Other Markets We List: Who Can Buy, and Where We Stop

A few of our listings sit in six smaller markets: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Spain, the United Kingdom (UK), the Maldives and the United States (USA). In each of them, whether a foreign buyer can own property is set by one official document or a short set of them, so this piece gives the rule, names the source and its date, and then stops. Where no official page confirms a detail, we write "we don't cover it" instead of repeating what an agent says. The short version: Saudi Arabia and Qatar allow foreign buying only inside government-set areas, the Maldives allows only leases, Spain and the UK allow anyone to own with extra steps, and in the USA we cover only one federal tax rule. Every statutory point was read on 24 October 2026.

Prices for our listings are given in local currency only, as listed on avacasa.life on 24 October 2026. That is our reading date; the listings carry no developer price date. We give no United States dollar (USD) conversion for Saudi riyals (SAR), Qatari riyals (QAR), euros or pounds, because we have no sourced exchange rate for them in this piece. For the general idea of what foreign ownership means, see our explainer on foreign property ownership.

Saudi Arabia's law on real estate ownership by non-Saudis came into force on 22 January 2026, according to the Real Estate General Authority (REGA). Applications go through the official Saudi Properties portal. Residents apply with their Iqama (residence permit) number, non-residents first obtain a digital identity through Saudi embassies and missions abroad, and foreign companies without a presence in the Kingdom first register with the Ministry of Investment through Invest Saudi to get a Unified Number (700).

REGA's page on the law says non-Saudis may own and acquire real rights within the scopes set by a Council of Ministers decision, and that the portal shows interactive maps with permitted ownership percentages, types of rights and duration limits. The Saudi Gazette reported that the Council of Ministers approved the law's Executive Regulation on 23 June 2026.

So the exact plot has to be inside a permitted zone, and the place to check is the zone map on the Saudi Properties portal. We list eight projects in Riyadh and Jeddah, among them Etoile by Elie Saab at SAR 2,636,813 and Trump Tower Jeddah at SAR 1,762,900, both as listed on avacasa.life on 24 October 2026. We do not say whether any of them falls inside a zone. Check the map for the specific plot. Our Saudi Arabia guide describes the market more widely.

Qatar's Law No. 16 of 2018 regulates ownership and use of real estate by non-Qataris, and Law No. 1 of 2025 amends certain of its provisions. Both are listed on the legislation page of Aqarat, Qatar's real estate regulatory authority. We have not read what the 2025 amendment changed, so we do not describe it.

Under the law, the areas where non-Qataris may own or hold a usufruct (a right to use and benefit from property for a fixed period) are set by Council of Ministers decision. Decision No. 28 of 2020 set them, and an instruction manual published by Qatar Tourism says that decision allowed freehold ownership in 9 areas and usufruct in 16, with usufruct running up to 99 years and renewable. Those counts are as of that 2020 decision, as described in the manual we read on 24 October 2026. Confirm the current list with Aqarat, since the 2025 amendment may have changed it.

We list two projects in Qatar, including Les Vagues by Elie Saab at QAR 2,185,790, as listed on avacasa.life on 24 October 2026. A developer's address is not proof of which designated area a plot sits in, so we make no claim about the zone status of either listing. Ask the developer for the designated area in writing and check it against Aqarat's list. Property-linked residency is outside this piece; see our post on property-linked residency visas. See also our Qatar guide.

We found no nationality bar in Spain; the extra step is defence zoning. Law 8/1975 of 12 March on zones and installations of interest to national defence, and its regulation, Royal Decree 689/1978, define zones where foreign ownership is restricted, and the regulation requires notaries and property registrars to ask for the relevant military authorisation before they authorise or register a deed in those zones (both on the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE), read 24 October 2026). A resolution of 27 November 2025 by the Directorate General for Legal Certainty and Public Faith (published as BOE-A-2026-5490) upheld a registrar's refusal to register a sale in Redondela for lack of prior military authorisation.

Spain's property-based golden visa has ended. Organic Law 1/2025, published in the BOE on 3 January 2025, emptied articles 63 to 67 of Law 14/2013 through its twenty-first final provision, and the law came into force three months after publication, on 3 April 2025.

We list three projects in Spain, in Casares, Benahavís and Málaga, including Marea by Missoni at €1,566,490, as listed on avacasa.life on 24 October 2026. We don't cover whether any plot falls in a restricted defence zone. Our Spain guide has more on the areas.

We could find no restriction on foreign individuals owning property in the UK, so we cite nothing for that point. Two rules matter. First, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is 2% higher for buyers of residential property in England and Northern Ireland who are not UK resident, from 1 April 2021, and the surcharge does not apply in Scotland or Wales (HM Revenue and Customs guidance, read 24 October 2026). For SDLT you are not UK resident if you were in the UK for fewer than 183 days in the 12 months before the purchase (GOV.UK rates page). Individuals who meet the residence test within 12 months after buying may be able to claim the surcharge back.

Second, an overseas entity that buys, sells, transfers, leases or charges UK land must register with Companies House on the Register of Overseas Entities, launched on 1 August 2022, and gets an Overseas Entity ID to give the land registry. The fee is £250 (GOV.UK guidance, read 24 October 2026). If you plan to buy through a company, read our post on nominee ownership risk alongside it.

We list three projects in London, including Oh So Close at £498,769 and 8 Min to Central at £525,000, as listed on avacasa.life on 24 October 2026. Our comparison of buying in the UK, Singapore and the Gulf and our United Kingdom guide cover more.

The Maldives does not allow foreign ownership of land. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified on 23 April 2019 according to the President's Office, made Article 251(a) say that no foreign party may own or be given ownership of any part of the territory, and Article 251(b) say that a foreign party may not receive a lease of any part of it for more than 99 years. The Sixth Amendment, ratified on 20 November 2024, changed Article 251(c), which concerns military use of the territory by non-nationals, not ownership. This is the law as of 24 October 2026.

We list one Maldives project, a resort development in North Malé Atoll. We do not know whether what is sold is a villa lease, a hotel unit or another structure. Ask for the lease term and the structure in writing, and remember the constitutional ceiling of 99 years. Our Maldives guide describes the destination.

We do not cover state rules on foreign ownership, which vary. The one federal rule we cover applies when you sell. Under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA), when a foreign person disposes of a US property interest, the buyer generally must withhold 15% of the amount realised (Internal Revenue Service (IRS) page, read 24 October 2026). Exceptions exist, for example where the buyer acquires the property as a residence and the price is not more than USD 300,000, and the buyer or a family member plans to live there for at least half the days it is in use. On a sale at USD 1,500,000, for example, 15% withholding would be USD 225,000 (1,500,000 x 15%), before any exception or refund.

We list one US project, Malabar Residences, at USD 1.5 million, as listed on avacasa.life on 24 October 2026. We make no claim about its location. For moving money for a purchase like this, see our Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) guide, and on reporting foreign assets, our post on the Black Money Act.

For all six markets we stop at eligibility. We don't cover residency routes beyond what is above, tax filing in either country, financing, or state and local rules. Our posts on financing a purchase abroad and currency risk cover two of those gaps.

Before any token in these markets, run five checks. Find the official source for the rule in that country and its date. Confirm that the exact plot or unit sits in a permitted zone or area, where the country uses zones. Find out how title is held: freehold, usufruct, lease or a company. Ask who registers the transfer and what they will require from you, such as a military authorisation in Spain or an Overseas Entity ID in the UK. And ask which tax applies on purchase and on sale. Our cross-border due diligence post sets out the habit, and our Dubai buyer guide applies it to a larger market.

This is not a full guide to buying in any of these countries, since each section stops at who may own. It is not a legal opinion, and it does not say whether a specific listing is eligible: that depends on the plot, which only the official map, register or local lawyer can confirm. And it is not for a buyer looking for a view on whether these markets are a good investment, which we do not give here.

In Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the zone or area comes first, and the official map or list decides it. In the Maldives the question is the lease, never ownership. In Spain and the UK you can own, but check the military authorisation and the surcharge or register. In the USA, plan for withholding when you sell. Where we stop is where your own lawyer starts.

• REGA: non-Saudi property ownership system enters into force
• REGA: non-Saudi real estate ownership in Saudi Arabia
• Saudi Gazette: Cabinet approves executive regulation, 23 June 2026
• Aqarat: legislation
• Qatar Tourism: instruction manual on non-Qatari real estate ownership
• BOE: Law 8/1975 on zones of interest to national defence
• BOE: Royal Decree 689/1978
• BOE: resolution of 27 November 2025, BOE-A-2026-5490
• BOE: Organic Law 1/2025
• GOV.UK: SDLT rates for non-UK residents
• GOV.UK: SDLT residential property rates
• GOV.UK: register an overseas entity
• President's Office, Maldives: Fourth Amendment ratified
• President's Office, Maldives: Sixth Amendment ratified
• IRS: FIRPTA withholding
• IRS: exceptions from FIRPTA withholding