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Federal Foreign Buyer Ban: Exemption Categories

Also known as: Foreign buyer ban exemptions · Non-Canadian exemptions

The 7 categories of non-Canadian persons exempted from the federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act.

The federal foreign-buyer ban (in force through January 1, 2027) prohibits most non-Canadians from purchasing residential property in Census Metropolitan Areas, but several categories of persons are exempted. The 7 main exemption categories: (1) Canadian citizens; (2) permanent residents; (3) persons registered as Indian under the Indian Act; (4) refugees and protected persons; (5) foreign nationals married to or in common-law partnership with an exempt person, when buying jointly; (6) certain temporary residents (work permit holders meeting 183-day residency conditions in the prior year and Cdn tax filings; international students at designated institutions meeting 5-year residency and tax-filing conditions); (7) diplomats and consular staff.

In addition to the person-based exemptions above, the Act has property-based exclusions: residential property of 4+ units is NOT covered, and certain land transactions (inheritance, divorce, gift, security-interest enforcement) are not classified as "purchase" for purposes of the Act. Always confirm eligibility with a real estate lawyer before any offer where buyer status is in question; the penalty for violation includes up to $10,000 fine plus a court order to sell at a loss.

Related terms

  • Federal Foreign Buyer Ban — Federal legislation prohibiting most non-Canadians from purchasing residential property in Census Metropolitan Areas, in force through January 1, 2027.
  • BC Foreign Buyer Additional PTT: Specified Areas — BC charges a 20% additional property transfer tax on foreign buyers in five regional districts and nowhere else in the province.
  • BC Foreign Buyer Additional PTT — A 20% additional property transfer tax on residential purchases by foreign nationals, foreign corporations and taxable trustees.
  • BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax — An annual BC tax on homes in specified urban areas that are neither a principal residence nor rented for at least six months of the year.
Sources: Justice Canada, CMHC(2)
Review dates, licence and how to cite this entry
Rule effective
2023-03-27
Last verified
2026-11-04
Next scheduled review
2027-04-30
Cite this fact

Use any of these formats. Codex content is licensed under CC BY 4.0 — attribution required.

BibTeX — LaTeX, academic
@misc{bronsonjob-ca_foreign_buyer_ban_exemptions,
  author       = {Job, Bronson},
  title        = {{Federal Foreign Buyer Ban exemption categories}},
  howpublished = {BC Real Estate Codex},
  year         = {2023},
  url          = {https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#ca.foreign_buyer_ban.exemptions},
  urldate      = {2026-11-04},
  note         = {Fact ID: ca.foreign_buyer_ban.exemptions, version 2.}
}
APA — Press, journalism
Job, B. (2023). Federal Foreign Buyer Ban exemption categories. *BC Real Estate Codex*. Retrieved 2026-11-04, from https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#ca.foreign_buyer_ban.exemptions
Plain link — Slack, email, Twitter
Federal Foreign Buyer Ban exemption categories — Bronson Job PREC, BC Real Estate Codex (2026-11-04). https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#ca.foreign_buyer_ban.exemptions

Fact id: ca.foreign_buyer_ban.exemptions · v2 · machine-readable: /api/v1/facts/by-id/ca.foreign_buyer_ban.exemptions.json

License: This definition is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: "Federal Foreign Buyer Ban: Exemption Categories", BC Real Estate Glossary by Bronson Job, https://www.bronsonjob.com/glossary/foreign-buyer-ban-exemptions.

Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR® at Momentum Realty Inc.. GVR Member #6015742 · FVREB Member #FJOBBR