Foreigners staying in Singapore for lengthy periods of time may find that living in a hotel for the duration of their stay can be very expensive. A solution to this expensive quandary is acquiring a residential property in the city-state.

In Singapore, expats are not restricted by government agencies from purchasing their own residential properties.

Mainly, Singapore’s Residential Property Act intends to allow Singapore citizens to purchase, at affordable prices, their own residential properties. Moreover, the act encourages foreign nationals who have given a significant contribution to Singapore’s economic prosperity to buy residential properties in the city-state.

Expatriates may buy non-restricted residential properties even without prior approval from the Singapore government. Below are some examples of non-restricted residential properties:

- apartment units within a building that is not higher than six levels – condominium units in approved condominium development properties stipulated in the Planning Act – a lease term on a restricted property; the term should not go beyond seven years

A foreign national may intend to buy all units in an apartment or condominium; nonetheless, before he or she can do this, Singapore’s Minister of Law must issue an official sanction.

Likewise, a foreigner without any prior accreditation from Singapore’s Minister of Law cannot own residential properties that are categorized as restricted.

Under the Residential Property Act of Singapore, the following are classified as restricted residential properties:

- an empty residential lot – townhouses, detached or semi-linked houses, or terraced houses standing on residential lots – properties not approved for condo development under the Planning Act

In applying for an official sanction to be able to acquire a restricted residential property, the expatriate must fill out a form and, along with the required supporting documents, send this to the Singapore Land Authority. The Singapore Land Authority is in charge of reviewing and approving the merits of foreign national whether he or she will be qualified to buy a restricted residential property.

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