Can Foreigners Buy Property in South Africa? What You Can (and Can't) Buy in 2026
Quick answer: Yes. Foreigners and non-residents can buy residential property in South Africa freely, no visa, residence permit or ownership cap required. What actually differs for a non-resident buyer isn't the right to buy, it's the financing: banks cap non-resident bonds at roughly 50% loan-to-value instead of the 80–90% a citizen gets, and foreign funds must clear through an authorised dealer bank first.
Search "can foreigners buy property in South Africa" and you'll find a persistent myth that non-citizens are locked out, need special government permission, or are restricted to certain areas. None of that is true. What's genuinely different for a foreign buyer sits entirely on the financing and tax side, not the right to buy itself. This guide sets out exactly where the rules for a non-resident buyer diverge from a South African citizen's, with the real numbers behind each difference.
In this article
Citizen vs non-resident: what actually differs
Every South African property rule that changes for a foreign buyer is listed below, next to the citizen/permanent-resident default. Everything not on this list, the right to buy, the conveyancing process, transfer duty rates, is identical for both.
| Rule | SA Citizen / PR | Non-Resident Buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum bond LTV | 80–90% | ~50% (1:1 introduced-funds ratio) |
| Typical deposit needed | 10–20% | ~50% |
| Exchange control step | None | Funds routed through an authorised dealer bank |
| Visa or permit to buy | Not applicable | Not required, at any visa status |
| Buy urban residential property | Unrestricted | Unrestricted |
| Buy agricultural land | Unrestricted | Currently unrestricted (still a Bill, not law) |
| Buy an RDP house | Only if a qualifying beneficiary | Never permitted, at any stage |
| Tax on sale | Standard CGT only | CGT plus 7.5–15% withholding on sale |
Figures verified 2026-09-17 against SARS, authorised-dealer banking practice and current agricultural land Bill status. See the sections below for sourcing on each row.
What Foreigners Can and Can't Buy
Start with what's unrestricted, because it's most of the market. A foreign national, on any visa status, including a tourist visa, or a non-resident who has never set foot in the country, can buy a house, apartment or sectional title unit anywhere in South Africa. There's no foreign-ownership cap, no surcharge added to transfer duty for being a non-citizen and no "foreigner zones" the way some countries restrict coastal or border land to non-citizens. Purchase is governed by the Deeds Registries Act, a civil and contractual matter that has nothing to do with the Immigration Act's separate rules on who may live or work here.
Two real exceptions exist, and both get confused with each other constantly. The first is agricultural land. A Bill called the Regulation of Agricultural Land Holdings Act, published for comment since around 2017, would bar foreign persons from owning agricultural land outright and limit them to leases of 30 to 50 years instead, plus give the state first refusal if the land is later sold. It has never passed Parliament. As of September 2026 it has no force of law, so buying a farm or smallholding as a foreigner is currently unrestricted, but this is the one area worth watching for a legislative change before you commit.
The second exception is RDP housing, and here the restriction is real and absolute. RDP houses are government-subsidised homes reserved for qualifying South African citizens, and resale policy requires any onward sale to go to another qualifying citizen, regardless of how many years the current owner has held it. A foreign national who moves into one through an informal, off-the-books sale gains no legal title. The property stays registered to the original beneficiary in the Deeds Office. This has become enough of a real problem that it made national news in 2025, with government ministers publicly addressing informal sales to foreign nationals, so treat any offer to buy an occupied RDP property as a legal dead end, not a bargain.
Comparing a South African bond to a citizen's? Enter both scenarios into the Bond Affordability Calculator to see the deposit gap in rand terms for your target purchase price.
Bond Affordability Calculator →Financing as a Non-Resident Buyer
This is where the real difference lives. South African banks cap non-resident bonds at roughly 50% of the purchase price. It isn't a single number written into a statute, it's a market-wide banking practice built on a 1:1 rule: a non-resident must bring in, through an authorised dealer bank, one rand of their own funds for every rand they borrow. Bring in R1 million and the bank will typically lend up to R1 million against it, landing you at the familiar 50% outcome. A South African citizen or permanent resident, by contrast, can usually borrow 80 to 90% of the purchase price on the same property. Some non-residents with local income, a South African spouse or other ties are occasionally offered a higher percentage at the bank's discretion, but treat 50% as the number to plan around, not the ceiling to expect to beat.
The exchange control side has genuinely loosened. Following the 2025 exchange control relaxations, a non-resident no longer needs the South African Reserve Bank's prior blanket approval just to invest in property here, as long as the deal is at arm's length and priced at fair market value. What hasn't disappeared is the paperwork: foreign funds coming into the country must still be routed through an authorised dealer bank, which issues a confirmation, commonly still called a Form A, recording exactly how much came in. That confirmation is what sets your 1:1 borrowing ceiling, and it's also the document that supports repatriating your funds or sale proceeds when you eventually sell.
Worked Example: R2.5 Million Purchase
Take a R2,500,000 property and compare what a non-resident and a South African citizen each need in cash upfront.
| Item | SA Citizen (90% LTV) | Non-Resident (50% LTV) |
|---|---|---|
| Bond amount | R2,250,000 | R1,250,000 |
| Own funds needed | R250,000 | R1,250,000 |
| Transfer duty (SARS, identical for both) | R67,200 | R67,200 |
| Conveyancing fee (incl. VAT, estimate) | ~R24,150 | ~R24,150 |
| Total cash needed upfront* | ~R341,350 | ~R1,341,350 |
*Excludes bond registration costs, which apply on top for either buyer if financing. Transfer duty calculated on SARS's current 2026 sliding scale (0% to R1,210,000, then progressive bands to 13%); this scale carries no foreign-buyer surcharge. Verify your own figures with the Transfer Cost Calculator linked below.
The gap isn't in what you're allowed to buy, it's in the roughly R1 million difference in cash you need to bring to the same purchase. That's the number to plan for months before you make an offer, not the week you're trying to get funds transferred through an authorised dealer.
Work out your own transfer duty. The rate is identical whether you're a citizen or a non-resident. Get the exact figure for your purchase price.
Transfer Cost Calculator →Selling as a Non-Resident: The Withholding Tax
Buying is where most of the myths sit, but selling is where non-residents face a real, distinct tax rule South African citizens don't. Under Section 35A of the Income Tax Act, once the purchase price of a property being sold by a non-resident exceeds R2 million, the buyer is legally required to withhold a percentage of the full purchase price, not just the portion above R2 million, and pay it directly to SARS on the seller's behalf. The rate is 7.5% for an individual seller, 10% for a company and 15% for a trust.
This withholding is not a final tax, it's a provisional payment against whatever capital gains tax the seller actually owes. If your real CGT liability comes out lower than the amount withheld, you can apply to SARS for a directive before the transfer to reduce or exempt the withholding, or claim the difference back afterward. Either way, budget for the withholding as a real cash-flow event at the point of sale, since it's deducted before you see any proceeds, not settled later at tax season.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Exchange control and non-resident lending practices vary by bank and change over time. Always consult a conveyancer, tax practitioner or authorised dealer bank directly before relying on any figure here for a real transaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Foreign nationals and non-residents can buy South African residential property freely, with no visa or residence permit required, no foreign-ownership cap and no foreign-buyer transfer duty surcharge. A tourist-visa visitor can legally buy a house here. This is a civil matter under the Deeds Registries Act, entirely separate from the Immigration Act's rules on who may live or work in the country.
Yes. A foreign company can buy South African property directly or through a locally registered subsidiary. Banks and conveyancers typically require additional FICA documentation to verify the company's beneficial owners and country of registration, and financing terms follow the same non-resident rules as an individual foreign buyer.
Yes, a foreign trust can hold South African property. Expect the same FICA and exchange control scrutiny applied to any non-resident structure, and confirm with a conveyancer early, since trust deeds and offshore trustee documentation add time to the FICA verification step.
No. Buying property does not require a visa, residence permit or any immigration status. It is a separate legal process from the right to live or work in South Africa. You can buy on a tourist visa or from outside the country entirely, using a power of attorney.
In practice, around 50%. This is not a single fixed law but a market-wide banking rule: a non-resident buyer must introduce, via an authorised dealer bank, roughly one rand of their own funds for every rand borrowed, which produces the 50% outcome. South African citizens and permanent residents can typically borrow 80–90% instead. Some non-residents with South African income or ties are occasionally offered more, at the bank's discretion.
Since the 2025 exchange control relaxations, non-residents no longer need SARB's prior blanket approval simply to invest in South African property, provided the deal is at arm's length and priced at market value. What still applies: foreign funds must be routed through an authorised dealer bank, which issues a confirmation recording the inflow. That confirmation is what sets your borrowing ceiling and later supports repatriating your funds or sale proceeds.
Once the purchase price of the property being sold exceeds R2 million, the buyer must withhold a percentage of the full purchase price and pay it to SARS on the seller's behalf: 7.5% for an individual, 10% for a company and 15% for a trust. This sits on top of ordinary capital gains tax and is not a final tax; a non-resident seller can apply to SARS for a directive to reduce or waive the withholding if their actual tax liability is lower.
Currently, yes, with no special restriction. The Regulation of Agricultural Land Holdings Act, which would bar foreign persons from owning agricultural land and limit them to long leases instead, remains a Bill. It has not been passed by Parliament and has no force of law. If enacted, it would apply only to agricultural land, not to urban residential property.
No. RDP houses are government-subsidised housing reserved for qualifying South African citizens, and resale policy requires any sale to go to another qualifying South African, regardless of how long the current owner has held it. A foreign national who occupies one through an informal sale gains no legal ownership claim; the property stays registered to the original beneficiary in government records. This is a distinct rule from the general answer above and does not apply to ordinary open-market residential property.