Egyptian Cabinet drafts amendment to law regulating foreigners' real estate ownership

CAIRO – 6 July 2023: The Cabinet finalized drafting an amendment to law no.230/1996 regulating the ownership of real estate and lands by foreigners to make it mandatory for the payment to be transferred to one of the fully state-owned banks in a foreign currency.

The House of Representatives approved in April the amendment of Article 6 of law no. 26/1975 on the Egyptian citizenship, restricting the application on the citizenship, in case of purchasing real estate, to the units offered by the government or state-owned developers.

According to a Cabinet decision, the value of the unit should not be less than $300,000. Another eligibility case is investing at least $350,000 in a project.

The decision, which was published in the official gazette in March, stipulated that the financial value of the purchase shall be transferred from abroad in accordance with the rules set by the Central Bank of Egypt.

Also, the amount of money should enter Egypt through one of the customs outlets and should be registered at customs.

The decision also states that investors applying for citizenship should deposit the $350,000 at the state’s treasury.