Philippines foreign ownership explained

This commentary is about what a foreign buyer can hold in the Philippines. It is not a price, and it is not an application.

Article XII, section 7 of the 1987 Constitution says that, save in cases of hereditary succession, private land may be transferred only to individuals, corporations or associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain. A foreign individual does not take a house-and-lot title on that article.

Condominium units are the route the statute opens, and the route splits. Where the unit owners co-own the common areas, section 5 of Republic Act No. 4726 allows a transfer only to a Filipino citizen, or to a corporation at least 60 percent of whose capital stock belongs to Filipino citizens, aside from hereditary succession. Where a corporation holds the common areas, a transfer is void if it would push the alien interest in that corporation past the limit in existing laws. The Act states that second limit by reference. It does not print another percentage.

A long lease of land is a contract for a term. It is not the constitutional title. The Special Resident Retiree’s Visa, administered by the Philippine Retirement Authority, is a stay. Its deposit and age conditions are the Authority’s current schedule. They are not read out here. The visa is not ownership, and it is not permission to work.