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 + Cdn tax filings; international students at designated institutions meeting 5-year residency + 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 — 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.
See also
Use any of these formats. Codex content is licensed under CC BY 4.0 — attribution required.
@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 = {2026-09-05},
note = {Fact ID: ca.foreign_buyer_ban.exemptions, version 2.}
}Job, B. (2023). Federal Foreign Buyer Ban exemption categories. *BC Real Estate Codex*. Retrieved 2026-09-05, from https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#ca.foreign_buyer_ban.exemptions
Federal Foreign Buyer Ban exemption categories — Bronson Job PREC, BC Real Estate Codex (2026-09-05). 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
Verified sources (2)· re-verified 2026-09-05Click to expand
Every claim on this page is sourced to a primary government, regulator, or industry-association URL. We re-verify quarterly; the verification dates below show when each source was last confirmed against the live government page.
- Justice Canadaretrieved 2026-09-05Section 5 of the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Regulations: temporary-resident conditionshttps://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2022-250/FullText.html
- CMHCretrieved 2026-09-05Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act — Exemptionshttps://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-research/consultations/prohibition-purchase-residential-property-non-canadians-act
ca.foreign_buyer_ban.exemptions · v2View in Codex →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.
