Foreigners and Singapore Property

A “foreign person” is defined in the Residential Property Act as the follows: 

1) Any person who is not a citizen of Singapore

2) Any Permanent Resident

3) Any foreign company or converted company

4) Any society or converted society which has not been granted approval or received exemption by the minister 

Unless there is a written approval from the Controller of Residential Property Land Dealings, a foreigner can only buy the following type of properties: 

1) Any flat in a development bearing the tittle “Condominium”

2) Any flat in a building that has at least 6 levels, including the ground level and any level below the ground

3) Any non-residential, commercial or industrial property 

A foreigner needs to apply to the authority if he/she wants to purchase the following properties: 

1) Any landed residential properties including detached houses, semi-detached houses and terrace house

2) Any flat in a building of less than 6 levels

3) Any vacant land zoned for residential use 

The application forms can be obtained from: 

Controller of Residential Property Land Dealings (Approval Unit) 

Applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the entire process should take about 3 months. 

For more information, email [email protected]