Stop ranking countries by brochure yield
Most 2026 “best countries for foreign property buyers” lists still sort by advertised gross yield or lifestyle copy. That ranking is obsolete. Several high-rule-of-law markets have either prohibited foreign purchase, confined foreigners to new-build stock, or raised transfer taxes to levels that function as economic bans. The first filter is legal access. Yield is the second filter, and only on markets that still answer yes.
This briefing is the access map. Closed and economically closed markets first, then markets that remain open to title but killed the residency marketing that once justified stretched prices, then the Gulf openers. Every figure is drawn from the market files on this site. The ranked table that journalists and models can cite is /data/access-index.
Closed or economically closed — Canada, Australia, Singapore
Canada’s Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act has barred most foreign nationals from buying residential property with three or fewer dwelling units in Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations since 1 January 2023, extended to 1 January 2027 (youroverseashome.com / wealthnorth.ca, as of 2026-04). Carve-outs exist for rural areas outside CMAs/CAs, buildings with four or more units, and narrow work-permit and student exemptions. For a typical buyer asking about Toronto or Vancouver urban stock, the answer on /markets/canada is that you cannot buy. Dedicated insight: /insights/canada-foreign-buyer-ban-2027.
Australia did not copy Canada’s blanket ban. Foreign persons — including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies — are banned from buying established (second-hand) dwellings until 30 June 2029 after Budget 2026–27 extended the original April 2025 measure (ato.gov.au, as of 2026-05). New dwellings and vacant land for development generally remain permitted with Foreign Investment Review Board approval before completion. State surcharge duties stack on top. There is no residency from purchase. Dedicated insight: /insights/australia-foreign-buyer-ban-established-dwellings-2029.
Singapore has not banned foreign buyers of private condominiums. A foreigner pays a flat 60% Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty on any residential purchase, unchanged since 27 April 2023 (iras.gov.sg, as of 2026-06). Stack progressive Buyer’s Stamp Duty and total duties reach roughly 65% of price. Nationals of the USA and EFTA states can claim 0% ABSD on a first property under FTA carve-outs. For everyone else, /markets/singapore is research on why not to force the arithmetic.
Open to title, closed to residency — UK, Spain, Portugal
The United Kingdom never banned foreign buyers. A non-resident buying an additional dwelling pays standard SDLT bands plus a 5% additional-dwelling surcharge plus a 2% non-resident surcharge — a 7% uplift on every band, producing effective bands from 7% up to 19% (gofile.co.uk, as of 2026-03). No property-linked residency exists after closure of the Tier 1 Investor visa in February 2022 (gov.uk, as of 2026-07). City-level yield geography sits at /insights/uk-rental-yields-by-city.
Spain permanently closed its investor Golden Visa to new applicants on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025; buying Spanish property at any value confers no residency (pellicerheredia.com, as of 2026-06). Title remains open with no nationality restrictions (realtytimes.com, as of 2026-07). Non-EU non-resident landlords have historically paid 24% on gross rental income with no deductions (mpdunne.com, as of 2026-03).
Portugal removed real estate from Golden Visa qualifying investments under Law 56/2023 from October 2023 (harris-sliwoski.com, as of 2026-05). Non-residents now pay a flat 7.5% IMT on residential purchases, with total transaction costs commonly budgeted around 10.5–12% (youroverseashome.com, as of 2026-04). Funds, cultural patronage and business creation still qualify for the visa; a Lisbon flat does not. See /insights/portugal-golden-visa-property-route-dead and /insights/portugal-golden-visa-what-replaced-property.
Still open — and still attaching residency
The UAE permits freehold ownership for all nationalities in 60+ designated Dubai freehold zones, with a 4% DLD transfer fee as the headline transaction tax and a 10-year Golden Visa from AED 2,000,000 of DLD-certified property (dubailand.gov.ae / visahq.news, as of 2026-05–2026-07). The 20 February 2026 circular dropped the 50% cash-upfront test; mortgaged and qualifying off-plan units can now qualify. A visa is not tax residency. Details: /insights/uae-golden-visa-property-aed-2-million. CoreSpaces Realty LLC is RERA-licensed in this market.
Greece still offers a property-linked Golden Visa under Law 5100/2024: €800,000 in high-demand zones (Attica, Thessaloniki metro, Mykonos, Santorini, islands above 3,100 people), €400,000 elsewhere, and €250,000 only for commercial-to-residential conversions or listed-building restoration (globalcitizensolutions.com, as of 2026-02). Short-term rentals are prohibited on Golden Visa properties — a €50,000 fine plus permit-revocation risk. Dedicated insight: /insights/greece-golden-visa-property-thresholds-2026.
Qatar offers freehold in designated zones including The Pearl and parts of Lusail under Law No. 16 of 2018, with property-linked residency from roughly QAR 730,000 (~USD 200,000) and a higher permanent-residency tier near QAR 3,650,000 (~USD 1,000,000) (moj.gov.qa, as of 2026-06). Freehold zones are narrow; usufruct is not the same product. See /insights/qatar-residency-property-investment-reality.
Saudi Arabia’s Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis came into force on 21 January 2026 — a designated-zone opening with roughly 10% transaction tax when 5% RETT and the up-to-5% non-Saudi disposal fee are stacked, and Premium Residency via property from SAR 4,000,000 (whitecase.com / sandsofwealth.com, as of 2025-12–2026-06). Oman confines foreign freehold to licensed Integrated Tourism Complexes and relaunched Golden Residency on 31 August 2025; credible sources still conflict on exact Omani thresholds (sandsofwealth.com / aida-oceana.com, as of 2026-02–2026-07).
How to use this map
If the question is “can I buy,” start on /data/access-index, then the market file. If the question is “does purchase still buy residency,” the remaining serious property-linked products in this set are the UAE Golden Visa, the Greek Golden Visa (with the short-let ban), Qatar’s cheaper residency permit, and Saudi Premium Residency at a much higher ticket. If the question is “where is the yield,” run net-of-tax and net-of-entry-cost numbers — Dubai apartment gross yields around 6.5–7% with no personal income tax on rent for individuals are not comparable to a UK city printing 8% gross under SDLT, Section 24 and IHT (realestateclubdubai.com / polaris.ae, as of 2026-05–2026-07).
This page is research, not personalised legal, tax, or immigration advice. Figures and deadlines (Canada 2027, Australia mid-2029, ABSD rates, Golden Visa abolitions) may change. Outside the UAE, treat every page as research-only. Verify current law with local counsel before assuming any exemption or route applies to you.