Foreigners may acquire and buy real estate property in the Philippines under the

following conditions:
1. The property was acquired under the 1935 Constitution.
2. Acquiring real property through hereditary succession.
This means that a person (not Filipino) inherited the property or land which may have been acquired
under the 1935 Philippine Constitution.
3. Not more than 40% of the units of a condominium project.
4. If the property was bought by the owner when he or she was still a natural born Filipino citizen
but subject to the restrictions provided by law.
5. For former natural born citizens, the ownership of an urban land shall be limited to 1,000 square
meters while for rural land, it must not exceed 1 hectare and must be used exclusively for
residential purpose in accordance with Batas Pambansa Bilang 185.
For married couples under this rule, one or both may own land as long as the total area of the combined
property shall not go beyond the maximum limit.
For Filipinos who married a foreigner, Philippine citizenship is not automatically relinquished. Under
Article IV Section 4 of the Philippine Constitution, Citizens of the Philippines who marry aliens shall
retain their citizenship, unless by their act or omission, they are deemed, under the law, to have
renounced it. An example of renouncing Philippine citizenship is when a spouse would swear
allegiance to become a citizen of the spouses country. Any person although married to a foreigner can
buy and own land in the Philippines for as long as they have not renounced said citizenship. They may
acquire and own land without restrictions since they are deemed to have retained their citizenship.
6. Under the Dual Citizenship Law of 2003, natural born Filipinos who eventually lost their
Philippine citizenship to another country because of naturalization may regain their Filipino
citizenship after swearing allegiance to the Philippines. After the reacquisition of the Philippine
citizenship, they are again considered as citizens and may own real property without any
constraints.
7. Foreigners may own houses or building but not the land where the structures are built on. A
foreign individual or corporation may only lease and not own Philippine land. Such lease shall be
in a long-term contract which must be good for 50 years and after which, the rent is renewable
every 25 years.

The right to own a real estate property in the Philippines

Based on the standard Philippine law on acquiring a real estate property in the Philippines, Foreigners or
non-Filipinos dont have the right to own real estate properties in the Philippines. As an alternative,
however, marrying a Filipino national is the easiest way for a foreigner to obtain real estate properties in
the country. They may either share equal rights or the Filipino spouse owns 51% or more and the

foreigner gets the rest. In this case, further information on special visas for foreigners who may request
an entire ownership is necessary.
If the foreign owner desires to hold the title as an individual, the title usually falls under the Filipino
spouses name and the foreign spouses name which was not indicated in the title at least appears on the
contract as the buyer of the property. In case of death of the Filipino spouse, the foreign spouse is given
a reasonable time to sell the property and collect the proceeds or else the property will be given to any
Filipino heir and or relatives.
Foreigners are given the right to own houses or buildings for as long as they dont own the land on
which the house or building is built. Foreigners therefore may legally own their houses or buildings but
lease the land on a long term contract. A foreign national and or corporation may enter into a lease
agreement with Filipino landowners for an initial period of up to 50 years and renewable for another 25
years.
For foreigners to have 100% ownership of condominium and townhouse units, few qualifications are
requested before buying the property. The buyer must be at least 35 years old and must meet the banks
investment requirements. The amount of the deposit/investment and processing fee needed depends on
whether or not the foreign buyer is married to a Filipino. Being married to a Filipino citizen of course
allows almost all the investment privileges like those of Filipino citizens.
For land ownership, only Filipinos and corporations (at least 60% Philippine-owned) are permitted to
obtain such property. Foreign acquisition however is tolerated on special cases:
When the property was acquired before the 1935 constitution
When the property was acquired thru inheritance
o This means that the foreign acquire is a legal or natural heir, which further means that when the
Filipino spouse dies, the foreign spouse eventually becomes the legal owner of the property. This is as
well applied to the children. Every natural child (legitimate or illegitimate, Filipino or non-Filipino) can
inherit the property of his/her Filipino parent.
Purchase of not more than 40% interest in a condominium project
When the property was purchased by a former natural-born Filipino citizen subject to the limitations
approved by law
o Former natural-born Filipino citizens, or commonly called "Balikbayans", are allowed to own a
maximum of 1,000 sq. m. of residential land and one hectare of agricultural or farm land, a maximum of
5,000 square meters of urban land for business purposes or three hectares of rural land. Married couples,
both or one of them may avail the privilege given; the total area acquired shall not exceed the maximum.

In the case of a transferee who is already owning an urban or rural land for business or other purposes,
he/she remained a transferee provided that when added to those he owned shall not exceed the
maximum.
Filipinos who are married to foreign nationals and who retained their Filipino citizenship, unless by
their act or omission, have given up their Filipino citizenship.
Dual citizenship allows the citizenship holder full rights of ownership of Philippine real estate
property, which further means having two citizenships and passports from two different countries. It is
applied to individuals who are naturally born Filipino citizens, but have immigrated to another country
and have obtained citizenship of that country.