Can non-citizens buy property in Pakistan

1. Can non-citizens buy property in Pakistan? Yes, non-citizens can buy properties in Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan has defined the criteria of being non-citizen but if you fulfill some basic criteria, you can easily own the land here. Moreover, If your parents are Pakistani, you inherit nationality by birth despite being born overseas and you have all the rights of Pakistani nationals including the right of owning the property. Who are non-citizens? As per the Pakistan constitution, those people who have not resided in Pakistan for a specific period of time or more, are considered non-citizens of Pakistan. Among common masses, in general understanding, two types of people are considered non-citizens. One those who are foreigners and secondly those who are Overseas Pakistanis. Terms and conditions are different for both categories. Overseas Pakistanis, especially after the government of PTI, can buy properties more easily compared to foreigners. In fact, after revisions in law in the past few years, now for overseas residents, purchasing properties is as easy as it is for Pakistani nationals. General conditions for non-citizens to buy property in Pakistan Properties are provincial domains in Pakistan. So foreigners need permission from the provincial government as well as the federal government. They can make purchases after fulfilling the requirements of the investment board and the Pakistan Trade Development Authority. Usually, these requirements include providing an employment letter with the nature of the job & complete details, business contact info, copy of passport, and provision of the statute. Difficult or not, but it is quite a lengthy process. On the other hand, Overseas Pakistanis can invest in the property sector of Pakistan very easily. They do not even have to go through any lengthy procedures or anything akin. In fact, Pakistani interest in the real estate sector is growing day after day. Especially after societies like Nova City Islamabad, Capital Smart City Islamabad started offering international level facilities in their projects. And keeping in view the interest of overseas people, residential societies, for example, Capital Smart City launched dedicated blocks for overseas citizens. These blocks are almost replicas of the lifestyle these people enjoy abroad. If you are a non-citizens intending to buy property in Pakistan, as a real estate agency we advise you to keep the following things in mind: ● If you are buying property in a housing society, duly check the status of their NOC

2. ● Check whether the property is safe to invest in or not. All thanks to the IT advancements, you can find out all the information on the internet now ● Check either all previous dues of the property are paid or not. You can ask the previous owners to provide you with paid bills or so on ● Check the track record of the builders/developers ● Check how robust is the basic infrastructure i.e. roads, availability of basic utilities, security, etc. ● Do background checks. If you cannot do so, we advise you to invest money via some credible real estate agency. ● Demand the approved layout and the original documents ● Check the market value of the property and compare it with the offer that is offered to you. Better safe than sorry! Following these simple things, you can avoid any scam. Overall, the government of Pakistan and even private lodging projects facilitate investments from non-citizens’, especially from overseas Pakistanis.