Shan influencer pitches Thai land to Myanmar buyers online

As authorities turn a blind eye, civil concern grows over illegal land sales in northern Thailand.

Publics are raising concerns over a new tactic used by land speculators along the Thai-Myanmar border, as plots of state-owned land—including treasury department land, forest reserves, protected parks, and even areas near the iconic Doi Nang Non mountain—are openly advertised for sale with banners and online promotions, despite their legal protection.

In a disturbing twist, ethnic Shan influencers from Myanmar, some with followings in the hundreds of thousands, have been recruited by land brokers to live-stream and promote land plots in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district. 

These influencers, popular among Myanmar’s Shan community and broader Burmese audiences, reportedly receive commissions similar to local brokers—all under illegal arrangements.

The influencers’ live streams often feature reassuring messages aimed at Burmese citizens, highlighting how close the land is to the border and how easy it is to travel from Tachileik (opposite Mae Sai) to these plots within minutes. 

They encourage followers to move their families to Thailand, portraying it as a peaceful alternative to the conflict-stricken areas of Myanmar.

Many of these advertised plots are in state-owned or protected areas, raising serious legal red flags. Some are technically legal, while others are not—but they’re all being marketed in the same aggressive fashion, drawing interest from Myanmar nationals who are unaware of Thai laws regarding land ownership.

Under Thai law, foreign nationals are prohibited from owning or financing land purchases. This raises concerns that the scheme may be a fraudulent operation, targeting Burmese buyers who are not legally permitted to own or even finance property in Thailand.

Efforts to regulate or investigate these practices have so far yielded little result. Although authorities previously inspected some of the areas, no decisive action has followed. Locals have begun questioning how public land has effectively become a commercial product with no accountability.

Meanwhile, Traisulee Traisoranakul, spokesperson for the ministry of Interior, announced that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul has instructed the Department of Lands to expedite the nationwide cadastral survey project. 

The initiative aims to issue land title deeds to the public in line with national targets, ensuring land tenure security and enhancing access to credit and investment opportunities for citizens.

For the 2025 fiscal year, the Department has been allocated a budget to survey and issue land title deeds for a total of 86,000 plots across 69 provinces. Eight provinces are excluded from the program—Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Mae Hong Son, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, and Phuket—due to already high land title coverage and large portions of forest reserve areas.

From December 2024 to April 2025, the project’s progress is divided into two key components:

General Cadastral Survey and Standardised Parcel Mapping:

Out of the 70,000 targeted plots, 42,412 title deeds have been issued so far, covering approximately 109,914 rai (about 43,400 acres).

General Cadastral Survey and Standardised Parcel Mapping:

Out of the 70,000 targeted plots, 42,412 title deeds have been issued so far, covering approximately 109,914 rai (about 43,400 acres).

Southern Border Provinces Land Security Project:

Focused on Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and specific districts in Songkhla (Na Thawi, Chana, Thepha, and Saba Yoi), this component aims to strengthen land rights in border areas. Of the 16,000 targeted plots, 11,025 deeds have been issued, covering around 14,659 rai (about 5,800 acres).

Looking ahead, approximately 561,989 plots, covering more than 2.8 million rai (about 1.1 million acres), still remain untitled. The Ministry of Interior expects to complete the cadastral survey and title issuance nationwide within seven years.

The Department of Lands will also incorporate data from the “Bok Din” project—a platform where citizens report land issues—as well as petitions, royal complaints, and reports submitted to provincial and local land offices, to prioritise and guide future surveying efforts.

"From 1985 to 2024, over the past 40 years, the Ministry of Interior—through the Department of Lands—has surveyed and issued 14,838,692 land title deeds, covering approximately 71.24 million rai," Traisulee stated.