NRI · Global · The Propah POV
Which countries can Indians and NRIs buy property in — and where is it actually worth it?
India barely restricts where you may buy. The destination country does the restricting — and roughly fifteen countries prohibit or effectively block foreign ownership outright. Of the ones that remain open, only a handful are worth it after tax, and the decision turns on your tax residency far more than on the map.
The question people ask, and the question that matters
“Which countries can I invest in?” suggests India hands you a list. It does not. Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, a resident Indian may remit for the purchase of property abroad to almost anywhere — the only categorical bar is countries the Financial Action Task Force identifies as non-cooperative, alongside prohibited purposes such as lotteries, margin trading and terrorist-linked transactions.
So the map is not the constraint. Three other things are, in this order:
- Whether the destination lets a foreigner own anything. Many do not.
- Whether you are resident in India or not. This changes the arithmetic more than any country choice.
- What the destination taxes you on death and on exit — which is where Indians are caught out most often, because India has no inheritance tax and several major destinations do.
India will let you send the money almost anywhere. That is not the same as anywhere being worth sending it to.
First: which passport are you holding this question with?
Everything below reads differently depending on this, so settle it before anything else.
- Resident in India: you are inside LRS — USD 250,000 per person per financial year, all purposes combined — and India taxes your worldwide income, so foreign rent and foreign gains are taxable here. You must also disclose foreign assets in your return.
- NRI: LRS does not apply to you at all. You buy with funds held abroad, under the rules of wherever you live, and foreign income is not taxable in India. Schedule FA disclosure is not required of non-residents.
That difference is large enough that the same property can be a good idea for your brother in Dubai and a poor one for you in Bengaluru. Our Bengaluru or Dubai comparison works one instance of this through in detail.
Where you simply cannot buy
This is the list nobody publishes, and it eliminates a great deal of the world before you get to strategy. In each case the restriction is on land; apartments are often available on different terms.
| Country | The restriction | What is actually possible |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | Foreigners cannot own land | Condominium units, subject to a foreign-ownership cap per building; long leases of 30 years and up |
| Indonesia (Bali) | No freehold for foreigners | “Hak Pakai” right-to-use titles and strata-title apartments |
| Philippines | Constitutional bar on foreign land ownership | Condominiums, capped at 40% foreign ownership per project |
| Vietnam | The state owns all land | Apartments on 50–70 year renewable leasehold |
| China | No private land ownership at all | One residential property for personal use, if working or studying there |
| Switzerland | Lex Koller restricts non-resident purchases; authorisation required | Commercial property is unrestricted; holiday homes only in designated zones |
| Canada | Statutory prohibition on residential purchases by non-Canadians, currently running to 1 January 2027 | Outside metropolitan areas, or commercial property |
| New Zealand | Foreign nationals on temporary visas barred from residential land | Investor-visa holders, at high value thresholds |
| Singapore | Not banned, but 60% additional buyer’s stamp duty for foreigners on a first property | Condominiums. Landed property needs approval; HDB flats are closed. US and EFTA nationals are exempt under trade agreements — Indians are not |
| Denmark, Poland, Latvia | Permits required for non-EU buyers, land generally closed | Apartments, in most cases |
| Cambodia, Myanmar | No foreign land ownership | Strata units above ground floor, with per-building caps |
| Saudi Arabia, Oman | Land generally closed to foreigners | Freehold inside designated tourism complexes |
Singapore deserves a second look because it is so frequently on Indian shortlists. It is not a ban, but a 60% surcharge on a first residential purchase is a ban with extra steps. A S$2 million condominium costs a foreign buyer S$1.2 million in ABSD alone, before base stamp duty. US and EFTA nationals pay Singapore-citizen rates under free trade agreements. India has no such arrangement.
The golden visa map has changed, and most advice has not caught up
If someone is selling you European residency through property, check the date on their brochure.
| Programme | Status | Property threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | Closed to new applicants from 3 April 2025 | — |
| Portugal | Open, but real estate no longer qualifies since October 2023 | Funds, business, research and job creation routes only |
| Greece | Open, thresholds raised sharply in September 2024 | €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and larger islands; €400,000 elsewhere with a 120 sq m minimum; €250,000 for listed-building restoration |
| Malta | Residence programme open; citizenship-by-investment ended April 2025 | €375,000 purchase or €14,000 a year rent, plus government contribution and fees |
| Cyprus | Open, with income requirements | €300,000 plus VAT, plus €50,000 annual income and more per dependant |
| Italy | Open, but not property-based | €250,000 startup to €2 million in government bonds |
| UAE | Open | AED 2 million in property equity, for 5- or 10-year renewable residency |
Two European programmes that Indians bought into heavily are now shut to property money entirely. If your reason for buying abroad is residency, verify the current rule before you commit capital, not after.
Where it is actually worth it, and for which reason
“Beneficial” is not one thing. Sort by what you are actually trying to achieve.
For yield and a genuinely zero-tax position
- UAE is the strongest case anyone can make, and only if you are non-resident in India. No personal income tax, no capital gains tax on an individual’s disposal, no annual property tax, and gross yields around 6.6%. Residency from AED 2 million.
- The caveat we would insist on: Dubai rents fell 6.2% in Q2 2026 and around 74,100 units complete in 2026 with the pipeline peaking near 160,700 in 2027. Underwrite on lower rents than you are quoted.
- If you are resident in India, the zero is not zero for you. India taxes your worldwide income, the UAE takes nothing, so there is almost no foreign tax to credit under the treaty and you pay the full Indian slab rate on the rent.
For currency diversification
- The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so UAE property is in effect a dollar-denominated asset. That is protection if your future liabilities are in dollars and an added exposure if you earn and spend in rupees.
- The same logic applies to US and UK property, with the difference that those are floating currencies rather than a peg.
- Diversification is a real reason to buy abroad. It is a different reason from yield, and it justifies accepting a lower yield — but only if you can say out loud which one you are buying.
For depth, transparency and liquidity
- The US and UK have the deepest, best-documented residential markets available to a foreign buyer, with no ownership bar. Title is clean, data is public, and exit is orderly.
- Both, however, carry tax exposures that Indians systematically underestimate. See the next section, which is the most important part of this article.
The trap: estate tax, which India does not have
India abolished estate duty in 1985. There is no inheritance tax here. That single fact makes Indian buyers structurally blind to a risk that is very large in two of the most popular destinations.
In the United States, a non-resident alien who owns US property has an estate tax exemption of USD 60,000, with a top rate of 40% above it. A US citizen has an exemption in the millions. You do not.
Read those together. A USD 800,000 apartment held personally by an Indian who dies owning it exposes roughly USD 740,000 to a 40% estate tax. Meanwhile FIRPTA withholds 15% of the gross sale price on disposal — the same structural problem as TDS on an NRI sale in India, where the withholding is applied to the whole consideration rather than the profit. And rental income defaults to 30% withholding on gross rent with no deductions, unless you make the election that moves it to a net basis where mortgage interest, property tax and depreciation become deductible.
None of this makes US property a bad idea. It makes unstructured US property a bad idea, and it is the reason people who buy there properly take advice before they buy rather than after.
“Where do billionaires park their money?”
The usual answers are Monaco, Switzerland and Luxembourg, and the honest response is that this is the wrong question to build a plan on.
What is actually happening in those places is not a property strategy. It is a residency and banking strategy, in which property is a consequence rather than the point. Monaco is bought for residence and the tax position that follows from residence. Swiss purchases by non-residents are restricted by Lex Koller and require authorisation, which is precisely why the people you are thinking of are resident there rather than buying from abroad. Luxembourg is a fund domicile, not a housing market.
Three things follow, and they matter more than the names:
- The structure is the strategy, not the postcode. Copying the jurisdiction without the residency, the entity and the advice gets you the costs and none of the benefits.
- It does not scale down. These arrangements are built around relocating tax residence. If you are not moving, you are buying an expensive apartment in a low-yield market.
- Anything that only works if it is not disclosed is not a plan. India’s reporting regime, and the automatic information exchange behind it, has made the old version of this obsolete. Which brings us to the part that catches people.
What India requires you to disclose
If you are Resident and Ordinarily Resident in India, foreign assets — including immovable property abroad — must be reported in Schedule FA of your income tax return. Non-residents are not subject to this.
Under the Black Money Act 2015, non-disclosure attracts a penalty commonly cited at ₹10 lakh per assessment year, with prosecution provisions extending to imprisonment, and the loss of treaty relief. That penalty is per year, not once — an undisclosed apartment held quietly for six years is six penalties.
Two recent developments are worth knowing. Budget 2026 introduced a disclosure scheme for smaller taxpayers with foreign assets under ₹5 crore, offering a limited window with reduced consequences; and from 1 October 2026, non-disclosure of foreign movable assets up to ₹20 lakh is reported as attracting no penalty. Immovable property is not covered by that relief. Confirm the current position with a chartered accountant before relying on either.
What we would actually say
- Establish your residency status first. Under both FEMA and the Income Tax Act, which test differently. Everything else follows from it, and getting it wrong invalidates the whole plan.
- Name the reason before the country. Yield, currency diversification, residency, or a base you will actually live in. Each points somewhere different, and a purchase that serves none of them clearly is usually serving a brochure.
- Check ownership rules before you fall in love. A third of the world’s attractive destinations will not sell you land.
- Ask what happens on death, not only on exit. This is the single most neglected question, and it is where the largest numbers are.
- If you are resident in India, do the LRS arithmetic honestly. USD 250,000 a year per person means a meaningful purchase is a multi-person or multi-year exercise, with 20% TCS collected upfront above ₹10 lakh — creditable, but out of your hands until you file.
- Disclose everything. The penalty is annual and the information is already being exchanged.
- Take local advice in the destination. We advise on the decision and work with vetted partners in the markets we cover. We do not pretend to be tax counsel in seven jurisdictions, and neither should anyone else.
What this does not cover
- This is a survey, not a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction opinion. Rules on foreign ownership, residency programmes and tax change frequently — two European programmes closed or removed property in the last three years alone. Verify anything here before acting on it.
- We have not attempted to list every country in the world. We have set out where India restricts you (barely), where destinations restrict you (substantially), and where the tax outcome is decisive.
- Estate, gift and income tax treaties vary by country pair and can materially change the position described. The US figures given are the default treatment for a non-resident alien.
- Ownership structures — companies, trusts and other vehicles — change tax outcomes significantly and carry their own Indian reporting and tax consequences. They need specific advice, not a general article.
- Nothing here is advice on reducing tax through jurisdiction choice. It is a description of published rules and the disclosure obligations that accompany them.
- This is general information, not tax, legal or investment advice. Take advice in India and in the destination before you transact.
Which countries can an Indian buy property in?
From India's side, almost anywhere. The Liberalised Remittance Scheme permits remittance for property purchase abroad, with the categorical exception of countries the Financial Action Task Force identifies as non-cooperative, plus prohibited purposes such as lotteries and margin trading. The real constraint is the destination: around fifteen countries prohibit or effectively block foreign ownership of land, including Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Myanmar, with Canada and New Zealand operating statutory restrictions on residential purchases by non-residents.
How much can a resident Indian send abroad to buy property?
USD 250,000 per person per financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, covering all purposes combined — travel, education, investments and property. Families commonly pool across members or stage across financial years, and every remitter must be a co-owner. TCS of 20% applies above ₹10 lakh on investment and property remittances; it is creditable and refundable, so it is a cash-flow event rather than a cost. NRIs are outside LRS entirely and are not subject to the limit.
Where is it most beneficial for an NRI to invest in property?
It depends on the objective. For yield with a genuinely zero-tax position, the UAE has the strongest case — no personal income tax, no capital gains tax for individuals, no annual property tax, gross yields around 6.6% and residency from AED 2 million — though rents fell 6.2% in Q2 2026 against a record 2027 completion pipeline. For depth, transparency and orderly exit, the US and UK are the strongest markets open to foreign buyers, but both carry estate tax exposure that Indians routinely overlook. If the goal is European residency, note that Spain's programme closed in April 2025 and Portugal removed real estate from its route in October 2023.
Do Indians pay estate or inheritance tax on foreign property?
India has no inheritance tax — estate duty was abolished in 1985 — but the destination country may charge one, and this is the most commonly missed risk. In the United States a non-resident alien has an estate tax exemption of just USD 60,000 on US-situs property, with a top rate of 40% above it, against an exemption in the millions for US citizens. On an USD 800,000 apartment that is a very large exposure. Ask what happens on death, not only on sale.
Can Indians buy property in Singapore?
Yes, but the economics are punishing. Foreigners pay 60% additional buyer's stamp duty on a first residential property, rising for subsequent purchases, on top of base buyer's stamp duty. Condominiums are available without approval; landed property requires Land Dealings Approval Unit consent and HDB flats are closed to foreigners. US nationals and EFTA citizens pay Singapore-citizen rates under free trade agreements. India has no equivalent arrangement, so Indian buyers pay the full surcharge.
Is the Portugal or Spain golden visa still available through property?
No to both. Spain's investor residency route closed to new applicants on 3 April 2025. Portugal's programme remains open but removed real estate as a qualifying investment in October 2023, so only funds, business, research, cultural and job-creation routes qualify. Greece still allows property but raised thresholds sharply in September 2024, to €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and larger islands and €400,000 elsewhere. A great deal of marketing material still describes the old rules.
Where do wealthy families park money in Europe, and should I copy it?
Monaco, Switzerland and Luxembourg are the names usually given, but what happens there is a residency and banking strategy rather than a property one — property is a consequence of relocating tax residence, not the mechanism. Switzerland restricts non-resident purchases under Lex Koller and requires authorisation, which is why the people in question are resident rather than buying from abroad, and Luxembourg is a fund domicile rather than a housing market. Copying the jurisdiction without the residency and the structure gets you the costs and none of the benefits, and anything that only works undisclosed is not a plan under current information-exchange rules.
Do I have to declare foreign property in my Indian tax return?
If you are Resident and Ordinarily Resident, yes — foreign assets including immovable property must be reported in Schedule FA of your return. Non-residents are not subject to this requirement. Under the Black Money Act 2015 non-disclosure attracts a penalty commonly cited at ₹10 lakh per assessment year, with prosecution provisions and loss of treaty relief. The penalty is annual, not one-off. Budget 2026 introduced a limited disclosure scheme for foreign assets under ₹5 crore; confirm its current status with a chartered accountant.
Checked at source in September 2026: LRS scope and prohibited purposes; foreign-ownership restrictions across the countries listed; residency-by-investment programme status and thresholds for Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Italy and the UAE; Singapore ABSD rates and free trade agreement exemptions; US non-resident alien estate tax threshold and rate, FIRPTA withholding and rental withholding treatment; Schedule FA obligations and Black Money Act penalties including Budget 2026 changes. Dubai market figures are carried from our Bengaluru-or-Dubai analysis. Rules in this area change frequently and two European programmes have closed or removed property in the last three years — verify the current position before acting. Estate, gift and income tax treaties vary by country pair and may change the outcome described. This is general information, not tax, legal or investment advice.
Still deciding, or want this applied to your own situation?
Tell us where you are and we will come back to you. The first conversation is free, and we will tell you plainly if we are not the right people for it.
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Name the reason before you name the country.
Yield, currency, residency or a base you will live in. Each points somewhere different — and a purchase serving none of them clearly is usually serving a brochure.
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