I am looking to buy a hill land and aware that only Taiwan residents can buy it. btw. Is dual ownership (resident, non resident) allowed?
So it will be on my wife’s name (Taiwanese citizen)
My question is: I planning to retire in Taiwan and live here for the rest of my life, how can I protect my-self in the case, let say, my wife died or divorce me? Is there are certain agreement could be drawn with lawyer presence?
Maybe someone could point me to a such a lawyer who can help me with this issue? (my chinese is not at such level, so I need english speaking lawyer)
I would ask a Realtor lawyer, and every large realtor office has one on staff. I think… as a friend of mine also bought farmland in his Taiwanese wife’s name… that one can inherit…
Inherited? hmmm then it would collide with law that foreigner can not own farm or hill land[/quote]
Taiwan law allows foreigners to inherit farmland, but not to hold it after inheritance. (They are required to transfer it out of their names within a certain period of time after inheriting it.)
[Edit: Actually what I’ve said above is not precisely accurate. Please see clarifications in the following three posts by Tigerman and finley and my follow-up post.]
Article 3 of Operational Regulations for Foreigners to Acquire Land Rights in Taiwan:
If a foreign national acquires land as listed in the subparagraphs of Paragraph 1, Article 17 of the Land Act through inheritance, he must sell the rights of this land to a citizen of the Republic of China within three years after he has finished the inheritance registration; otherwise, the case will be handled in accordance with Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Land Act.
Article 17 of the Land Act
Lands of the following descriptions cannot be transferred or leased to foreign nationals, nor may encumbrance on them be created in favor of foreign nationals:
(1) Forest lands.
(2) Fisheries.
(3) Hunting grounds.
(4) Salt fields.
(5) Lands with mineral deposit.
(6) Sources of water.
(7) Lands lying within fortified and military areas and lands adjacent to the national frontiers.
The transfer referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not include the acquisition of land through inheritance. But said inherited land shall be disposed of to ROC nationals within three years after the completion of the registration of inheritance. If the land is not duly disposed of within this time limit, the relevant Municipal or County (City) Government shall transfer it to the National Property Bureau for public tendering.
HOWEVER, if the land that a foreign national seeks to acquire is not one of the seven types listed above, the land can be purchased and held by (or inherited and held by) the foreign national. To acquire such other “agricultural land”, foreign nationals must file a land acquisition application along with the relevant required documents to the relevant central government authorities (the Council of Agriculture).
The OP might want to consider a long lease, or buying agricultural land instead. As per tigerman’s post, it’s perfectly legal for a foreigner to own land zoned for agricultural use.
Tigerman and finley, thank you both for the correction. As you indicate, Agricultural land is no longer listed as a category of land prohibited for ownership by foreigners under Article 17 of the Land Act. However, Article 19, subparagraph 8 of the Land Act requires a foreigner to obtain government approval to acquire farmland (unlike residential or ordinary commercial land, which in principle require no special approval). So it would seem (though the wording of the law is somewhat vague on this) that a foreigner who acquires farmland by inheritance would either have to apply for and obtain approval or to transfer the land out of his or her name within the 3 year period. I think this is the application process that Tigerman is referring to.
I haven’t yet heard of any cases of foreigners applying for approval for farmland ownership, so I don’t know how difficult the application process is.
Good question. I don’t know if a foreign national is required to obtain approval in order to keep inherited agricultural land (that is not one of the 7 types of land listed at Article 17).
Incidentally, it would be great to hear from any foreign national who has actually acquired farmland in their own name (or anyone who knows a foreign national who has done so), and how the process worked.
Another issue: the OP uses the term “hill land”, but it is not clear from the OP whether this refers to land zoned as farmland or forest land or some other category of land regulated by the law (such as aboriginal-reserved land). This would also be a factor in determining the answer to the OP’s question.
If it’s literally in the mountains, he’ll have a problem.
I leased a parcel of hilly land that was technically “agricultural” without any problems. Buying, whole different story, although the various agents I spoke to told me they’d dealt with foreigners before who hadn’t encountered any obstacles. Then again, I suppose they would say that, wouldn’t they?
That is a hill side land in the mountains (just a back of the mountain 500m elevation from sea level) presently own by a taiwanese who grow vegetables there. Neighbours also grow a vegetables.
To refine a further question: Can I be a co-owner of this land with my wife?
That’s right.
Article 3 of Operational Regulations for Foreigners to Acquire Land Rights in Taiwan:
If a foreign national acquires land as listed in the subparagraphs of Paragraph 1, Article 17 of the Land Act through inheritance, he must sell the rights of this land to a citizen of the Republic of China within three years after he has finished the inheritance registration; otherwise, the case will be handled in accordance with Paragraph 2, Article 17 of the Land Act.
Article 17 of the Land Act
Lands of the following descriptions cannot be transferred or leased to foreign nationals, nor may encumbrance on them be created in favor of foreign nationals:
(1) Forest lands.
(2) Fisheries.
(3) Hunting grounds.
(4) Salt fields.
(5) Lands with mineral deposit.
(6) Sources of water.
(7) Lands lying within fortified and military areas and lands adjacent to the national frontiers.
The transfer referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not include the acquisition of land through inheritance. But said inherited land shall be disposed of to ROC nationals within three years after the completion of the registration of inheritance. If the land is not duly disposed of within this time limit, the relevant Municipal or County (City) Government shall transfer it to the National Property Bureau for public tendering.
HOWEVER, if the land that a foreign national seeks to acquire is not one of the seven types listed above, the land can be purchased and held by (or inherited and held by) the foreign national. To acquire such other “agricultural land”, foreign nationals must file a land acquisition application along with the relevant required documents to the relevant central government authorities (the Council of Agriculture).[/quote]
Go to the land registry and get a copy of the title document. The owner should be able to present you with this anyway. It will tell you what it’s zoned for. If it says “農地” you’re good to go. If they don’t have the title document, they should have the title number. If they don’t even have that, then it’s probably not actually theirs. Out in the hills people do quite often just pick a spot and turf it up to grow vegetables.
If they are an aboriginal family, then it’s legal for you to lease.
Taiwan has an excellent system of land records, and if the land is legally owned, it will show up in the database, with all the details you need to know.
AFAIK… according to Taiwanese marriage law, just being married to her would make you co-owner of everything she owns (and vice-versa).[/quote]
This is not true. Under the basic statutory marriage regime in Taiwan, if spouses don’t have a special agreement otherwise, then each spouse owns their own property separately, unless there is a specific agreement for co-ownership, or unless – in the case of real estate – both spouses’ names are on the deed. However, in the event of divorce, spouses do have the right to claim 50 percent of residual assets acquired (other than by inheritance) during the marriage. So in the event of divorce, a spouse could have a claim on a house acquired by the other spouse during the marriage. But it is not as simple as “being married…makes you co-owner.”
[quote=“finley”]Go to the land registry and get a copy of the title document. The owner should be able to present you with this anyway. It will tell you what it’s zoned for. If it says “農地” you’re good to go. If they don’t have the title document, they should have the title number. If they don’t even have that, then it’s probably not actually theirs. Out in the hills people do quite often just pick a spot and turf it up to grow vegetables.
If they are an aboriginal family, then it’s legal for you to lease.
Taiwan has an excellent system of land records, and if the land is legally owned, it will show up in the database, with all the details you need to know.[/quote]
Finley is on the mark here, except that I still have to question the assertion that "if it says ““農地” [agricultural land] you’re good to go.”
I would love to believe that finley is correct on that point too, but I think it may not be that simple, because Article 19(8) still sets out the requirement of government approval for the acquisition of agricultural-use land by foreigners. We have hashed through this on the board many times, but so far we have not yet heard from a single foreigner who has actually acquired agricultural land in their own name. I believe that it is possible in some circumstances, but I don’t think it will be as straightforward as buying residential land. So I would modify the proposition to "if it says “建地”[residential land] you’re essentially good to go; if it says “農地” [agricultural land] , you might be good to go; and if it says '林地 [forest land] – or any of the other types listed in Article 17 – then the land will be off limits to you except under circumstances of inheritance.
If anyone knows details of any cases of foreign nationals actually acquiring farmland in their own name (whether as owner or co-owner), please do let us know how it worked. It seems that the government is moving toward relaxing this, but more concrete information about how this works in practice would be very valuable.
That’s my understanding too. In the case of divorce, the courts will consider who actually paid for something when dividing property; especially, something that was yours before marriage will (usually) revert back to being yours after marriage. Arrangements during the marriage are dictated by the individual rather than by the law, unless people fail to make such agreements. This seems a much more enlightened system than most of Asia (or most of the world, for that matter).
Yes, that’s probably about the size of it. Realistically, unless the government has some valid reason to prevent you owning a particular plot, I imagine the permission is a formality. I find bureaucracy here to be mostly very pragmatic. I’m guessing the law exists simply to prevent foreign agribusinesses acquiring land and making a godawful mess. One guy owning half an acre isn’t a threat to the environment or the economy.
Not gonna happen then. Lease it (say, for 50 years) and have an encumbrance placed on the title. Alternatively, have some trusted person buy it (with your money) and then lease it from them for a nominal sum. I’m pretty certain this is legal, and secure, but talk to a lawyer.
The first thing you would have to determine is whether it is public or private hillside land. Some (but obviously not all) public hillside land may be made available by the government for farming on a lease basis, but cannot be privately owned or transferred. If on the other hand it is private hillside land available for farming, then it likely falls in the category of farmland of Article 19(8) land that may be owned by foreign nationals, but subject to government approval, as discussed above. In addition, if it is protected hillside land, it will be subject to further restrictions set out in legislation including the following law and regulation:
To get a more precise answer to your question, you would need to hire a land registry agent to look up the exact zoning status of the specific plot of land and whether it can legally be purchased by by a foreign national. Most land registry agents charge very reasonable fees in Taiwan, so you could get a professional answer to your question at little expense.
