Can a foreigner own property in the Philippines?

Most foreigners who buy here buy a condo. The building's land is held by a condominium corporation, and foreigners as a group can own up to 40% of it. In practice the developer or the building administrator tracks the foreign share, and a sale to a foreigner cannot go through once the building has reached its limit.

Before you pay a reservation fee, ask in writing whether the unit can be sold to a foreign buyer, and get the title (the Condominium Certificate of Title) checked by your own lawyer, not the seller's.

If you want a house rather than a condo, the legal route is to lease the land and own the building on it.

For a private person leasing for a home, the limit is set by Presidential Decree 471: 25 years, renewable for another 25 years if both sides agree. Put the renewal terms in the original contract and register the lease, so it binds a future owner of the land.

In September 2025, Republic Act 12252 raised the lease limit to as long as 99 years, but only for foreign investors with a registered and approved investment, and only for land used for that investment. It does not apply to someone leasing a lot to live on. If you see articles saying foreigners can now lease land for 99 years, that is the part they leave out.

This is the most common way foreigners end up holding land, and the riskiest. If the land is in your spouse's name, it is your spouse's land. The Supreme Court made this plain in Muller v. Muller (G.R. No. 149615, 2006): a German husband who paid for land and a house in his Filipino wife's name could not claim ownership or even get his money back when the marriage ended. The Court said a foreigner's disqualification from owning land is absolute, and not even ownership in trust is allowed.

If you go this way, do it as a gift you are at peace with, not as an investment you expect to recover. Some couples use a long registered lease or a usufruct, a legal right to use the property, to give the foreign spouse some protection. Ask a Philippine lawyer which, if any, fits your situation.

A company can own land only if at least 60% of it is owned by Filipinos. Setting one up with Filipino shareholders who are only there on paper is illegal under the Anti-Dummy Law (Commonwealth Act 108). The penalties include 5 to 15 years in prison and losing the property. The same law applies to putting land in a Filipino friend's name.

A natural born Filipino who became a citizen of another country can still buy land, within limits: up to 1,000 square meters of urban land or 1 hectare of rural land for a home (Batas Pambansa 185), and more for business use (RA 8179).

If you reacquire Philippine citizenship under the dual citizenship law, RA 9225, you are a Filipino citizen again and can own land as one. For many former Filipinos, and for children of a Filipino parent, this is the cleanest route to owning land outright.

• Paying for land in a partner's or friend's name and assuming a side agreement protects you. It usually does not.
• Believing the 99 year lease headlines apply to a home.
• Signing a lease that is not registered, so it does not bind the next owner.
• Paying a condo reservation fee before confirming the unit can go to a foreign buyer.
• Using the seller's lawyer, or no lawyer.