Foreign Property Ownership in Southeast Asia and more: Guide to Freehold vs. Leasehold

If you're looking to buy property abroad, the first thing you need to understand is this: not all "ownership" is created equal. In many popular destinations, foreigners cannot simply buy land or homes the way they would back home. Instead, they work within legal structures that range from true freehold (you own it forever) to long-term leasehold (you rent it for decades) to bank trusts.

First, Two Terms You Must Know

Freehold

You own the property and the land indefinitely. You can sell it, pass it to your heirs, and control it completely.

Leasehold

You lease the property for a fixed term (often 25–50 years). You can use it, rent it out, and usually sell the remaining lease — but you don't own the land. When the lease ends, rights revert to the landowner unless renewed.

With that foundation, let's look at each market.

Thailand: Freehold Condos, Leasehold Everything Else

Thailand is one of the most visited property markets in Southeast Asia, but its rules are strict and getting stricter.

What Foreigners Can Buy

Condominiums (apartments) in freehold — This is the only property type a foreigner can own outright in their own name. However, foreign ownership in any single building is capped at 49% of the total saleable area.
Leasehold on land or houses — Foreigners can register a lease for up to 30 years. You will often see marketing for "30+30+30" year leases, but under Thai law, only the first 30 years are legally enforceable; renewals are contractual promises, not guaranteed rights.

What You Cannot Do

Own land directly. This has been prohibited since 1954, and despite periodic political discussions, no liberalization is expected soon.
Use nominee structures. Setting up a Thai company with proxy shareholders to hold land was once common, but since 2025, authorities have been systematically investigating and flagging these arrangements. Thousands of companies on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan have already been targeted. (Don't recommend).

The Bottom Line for Thailand

If you want a simple, low-risk purchase: buy a condominium within the 49% foreign quota, fund it with foreign currency (you'll need a Foreign Exchange Transaction Form), and register it at the Land Office. If you want a villa with land, a properly registered 30-year leasehold is the safest legal route — just understand that years 31–90 are a hope, not a right. We say - check your contract.

Bali / Indonesia: No Freehold for Foreigners, But Two Solid Alternatives

Indonesia reserves its strongest form of ownership — Hak Milik (freehold) — exclusively for Indonesian citizens. Foreigners cannot hold it directly, period.

Option 1: Leasehold (Hak Sewa) — The Most Common Route

Term: Typically 25–30 years, with a contractual extension option for another 25–30 years built into the original agreement. Total effective hold: 50–60 years in most cases.
Title: Your name appears directly on the lease certificate. It is a legally registered document, not a handshake deal.
Rights: You can live in it, rent it out on Airbnb, renovate it, and sell the remaining lease term to another buyer.
Cost: Minimal — roughly 1% notary fee. No purchase tax on leasehold.

Option 2: PT PMA Company — Freehold-Equivalent for Serious Investors

If you want something closer to permanent ownership, you can establish a PT PMA (foreign-owned company) which then holds the property under HGB (Right to Build) title. This gives you freehold-equivalent control.

Requirements:

Minimum company capital of 10 billion IDR (~$620,000 USD)
At least two shareholders (can both be foreigners)
5% purchase tax + 5% certificate conversion fee + notary fees
Eligible for a 2-year Investor Visa (KITAS)

What to Avoid in Bali

Nominee arrangements — where an Indonesian citizen holds the freehold title on your behalf under a private side agreement — are illegal and consistently found unenforceable by Indonesian courts. If the relationship breaks down, you have no legal claim.

The Bottom Line for Bali

For most foreign buyers, a well-structured 25–30 year leasehold with extension rights is the practical entry point. For high-end buyers planning to spend significant time in Indonesia, a PT PMA offers stronger title but at much higher cost and complexity.

Vietnam: Leasehold-Only, Quota-Limited, and Bureaucratic

Vietnam is one of the more restrictive markets for foreign buyers, but it is legally accessible if you understand the structure.

What Foreigners Can Buy

Foreigners can purchase apartments and houses within approved commercial housing projects. You cannot buy land, agricultural property, standalone houses on private land, or anything in national defense or security zones.

The Ownership Structure: 50-Year Leasehold

Term: 50 years from the date the ownership certificate ("Pink Book") is issued. You can apply for one extension of another 50 years, but this is not automatic — it requires government approval.
What you own: The building/unit only. The land underneath remains state property. All land in Vietnam is collectively owned by the people and administered by the State.

The 30% Quota — The Biggest Practical Constraint

Foreign ownership in any single condominium building is capped at 30% of total units. Once that quota is filled, no new foreign buyers can purchase in that building — they can only buy from existing foreign owners (resales).

For landed homes (villas, townhouses), the cap is 250 houses per ward-equivalent area (defined as ~10,000 people).

Important Nuances for Vietnam

Who can buy: Foreign individuals with a valid passport and legal entry into Vietnam, as well as foreign organizations with investment certificates. Most foreigners buy as individuals. Tourists, business visitors, and residents are all eligible — no special visa is required.

Property types: While apartments are the most common and accessible, foreigners can also buy houses and villas within approved commercial projects — not just apartments.

New vs. completed: Foreigners can buy both completed properties and off-plan (under construction) units. Off-plan purchases are common because developers often price them 10–15% below finished units, but they carry developer-completion risk.

Registration timeline: For a completed property with clean title, the Pink Book registration takes 15–30 working days once a complete dossier is submitted.

However, for off-plan or under-construction purchases, the Pink Book cannot issue until the developer has discharged all land-use and financial obligations for the project. In these cases, issuance can run from months into years — a 4–8 year total timeline from deposit to Pink Book is realistic for off-plan buys.

Management reality: Vietnam does not have the same culture of professional, centralized property management companies that Western buyers expect. Building management is often handled by the developer or a basic homeowners' association, and service standards vary dramatically. For rental investors, this means you will likely need to arrange your own property manager or handle tenant relations directly.

The Bottom Line for Vietnam

Vietnam works for buyers with a 10–20 year horizon who plan to live there or actively manage rentals. It is not a "park your money" market. Price the exit before you buy — if your building's 30% foreign quota is already full, your only resale buyers are Vietnamese nationals, which can limit your price.

Cambodia: Foreign-Friendly on Paper, But Oversaturated in Reality

Cambodia allows foreigners to own condominium units through strata title — a form of freehold ownership for the unit itself — from the first floor upward. Foreign ownership is capped at 70% of units per building.

The Ownership Structure

Strata title gives you full ownership rights to your private unit, including the right to sell, lease, or mortgage it. The title is registered with the Ministry of Land Management.
Land and houses: Foreigners cannot own land directly. Common workarounds include local company structures (51% Cambodian partner), trusts, or nominee arrangements — each with varying risk profiles.

The Market Reality: Oversupplied and Declining

This is where Cambodia diverges sharply from the others on this list.

Prices have been falling for nearly 2.5 years. The nationwide residential property price index fell 3.67% year-on-year in January 2026, and when adjusted for inflation, real prices dropped 4.87%. Phnom Penh saw a 4.52% nominal decline and a 5.7% real decline.
Prices have declined for 29 consecutive months with only one brief exception.
Liquidity is extremely thin. Selling a condo can take 6 to 18 months in Phnom Penh, and even longer in Sihanoukville or Siem Reap.
Sihanoukville is severely oversupplied. Thousands of unsold units remain from the Chinese investment boom, and prices have not recovered to 2019 peaks. Knight Frank estimates another 3 to 5 years of stabilization may be needed before meaningful appreciation returns.

The Bottom Line for Cambodia

Cambodia offers a fully dollarized economy and high gross rental yields on paper (6–9% in Phnom Penh), but capital appreciation is currently negative and exit liquidity is poor. If you buy here, do it for rental cash flow with a 5–7 year minimum hold, not for price growth. And budget $1,000–2,500 for competent local legal counsel — developer quality varies wildly, and there is no regulated escrow system.

Georgia (The Country): True Freehold, Simple Process, Low Taxes

Georgia stands out on this list because it is arguably the most foreigner-friendly property market of the group.

What Foreigners Can Buy

Freehold ownership of non-agricultural property on the exact same terms as Georgian citizens. You own the land and the building indefinitely.
No local partner required. No company structures. No trusts. The title deed is in your name.
Registration completes in ~4 working days through the National Agency of Public Registry (NAPR).

What You Cannot Buy

Agricultural land is restricted for foreigners. Everything else — apartments, houses, commercial property, non-agricultural land — is open.

Costs and Taxes

Purchase registration fee: Just 0.1% of the property price, capped at ~$60. Effectively no stamp duty.
Annual property tax: 0% to 1%, depending on your Georgian-source income. Many foreign buyers fall into the 0% bracket.
Capital gains: 0% if you hold the property for more than 2 years. 5% if sold within 2 years.
Rental income tax: Flat 5% on gross rental income.

Residency Bonus

Buy non-agricultural property with a market value of at least $150,000 (raised from $100,000 in March 2026), and you qualify for a 1-year residence permit renewable annually. A $300,000 investment grants a 5-year permit.

The Bottom Line for Georgia

If your priority is true freehold ownership, minimal bureaucracy, low taxes, and fast registration, Georgia is the standout on this list. The trade-off is that it is a smaller, less liquid market than the Southeast Asian destinations, and you should still conduct due diligence on developers — especially in Batumi, where quality varies.

Mexico: Bank Trusts on the Coast, Direct Ownership Inland

Mexico operates a two-tier system depending on where the property is located.

The Restricted Zone

Under Article 27 of the Mexican Constitution, direct foreign ownership is prohibited within:

50 km (31 miles) of any coastline
100 km (62 miles) of any international border

This covers virtually every beach market foreigners want: Cancún, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Baja California.

The Fideicomiso (Bank Trust)

To buy in the restricted zone, foreigners use a fideicomiso — a renewable 50-year bank trust where a Mexican bank holds legal title and you are the beneficiary.

Your rights as beneficiary are functionally identical to ownership:

Use, rent, renovate, sell, and pass to heirs
The property is not a bank asset — if the bank fails, your property transfers to another trustee
The trust can be renewed indefinitely for additional 50-year terms

Costs:

Setup: ~$1,000–2,500
Annual maintenance: ~$500–1,200
SRE permit: ~$800–1,200 government fee
Total closing costs: 5–9% of purchase price

Outside the Restricted Zone

Inland locations (Mexico City, Guadalajara, San Miguel de Allende, most of Mérida) allow foreigners to hold direct title in their own name after obtaining a waiver from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No trust required.

The Biggest Risk in Mexico

Roughly one in ten purchases involving foreigners never completes, mostly due to title problems — especially ejido (communal) land that cannot legally transfer, liens, or missing heirs. Never pay a deposit before confirming clean, private, registrable title.

The Bottom Line for Mexico

The fideicomiso is a well-established, secure system that has worked for millions of foreign buyers for over 50 years. Budget for the trust setup and annual fees, hire your own notario público (never the seller's), and verify title before any money moves.

CountryFreehold for Foreigners?Typical Foreign StructureTermKey Limitation

Final Thoughts

Every market on this list can work for the right buyer — but "ownership" means radically different things depending on where you are.

If you want true freehold with minimal hassle: Georgia is your answer.
If you want a beach condo with straightforward freehold: Thailand (within the 49% quota) or Cambodia (but accept the liquidity risk).
If you want a villa by the sea in Mexico: Budget for the fideicomiso — it works, but it adds cost and complexity.
If you want exposure to Southeast Asian growth: Vietnam offers improving legal clarity, but treat it as a leasehold investment with a 10–20 year horizon, not a forever asset.
If you want a Bali lifestyle: Leasehold is the standard, well-trodden path — just avoid nominee arrangements at all costs.

The golden rule across all six markets: Never sign anything until an independent lawyer (not the seller's, not the developer's) has reviewed the title, the contract, and the ownership structure. The few thousand dollars you spend on due diligence is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.

Ready to explore your options? At Sell Este Properties, we help international buyers navigate these structures with vetted legal partners in each jurisdiction. Contact us to discuss which market fits your goals.

Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Property laws change frequently. Always consult a qualified local attorney before making any purchase.

15.08.2026