Purchase By Foreigners

When purchasing land in Singapore, foreigners must be made aware that there are certain limitations on purchasing property. There are certain properties that foreigners may not purchase unless they have spoken with the Singapore Land Authority. These properties are included but not limited to the following: Vacant residential land, landed property such as detached house, landed property in which strata developments which are not approved condominium developments. These must be approved by the Minister of Law before purchase can be made. However a foreigner may purchase without penalty the following types of properties: any apartment within a building, any condominium unit, and a leasehold estate.

Other properties that can be purchased by a foreigner also include a HDB flat, a HDB shop and an Executive Condominium. There are fees for these transactions that are to be paid on the purchase of said properties. There are also approval forms that must be filled out and other identification and other documents that are needed in order to approve the purchase of the property. A foreigner is classified as the following; Is not a Singapore citizen, is not a member of a Singapore company, Is not a member of a Singapore limited liability partnership or not a member of Singapore society. This is the definition of a foreigner according to Singapore law. If a foreigner wishes to purchase restricted property they must fill out approved forms and send it as well as supporting documents to the Singapore Land Authority. They are the final authority on who may purchase property in Singapore. This includes any restricted properties that have not been named in this article but approved by the Singapore Land authority.

These also must be approved by the Minister at Law in certain cases. This is a part of the law that governs Singapore. Foreigners must follow this approved action in order to make restricted purchases in Singapore. There is also the matter of fees and taxes that are included in the purchase price. All legal fees must be paid and all contracts are enforceable by law. When a foreigner purchases property in Singapore, it would behoove them to have a Singapore lawyer, one who is familiar with the law of Singapore and can advise the foreigner on the proper procedures to follow in order to facilitate their purchase of Singapore property and ownership of said property.

By following all the above steps, a foreigner may be allowed to purchase property on Singapore. This is at the discretion of the Minister at Law and the Singapore Land Authority. Once approval is given, and then the purchase may proceed and be filed in the appropriate office. Once the property is filed, it is the responsibility of the new owner to keep all records in check and all payments made to the appropriate person as far as taxes and other sorts of fees are concerned. Then the foreigner may enjoy owning Singapore property with all the privileges that ownership implies.

Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest, In Singapore

MINDY YONG

( +65 ) 91002985

Fax: (+65) 64021826

mindy@mindyyong.com