 8:00 on the island, so a working week can continue from a desk by the window without anyone adjusting to a new time zone.
The airport is about twenty minutes from the west-coast beaches. That matters more than it sounds: a second home that you reach in a short morning is a home you actually use. Timetables change by season, so check the airline before you book.
Your passport decides the visa, not your address
Many people in Singapore hold an Employment Pass, a Permanent Residence card or a passport from another country. Thailand looks at the passport, not at where you live.
Since 15 September 2026 the visa-free stay for short visits is 30 days for the passports on Thailand's list. It is for tourism only, and one extension of up to 30 days may be granted at an officer's discretion. Confirm that your own passport is on the list before you plan a long first visit.
A longer stay needs a visa, and owning property does not grant residence. The routes people usually look at are the Destination Thailand Visa for remote workers (THB 500,000 in savings, a THB 10,000 fee, five years, up to 180 days per entry, and since 31 August 2026 a criminal-record certificate), the ten-year Long-Term Resident visa, which has asset and income tests, and Thailand Privilege membership. We point you to the one that fits your situation and leave the application itself to the embassy or a licensed adviser.
What you own: freehold, lease and the quota
A condominium unit can be owned freehold by a foreigner in his or her own name, within the building's 49% foreign quota. The title is registered at the Land Office. Before you pay a deposit, ask the building's juristic person for written confirmation that the quota still has room.
A villa or land is different. These are usually held on a registered lease of 30 years, renewable by contract, or through a Thai company. Proposals to raise the quota or to allow 99-year leases have been discussed, but they are proposals, not law. Nominee structures are being enforced against in 2026, so a company should be a real one, set up with a lawyer, and not a workaround.
What a hotel brand adds, and what it does not
Buyers in Singapore lean towards branded residences: a unit sold under a hotel name, where the operator hosts guests, maintains the property and reports to you. The name has a price. In one 2025 market survey by C9 Hotelworks, branded condominiums averaged THB 181,000 per square metre against THB 141,000 for non-branded ones, about 28% more.
So ask what the operator actually undertakes. Rental income depends on occupancy and is not assured unless the contract says so, and if the contract does say so, ask who stands behind the promise. Ask also under which licence the unit is let. Under the Hotel Act a stay shorter than 30 days needs a hotel licence, which most ordinary condominium buildings do not hold.
Paying from Singapore
Funds travel in foreign currency from an account in your own name to the developer. The receiving Thai bank issues the Foreign Exchange Transaction (FET) form, and the Land Office asks for it at registration. Payments are normally staged: a reservation, a contract payment, instalments, the balance at handover.
Mind the currency. The dollar-baht rate ranged from 30.925 on 13 February 2026 to 33.827 on 23 July, about 9%, while many running costs are in baht. Mind the tax as well. A person who spends more than 180 days a year in Thailand becomes a Thai tax resident, and foreign income brought into Thailand is taxed from 2024. Rent from the unit has its own rules, with 15% withholding for non-residents that can be credited on a Thai return. Take both questions to a tax adviser before you sign.
A home for a family, not only an asset
If children are part of the plan, the island has international schools: BISP, UWC Thailand and HeadStart among them. BISP's 2026–27 tuition runs from THB 489,000 to THB 982,700 a year, plus a THB 200,000 placement fee, so the school is a line in the budget and not an afterthought. Bangkok Hospital Phuket is JCI-accredited, and complex cases can go to Bangkok, about 1.5 hours by air.
How we work with buyers in Singapore
Vika Thai Company Limited has worked in Phuket since 2013. The developer pays our fee, so you pay the developer's published price, less any discount we negotiate. Our managers speak English, Russian and Turkish, and a call with a Singapore buyer is in English.
The process is short. A 20-minute video call, where you name the budget, the goal and the horizon. The same day, a shortlist with prices, payment plans and the operators' programmes. Then a viewing day in Phuket with our car at the airport, or a meeting in Singapore once the shortlist is ready. The Singapore page lists ten hotel-brand projects from $300,000, each with its published price. If you want the full cost picture before any call, read what a Phuket condo really costs to buy, hold and sell. Readers who also fly through Dubai will find a parallel case in Dubai and Phuket: a second base six hours away.
Read more
https://singapore.vikathai.com/ — ten hotel-brand residences in Phuket from $300,000, a 20-minute video call, a viewing day or a meeting in Singapore.