Can I buy a house in the Philippines?
A lot of readers of my various blogs write to me and ask about buying a house here in the Philippines. Be careful, though. If you are no a Filipino, you cannot own property in the Philippines. This is a provision in the Constitution of the Philippines. Unless you are a Philippine Citizen, or a Former Philippine Citizen (already naturalized in another country) you cannot buy land here, PERIOD. A couple of points to consider on this, though. First, if your wife is a Citizen of the Philippines, she can own property here but it cannot ever be yours or even part yours. For example, if your wife dies, you cannot inherit the property, it will go to one of her other legal heirs (children, siblings, etc.). A second consideration… if you or you spouse are former citizens, your property ownership rights are limited to only a small parcel of land.
Another thing that you can consider if you really want to own your home is that, as a foreigner, you can own a condominium. Condominium ownership is limited to 40% of a complex, though. In other words, if there are 10 condos in a development, only 4 can be owned by foreigners with the balance of 6 only saleable to Filipinos. So, the rules really limit foreigners from owning even condos.
One reason that I write about this is that you must be very careful about this. People here selling real estate will try to sell it to you, even though it is illegal. Then, if somebody files a complaint, you will lose everything. There are ways to monkey around with the system, but it always leaves the foreigner vulnerable. For example, dummy owners will be set up, where the foreigner puts up the money and some other name is put on the title. This is dangerous, don’t do it! If the lawyer or other person who set this up wants to, they can pull the property right out from under you. There is always a strong possibility that you will end up on the short end of the stick.
For me, I prefer to just rent the house where I live. While renting, I can easily move to a new location when I want to. Heck, if a reason ever comes up where I feel that I need to leave the country, I can just pack up and go without leaving a major investment behind. While I feel comfortable about living here, in any third world country, the political system can be unstable. Over the past 20 years or so, there have been dozens of coup plots here in the Philippines. So, who knows, the day may come when living here is not attractive. So, my advice – rent a nice place, kick back and enjoy your life in the Philippines. Leave the property ownership problems to your landlord!
Hello Bob,
My question is that you are in Internet cafe business right? So who own your business, is it under your wife? Thank you for this website…it’s full of informations
Hi Patrice – actually, no I am not in the internet cafe business. I used to be years ago, but I have not been in that business for about 5 years now. I am in a business that is US based, but I can operate from here by using the internet.
If you want to set up some kind of business that would be based here in the Philippines, yes, you would need it to be owned by your wife or some other Philippine citizen, since you would not be able to own it under Philippine law.
Glad you are enjoying the site!
Hello Bob,GREAT JOB you’re doing here! I’m Joe & am married to a Filipina. We’ve just had a beautiful baby girl this year! I’ve been to the Philippines five times already & love it ! We’ll be going back this coming oct. or Nov.. My wife’s family is in BayBay,Leyte (Beautiful country). I’ve tried to arrange a long term rental there,but can’t seem to find anything on the Net. I’m retired & own a very nice place here in Maine(very cold right now!). I’m interested in staying the winters in the philippines & the summers here. The best of both worlds I guess. If you know of any contacts in the Leyte area,it would be a great help ! Keep up the GREAT JOB with this site(it’s the most informative i’ve found yet!) Looking forward to hearing from you! Happy New Year & Salamat ! Joe
Hi Joe – thanks for visiting the blog and leaving your comment. I’m glad to know that you’ve found the site to be useful!
Regarding rental property – don’t go for anything you find on the net! When people here put properties up on the net, it is usually at about three times the price that they really expect to get. Wait until you are here, then do a little looking around for something. As a matter of fact, the best thing to do would let your wife or her family do the shopping, and don’t let people know that you are involved in the deal. That will deep the price down. But, always remember that the internet is the last place to look for property in the Philippines.
Thanks for the info.,Bob ! I’ll take your advice & wait till I get there. After all,I do have the time. Keep up the great work! Joe
I CAN’T STOP MYSELF PRAISING U .WHO WILL REQUIRE A BOOK OR SOME GUIDE FOR SUCH A VALUALE INFORMATION.U KNOW WHAT HAVING THIS INFORMATION IS REALLY A NEW PERSPECTIVE.I FEEL SAFE AFTER BEING AWARE OF THE REALITY.QUESTION IS NOT OF RIGHT OR WRONG .ITS JUTS IS..AS IT IS..I LIKE UR ATTITUDE AND HOENSTY OF SHARING THE BEST OF THE BEST FROM UR EXPERIENCE.ALL THE BEST BOB AND UR WIFE..SPECIALLY NOW TO UR WIFE FOR EING UR STRENGTH AS INSPIRATION FROM SUCH A LONG TIME..LOVE U BOTH AS WELL AS UR LIL KIDS..THNX
Hi Bob.
A foreigner can not own a piece of land in phils. how about apartments or condos?
Hi Damian – yes, a foreigner can own a condo unit. There are, however, still laws that must be followed. One that I am aware of is that no condo building can consist of more than 40% foreign ownership. For example, if there are 10 units in the building (all of equal size), only 4 can be owned by foreigners.
Bob,
I truly appreciate your advice. I have read your blog very carefuly. If I only knew it about your website before. It took a lot of time, few visits in philippines and a lot of observation and internet research to get an idea about life in philippines and i can nothing but completely agree with you in all aspects. will come back anytime i need advice. your website is a great resource. it goes way beyond lonelyplanet.
thank you.
Hi Damian – Thank you for your compliments! I would be happy to assist you anytime, if you have some questions. Just e-mail me or leave a comment any time.
Hi Bob
Love your site, lots of great info, I clicked all your ads.
We’re going to retire there in a couple of years.
My wife is a balikbayan who now holds a canadian passport.
You said we are limited to only a small parcel of land
do you know actual size limits
I was hoping to buy a hectacre
Thanks
Hi Alan – If your wife is a former citizen of the Philippines, I believe that you can indeed buy 1 hectare of rural land. If you buy land in the city, I believe that the legal limit for you would be around 250 square meters. It might be a little more than that, I don’t recall exactly. But, it is far less than a hectare.
Your best bet would be for your wife to claim her dual citizenship when she returns to the Philippines. Once she has that, you can purchase as much land as you want, and she will retain her Canadian citizenship too.
Hi Bob
If my wife gets her dual citizenship we can buy as much land as we want, but then she has to pay taxes in two countries, correct?
Hi Alan – not necessarily. Does she work in Canada? If she works in Canada, she may have to pay Philippine taxes. I don’t know Canadian tax law, but in the USA, the taxes that she pays in the Philippines would be deductible anyway, so while she would pay to two different countries, the amount of taxes would be the same amount.
Hi Bob,
Per info circulated by the Phil. Consulate in NY, someone holding dual citizenship (US & Phil) will pay US taxes only for income earned in the States. Only income earned in the Philippines, if any, will be paid to the Phil. gov’t. I’m not sure, though, if he/she has to pay US taxes for income earned in the Philippines.
Hi Tina – Sorry, but I believe that the information that the Consulate gave is really incorrect. The United States and the Philippines are actually two of the only governments in the world that tax their citizens on worldwide earnings. For example, US Citizens are responsible to pay US Taxes on income earned in the USA, in the Philippines, or on the Moon – Anywhere! Same for the Philippines too, unfortunately.
Hi Bob
When we retire from canada she wants to start her own small business in the philippines which she will pay taxes to the philippine government, I wondered when her canadian pension kicks in if she would have to pay tax to PI on that income? Since it’s already taxed in canada, that would be twice..
Hi Alan – it would be my understanding that she would not be taxed on foreign derived income.
Hi Bob. I am a Filipina and was thinking of entering a small business with a fellow Filipino friend. I was wondering if you knew whether it’s possible for a foreigner to also invest in this small business (my partner is British and currently finishing his studies in the UK though would like to move here afterwards). Incidentally, would you also know about the mechanics involved with respect to a foreigner moving to the Philippines (i.e. legal requirements, visas, etc)?
Thank you for your help!
Hi Alex – Your foreigner friend could own as much as 40% of the business, not more though. Moving here would not be an easy thing to do if he is not married to a Filipina. If he is married to a Filipina, no problems! If he is not, his best bet would be to just come on a tourist visa and renew every 2 months, then at the end of a year leave and come back. For a full run down on visas and such, just click on the category “Visas” on the right side bar, near the top of this page.
hi BOB! my boyfriend is a US ciitizen and is planning to move and live in the Phils. Does he need to file any legal papers to live here?
Hi Tin-tin. I hope you don’t mind my input. I’m a Filipino-American living in the Philippines. My wife is a Filipino citizen. In the states, I’m her sponsor. That’s why she’s able to get her immigrant status. It works the same way in the Philippines. I received my ACR (Alien Registration Certificate) because she sponsored me. I can own properties here as long as I’m married to her. And like Bob said, I never have to worry about her leaving me and dissolving our marriage.
As far as buying properties, my suggestion is do the shopping yourself. Don’t put too much confidence on real estate companies that sells property in the Philippines to U.S. citizens, from thousands of miles away. You run the risk of being disappointed. Fly over her and do the shopping yourself after you gain the legal rights to live and own property here. Till next time….
Hi tin-tin, as your boyfriend, he does not qualify for anything but a tourist visa, I’m afraid. He can come on a tourist visa and renew every 2 months, but must also leave the country once per year. If you were to marry, he could then apply for a 13(a) visa and reside her permanently.