Buying property on a temporary visa: the foreign person rules, the ban on established homes, and what permanent residence changes

MARN 1576536

Who is a foreign person

The foreign investment law treats as a foreign person any individual who is not ordinarily resident in Australia, and it treats as ordinarily resident only an Australian citizen, a permanent resident who has actually been in Australia for most of the preceding year, and a New Zealand citizen on the special category visa in the same position. Every temporary visa holder, the 482, the 485, the student, the working holiday maker, the partner visa holder at the temporary stage, the bridging visa holder, is a foreign person, however long they have lived here and whatever their intentions. The consequence is that residential property purchases by temporary visa holders are regulated purchases, and the regulation has two parts: an approval requirement for everything, and a prohibition, at present, on established dwellings.

The ban on established dwellings

From 1 April 2025 the Government has prohibited foreign persons, expressly including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies, from purchasing established dwellings, for a period announced as two years and since extended; the current end date is published by the Treasury and the Foreign Investment Review Board, and a buyer checks it rather than relying on any date on this page. The exceptions are narrow: purchases that significantly increase housing supply, such as redevelopment that adds dwellings, and certain purchases for worker accommodation under specified programmes. The exception that previously allowed a temporary resident to buy one established dwelling as a principal residence is suspended for the ban's duration, and so is the ability to buy an established home for redevelopment where it does not add supply. A temporary visa holder who finds an established house they want to live in cannot, at present, buy it.

What a temporary visa holder can still buy

• A new dwelling, one that has not previously been sold as a dwelling and has not been occupied, or has been occupied for less than twelve months as part of a development's sales, bought from the developer.
• An off-the-plan apartment or house, under construction or not yet started, which is a new dwelling when complete; developers often hold an exemption certificate that covers foreign buyers in the project, which removes the need for an individual application.
• Vacant residential land, on which a dwelling must be built within the period the approval sets, commonly four years, and which cannot be sold vacant.
• Commercial property, which is governed by different thresholds and is outside this page.

Each purchase needs approval, and each approval carries conditions. A temporary visa holder buys new because that is what the law leaves open, and the choice between a new dwelling and waiting for permanent residence is a financial one made with the surcharges in view.

The approval

A foreign person applies for approval of a residential purchase through the online process the Foreign Investment Review Board administers, identifying the property and the buyer, paying a fee that is set by the purchase price in bands and runs from thousands of dollars for an ordinary home upward, and waiting for the decision, which for a new dwelling or vacant land is usually given within the statutory period of thirty days, sometimes extended. The contract of sale is made subject to approval, or the approval is obtained before exchange, because a foreign person who acquires residential property without approval commits an offence, faces penalties, and can be ordered to sell. A buyer at auction cannot make the contract conditional and obtains approval for the specific property in advance. A developer's exemption certificate, where one exists for the project, stands in place of the individual application and the buyer pays the fee to the developer or on settlement, as the certificate provides.

The surcharges

Each state and territory charges foreign purchasers additional transfer duty on residential property, on top of the ordinary duty, at a rate of the purchase price that differs by state and has risen in recent years, in some states to a high single-digit percentage. Most also charge an annual land tax surcharge on residential land held by a foreign person, at a rate of the land value that likewise differs by state. The definition of foreign purchaser for state purposes is the state's own and generally captures temporary visa holders, with exceptions in some states for New Zealand citizens on the special category visa, for permanent residents, and in some for holders of a partner visa at the temporary stage or of a retirement visa. The surcharges are collected by the state revenue office, are assessed at the time of purchase and each year, and are, for a temporary visa holder buying a new apartment, often the largest cost after the price itself. A buyer obtains the current rates from the revenue office of the state where the property is, because they change.

Obligations after purchase

An approval for vacant land requires the dwelling to be built within the period stated, with evidence of completion lodged, and prohibits selling the land vacant. An approval for a new dwelling carries reporting obligations and, under the rules as they stood before the ban, an obligation in some cases to sell when the buyer ceases to live there or leaves Australia; the conditions on each approval are read, and the Australian Taxation Office, which administers compliance, monitors visa expiry against property holdings. A foreign person also registers the purchase on the register of foreign ownership within thirty days. A temporary visa holder whose visa ends and who leaves Australia sells or satisfies the conditions, and one who becomes a permanent resident is relieved of the conditions that applied to foreign persons.

Lending

Australian lenders lend to temporary visa holders, with conditions: a lower maximum loan-to-value ratio than for citizens and permanent residents, so a larger deposit; a preference for visas with time remaining and for the 482 and the partner visas over the student and working holiday visas; evidence of income in Australia; and in some cases a requirement that the loan be paid down or the property sold if the visa is not extended. Lenders' mortgage insurance is sometimes unavailable or priced higher. A broker who handles foreign purchasers finds the lenders that do, and the visa's expiry date is the first thing they ask for, which is the point at which the property decision becomes a visa decision.

New Zealand citizens and partner visa holders

A New Zealand citizen on the special category visa who has been in Australia for most of the preceding twelve months is ordinarily resident for the foreign investment rules, is not a foreign person, needs no approval and is outside the ban; the states vary on whether such a person is a foreign purchaser for surcharge purposes, with most exempting them. A partner visa holder at the temporary stage, the 820 or 309, is a foreign person for the federal rules and needs approval and is within the ban, but several states exempt partner visa holders from the duty surcharge where they buy a home with their Australian partner and live in it; the exemption is the state's and its conditions are the state's. A person on a bridging visa with a permanent application pending is a foreign person until the grant. The New Zealand citizen guide covers the special category visa.

What permanent residence changes

On the day a permanent visa is granted to a person living in Australia, they cease to be a foreign person for the foreign investment rules once they are ordinarily resident, which for a person already here is immediate in practice. No approval is needed for any residential purchase, the ban on established dwellings does not apply, the register and the conditions no longer attach, and in most states the duty and land tax surcharges no longer apply to purchases made after the grant. A property bought as a temporary resident is kept, with its conditions falling away. The difference in cost between buying a new apartment as a temporary resident and buying the house you wanted as a permanent resident is, for most people, the sum of the surcharges and the approval fee, and it is the figure that decides whether to wait. The 482 to permanent residence guide sets out how long the wait is for a sponsored worker.

The visa timeline comes first

1. Fix the realistic date of permanent residence, and the risk that it does not arrive.
2. Price the purchase as a temporary resident: the approval fee, the duty surcharge, the land tax surcharge for each year until permanence, the lending terms.
3. Price the same purchase, or the established home you actually want, as a permanent resident on that date, with rent in the meantime.
4. If buying now, buy new or off-the-plan with the contract subject to approval, register the purchase, and read the conditions.
5. Keep the visa current and the conditions met, because a visa that ends with property held is a property that must be dealt with.

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General information only, current at October 2026; not advice on your own case. The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 and its regulations, the Government’s ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings commencing 1 April 2025 as extended, the Foreign Investment Review Board’s guidance, and the duty and land tax legislation of each state and territory, as at the date above; the ban’s end date, the approval fees and the surcharge rates change and the current published figures govern. Property, lending and tax matters are for a conveyancer, lawyer, broker or accountant; WIDEN advises on the visa. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each application; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.