Where Foreigners Can Own Land in Southeast Asia: A 2026 Country Guide

In most of Southeast Asia, foreigners cannot own land. Malaysia is the single exception that lets a foreign national hold freehold land directly in their own name. Everywhere else in the region, what you can actually own is a condominium unit, a time-limited lease, or a use-right, never the ground itself. Knowing which structure applies in each country is the difference between a real asset and a nominee arrangement that collapses in court.

Here is the country-by-country reality for 2026.

Malaysia: the only direct freehold

Malaysia stands alone. Under the National Land Code 1965, a foreigner can buy and hold freehold land in their own name, subject to state-level minimum purchase thresholds and state authority consent. In the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur the floor is generally RM 1 million per property, and other states set their own minimums. There are restrictions on Malay reserve land and certain agricultural land, but for standard residential and commercial property a foreigner gets genuine, perpetual ownership. No other country in the region offers this to individuals.

The Malaysia My Second Home programme is part of why the country attracts buyers who specifically want title to land rather than a unit or a lease.

Thailand: condos yes, land no

Thailand bars foreigners from owning land outright, including the plot beneath a villa or house. The route to real ownership is the condominium. Under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979), foreigners can own freehold condo units as long as foreign ownership in the building does not exceed 49 percent of total floor area. For landed homes, the common workaround is owning the structure while leasing the land on a registered 30-year lease, renewable by contract. Be cautious of company structures and Thai nominee shareholders used to hold land. Using Thai nominees to circumvent the land ownership ban is illegal under the Land Code and exposes the arrangement to forfeiture.

The statutory basis for the ban is the Land Code Act B.E. 2497, which reserves land for Thai nationals. Leases are registered at the Land Office and are commonly marketed as 30 plus 30 plus 30, but only the first 30-year term is a registered right. The later terms are contractual promises against the current owner, not rights recorded on the title.

Indonesia: use-rights, not freehold

Indonesia permits no freehold (Hak Milik) for foreigners under any structure. What a foreigner with a valid stay permit can legally hold is Hak Pakai, the Right to Use, governed by Government Regulation No. 18 of 2021. Hak Pakai runs up to 30 years, renewable for 20, and extendable by a further 30, giving effective tenure approaching 80 years. The notorious risk in Bali and elsewhere is the nominee arrangement, where a foreigner buys Hak Milik land in an Indonesian's name under a side agreement. Indonesian courts do not enforce these, and buyers have lost both the land and their money. If a Bali deal relies on a local holding title for you, treat it as unrecoverable.

Hak Milik itself is reserved for Indonesian citizens under the Basic Agrarian Law No. 5 of 1960. Bali and Lombok run largely on Hak Pakai and on leaseholds, which is why nearly every foreign villa deal on those islands is one or the other.

Philippines: condos and long leases only

The Philippines writes the land ban into its constitution. Article XII, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution reserves private land ownership for Filipino citizens and corporations that are at least 60 percent Filipino-owned. Foreigners can own condominium units under Republic Act No. 4726, the Condominium Act, subject to a 40 percent foreign cap per building. For landed property, the available route is a long-term lease of up to 50 years, renewable once for 25 more under the Investors' Lease Act.