Insights topic
Foreign and overseas buyers
What a foreigner, a PR, an NRI or a Singaporean living abroad can buy, what it costs in ABSD, which free trade agreements change that, and how to transact without being in the country. Nationality changes the arithmetic more than any other single factor in Singapore property.
3 guides · 9 answered questions · last verified 2 August 2026
9 questions on this topic, answeredGuides
- 8 min read
Buying or selling Singapore property without flying in: how a Power of Attorney actually works
An overseas buyer or seller can complete a Singapore property transaction through an attorney appointed under a Power of Attorney, but the instrument must be executed before the correct authority abroad, legalised for use in Singapore, and deposited with the Singapore Academy of Law before it can be relied on at completion.
Updated 2 August 2026
- 9 min read
The NRI guide to Singapore property: the $250,000 ceiling, the 20% TCS, and what actually clears
An Indian resident may remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme and may lawfully use it for overseas real estate, but 20% Tax Collected at Source applies above ₹10 lakh, and a foreigner buying Singapore residential property pays 60% ABSD unless a free trade agreement applies — which, for India, it does not.
Updated 2 August 2026
- 9 min read
For Chinese families moving to Singapore: schools, status, and the capital question nobody answers honestly
Chinese families buying Singapore residential property face 60% ABSD as foreigners, and China’s USD 50,000 annual foreign exchange quota is a current-account allowance that does not extend to purchasing overseas real estate — so the workable routes are funds already lawfully offshore, Singapore bank financing, or resolving residency status first.
Updated 2 August 2026