BUYER'S GUIDE
Who can buy property in the Philippines?Those entitled to own property as fully-fledged Philippine citizens
Philippine citizens who are residents of the Philippines
Philippine citizens who are residents of another country or working overseas who maintain their Philippine citizenship
Philippine dual citizens
Natural-born Philippine dual citizens (Those born with a Philippine and foreign citizenship as a result of the concurrent application of the laws of the Philippines and a foreign country which consider one a citizen of each country, e.g., those born to a Filipino and foreign parent).
Natural-born Philippine citizens who subsequently acquire foreign citizenship involuntarily (i.e., without undergoing foreign naturalization, e.g., marrying a foreign national whose country automatically considers the Philippine spouse its own citizen) and who have not renounced their Philippine citizenship by any act or omission.
Natural-born Philippine citizens who voluntarily opted to acquire foreign citizenship but eventually chose to reacquire their natural-born Philippine citizenship status under the Philippine Citizenship Reacquisition Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9225), regardless of whether or not they have renounced their previous foreign citizenship.
There are no area limits on the ownership by Philippine citizens of non-agricultural private land. Private agricultural land acquisition must not exceed a combined total of 5 hectares (50,000 square meters).
Philippine corporations whose capital stock is 60% Filipino-owned
There are no area limits on the ownership by Philippine corporations of non-agricultural private land. Philippine corporations may lease, but not own, public agricultural land not exceeding 1,000 hectares for two 25-year periods and own private agricultural land not exceeding a combined total of 5 hectares (50,000 square meters).
Those entitled to own property under limited conditions
Natural-born Philippine citizens who voluntarily opted to acquire foreign citizenship through naturalization, thereby renouncing their Philippine citizenship, and who do not choose to reacquire Philippine citizenship
Unlike Philippine citizens, former Philippine citizens who are natural-born Filipinos* are only entitled to own either 5,000 square meters of urban land or 3 hectares (30,000 square meters) of rural land in the Philippines for business or other purposes. The land that may be acquired shall not be more than two parcels situated in different municipalities or cities anywhere in the Philippines and shall not exceed the stated area limitations. Anyone who has Already acquired urban land is disqualified from further acquiring rural land and vice versa. In the case of a married couple, the total land area that they are allowed to purchase cannot exceed the above-stated limitations.
Foreign citizens and corporations
Foreign citizens and corporations may acquire and own condominium units where the common area is owned by a condominium corporation, 60% of which is Filipino-owned. They cannot directly acquire and own land in the Philippines except through intestate hereditary succession, i.e., inheritance by operation of Philippine laws on intestate succession and not by testate (through a will or testament) succession. They may, however, indirectly own land by subscribing to a Philippine corporation the capital stock of which is 60% Filipino-owned. They may also lease private land for a maximum of two 25-year periods.
Foreign citizens and corporations investing in the Philippines may lease private land for a 50-year period extendible for another 25 years.
A natural-born Philippine citizen is one who does not have to do anything to acquire Philippine citizenship, in contrast to a naturalized Philippine citizen who has to go through a naturalization process to acquire Philippine citizenship.
