Buying Property in Egypt as a Foreigner: The Red Sea Guide

Published on: August 17, 2026

Last verified: 17 August 2026. Egyptian ownership, residency and citizenship thresholds are largely decree-set and have moved repeatedly; verify every figure at source before acting.

Quick answer: Foreigners can own Egyptian property outright under Law 230/1996, generally up to two residential units of up to 4,000 square metres each in non-restricted areas. Three things decide whether the purchase works: you generally cannot sell for five years from registration, you must pay in foreign currency through the Egyptian banking system, and most Egyptian property is not formally registered at the Shahr Aqari, so what you hold is usually a green contract rather than full title. Hurghada, El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay and Marsa Alam are open to foreign freehold. Sharm El-Sheikh and Dahab are in Sinai and are treated differently.

Egypt sells foreign buyers a genuinely attractive proposition: beachfront on the Red Sea at prices that would not buy a parking space in Marbella, year-round sun, a three-to-five hour flight from most of Europe, and a residence permit attached to the purchase.

The proposition is real. So are three things that most listing sites never mention, and which decide whether an Egyptian purchase works out:

1. You generally cannot sell for five years.
2. You must pay in foreign currency through the banking system, and how you pay determines whether you can get money out later.
3. Most Egyptian property is not formally registered, and the gap between having a contract and having title is where foreign buyers lose money.

This guide covers all three properly, then the market itself.

What the law allows

The framework statute is Law No. 230 of 1996, governing ownership of built real estate and vacant land by foreigners, supplemented by ministerial and prime ministerial decrees and by Law 143/1981 on desert and agricultural land.

The working position for an individual foreign buyer:

Important detail on the two-property limit. Under Law 230, the concept attaches to the "immediate family," meaning the owner, spouse and minor children. Several legal commentators read the two-property ceiling as applying to the family unit rather than per individual. If you are planning more than two units, that reading matters, and the usual structure is an Egyptian company, which is not subject to the per-unit cap in the same way.

Where this leaves the Red Sea. Hurghada, El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay and Marsa Alam sit on the Red Sea mainland coast, not in Sinai, and are open to foreign freehold. Sharm El-Sheikh and Dahab are in Sinai and are treated differently: expect long leasehold or usufruct rather than freehold, and expect the structure to matter. Anyone marketing Sharm property to you as straightforward freehold should be asked to put the deed category in writing.

Recent liberalisation. A January 2024 amendment to the desert land law removed the previous Egyptian-majority ownership requirement for foreigners owning land for investment projects, and prime ministerial decrees issued across 2024 and 2025 have eased the two-property ceiling and the size threshold for buyers who remit payment in foreign currency from abroad. These reforms are decree-driven and have been moving. Do not assume any specific exemption applies to you without written confirmation.

The five-year resale lock

Foreign owners are generally prohibited from disposing of Egyptian property within five years of registration, a rule designed to deter short-term speculation. Waivers exist by prime ministerial authorisation but should not be assumed.

This has a straightforward consequence that changes the investment case entirely: Egypt is a hold, not a trade. Anyone modelling a two-year flip is modelling something the law does not permit. Combined with the currency history below, five years is a long time to be locked into an Egyptian-pound-denominated asset, and your entry timing carries more weight here than in a market you can exit at will.

The money problem, which is the real subject

This is the part that separates a good Egyptian purchase from a bad one, and it is barely covered in English.

Recent history, briefly

Egypt has devalued repeatedly. In March 2024 the pound was floated for the third time in the cycle, moving from roughly 30 to roughly 50 to the US dollar, alongside the 35 billion dollar Ras El-Hekma agreement with Abu Dhabi's ADQ, the largest single foreign direct investment in Egyptian history. That combination closed the parallel exchange market and ended a period in which foreign buyers could not reliably get money in or out at a real rate.

The market is functional again. It is not the same as being stable, and anyone buying should assume further currency movement is possible over a five-year lock-in. The mechanics of that exposure are in our guide to currency risk in international real estate.

Paying in: the foreign-currency rule

Since 2024, Egyptian practice has required that foreign buyers pay for property in foreign currency transferred through the Egyptian banking system, with registration offices instructed to refuse foreign purchases not evidenced by an approved foreign-currency bank transfer. A Cabinet amendment to Law 230/1996 formalising this has been in the legislative pipeline, with the requirement enforced administratively in the meantime, and transfers routed through fully state-owned banks.

Treat this as the single most important operational rule of an Egyptian purchase. It is not paperwork. It is the mechanism that creates your right to take money out later.

Taking money out: what actually determines it

There is no blanket ban on repatriating property sale proceeds. What there is, is a documentation requirement, and it is unforgiving.

To repatriate, you must generally be able to evidence that the purchase price entered Egypt through the banking system in foreign currency, that taxes on the sale have been paid, and that the funds being converted are the traceable proceeds of that transaction. You then sell Egyptian pounds to the bank and remit the equivalent in hard currency.

The practical rules that follow:

• Never pay a developer in cash, or from an Egyptian pound account funded by an informal exchange. Doing so may save you a small margin today and can strand the proceeds later.
• Keep every SWIFT confirmation, bank certificate and FX receipt, indefinitely. In five or ten years, your ability to repatriate rests on a paper trail nobody will reconstruct for you.
• Use a bank experienced in foreign property transactions, and ask what its repatriation process looks like before you transfer, not after you sell.
• Understand the currency exposure. If you buy at 50 pounds to the dollar, hold five years, and the rate moves against you, a nominal gain in pounds can be a real loss in your own currency. Egyptian developers increasingly price in dollars for exactly this reason, which shifts the risk to you differently rather than removing it.

Ask your lawyer the direct question: what specifically will the bank require from me to remit the proceeds when I sell, and does my planned payment route satisfy it? Get the answer in writing. The wider rules are covered in capital controls and repatriation.

The title gap: contracts versus Shahr Aqari

This causes more trouble for foreign buyers in Egypt than anything else, and it is structural rather than fraudulent.

Egypt's Real Estate Publicity Department (Shahr El-Aqari) is the registry that issues formal title. Formal registration rates across the Egyptian housing stock are very low, for historical and administrative reasons. What most buyers actually hold is a contract, and there is a hierarchy:

Most foreign buyers on the Red Sea hold a green contract, and in practice it is accepted for residency applications and for resale within the local market. It is not the same as registered title, and you should understand that distinction before, not after, you pay.

Non-negotiable due diligence:

• Instruct an independent Egyptian property lawyer, not the developer's lawyer, and not the agent's recommendation without checking. Our guide on hiring a real estate lawyer abroad covers how.
• Verify the seller's own title chain. If the seller has died, the property passes to heirs and you must negotiate with all of them. A single missing heir can block a sale years later.
• Confirm the property is not in a restricted or military zone and that military and security clearance for a foreign buyer has been or will be obtained. In mainstream Red Sea resorts this is routine and developer-handled, but routine is not automatic.
• Check what the developer actually owns. On off-plan resort purchases, the developer's own land title and permits are the foundation of yours. See how to vet a property developer abroad.
• Obtain a tax card for the purchase, which foreign buyers are required to have.

Residency and citizenship

Egypt links residency to property ownership, and the thresholds are set by decree and have moved repeatedly. Treat any specific figure you read, including here, as requiring verification against the official portal at the time you apply.

Property-linked residence permits operate in value tiers, with a renewable permit at the entry level and longer permits at higher values. The commonly cited entry threshold rose from 50,000 to 100,000 US dollars in 2024, and older articles quoting the lower figure are out of date. Properties must be residential and held in your name (a green contract is generally accepted; a reservation is not), and multiple properties can be combined to reach a threshold. The permit is renewable, does not confer permanent residency, and is typically cancelled if you spend more than six consecutive months outside Egypt.

Citizenship by investment operates separately under Law No. 190 of 2019 and subsequent executive regulations, including Prime Ministerial Decree No. 876 of 2023, and is administered by a dedicated committee. Several qualifying routes exist, including a real-estate route, a business-investment route with a non-refundable treasury contribution, and a Central Bank deposit route. Published minimum thresholds have been reported at both 250,000 and 300,000 US dollars depending on route and source, and the real-estate route carries its own multi-year holding condition. There is no residence requirement and no language test.

Two honest notes. First, property-linked residency does not lead directly to citizenship; ordinary naturalisation is a long road with a continuous residence requirement and an Arabic test. Second, an Egyptian passport is a regional-mobility and optionality asset, not a European one. Evaluate it on that basis, alongside what property purchase does and does not buy in residency terms.

Where to buy on the Red Sea

Hurghada is the volume market: the largest supply, the widest price range, an international airport, a year-round resident foreign community, and the deepest resale market on the coast. Districts vary enormously in quality and management, so this is a market where the specific compound matters far more than the city.

El Gouna is the premium end: a privately developed, privately managed town with its own infrastructure, marina, hospital and international school. Prices are multiples of Hurghada's, the buyer pool is largely Northern European and Egyptian upper-income, and the resale market is the most liquid on the coast because the product is consistent. Service charges are correspondingly high.

Sahl Hasheesh and Makadi Bay sit between the two: master-planned bays with strong beaches, quieter than Hurghada, more limited off-resort life, and dependent on the specific developer's delivery record.

Soma Bay is a small, high-end enclave with strong golf and diving credentials, thin supply and a narrow buyer pool.

Marsa Alam is the frontier: cheapest entry, best diving, newest airport, least infrastructure, thinnest resale.

Sharm El-Sheikh and Dahab are the Sinai exception discussed above. Good product, different legal basis, and a title question that must be answered before anything else.

Costs, taxes and running the property

Buying costs are modest by European standards: registration and transfer fees, legal fees of a few percent, and agency commission where applicable. Many resort purchases are made directly from developers on instalment plans.

Mortgages are technically available to foreigners from some banks, including international names operating in Egypt, but non-residents without local proof of address face real obstacles. The great majority of foreign Red Sea purchases are cash or developer instalments.

Annual property tax applies above an exemption threshold that was raised substantially in recent amendments, with the result that only a small minority of Egyptian properties are actually liable. Verify your specific unit's position rather than assuming exemption.

Rental income is taxable in Egypt. Reported rates for non-residents run above the resident rate, and rules have changed; get this checked by an Egyptian tax adviser rather than relying on an agent's summary. Short-term letting is common and legal in the tourist zones, though individual compounds frequently prohibit it in their own rules, which is a contractual restriction your lawyer should check before you buy for that purpose.

Management is not optional if you are not resident. Expect roughly 15% to 25% of gross revenue for short-let management and a smaller percentage plus a placement fee for long lets. Self-management from abroad in a market with hard summers, dust, salt air and irregular utilities is a well-documented way to lose your deposit and your patience. See property management for foreign owners.

Frequently asked questions

Can foreigners buy property in Egypt?
Yes, under Law 230/1996, generally up to two residential properties of up to 4,000 square metres each, in non-restricted areas. Agricultural land, military and border zones, registered historic buildings and much of Sinai are excluded or subject to separate rules.

Can I buy in Sharm El-Sheikh?
Sharm is in Sinai, where freehold ownership by foreigners is restricted and long leasehold or usufruct is the usual structure. Get the legal basis of the specific unit confirmed in writing before paying anything.

Can I get my money out of Egypt?
Generally yes, but only if you can document that the purchase money came in through the banking system in foreign currency and that taxes have been paid. The way you pay going in determines whether you can get out. This is the single most consequential decision in an Egyptian purchase.

Is the green contract safe?
It is a real, notarised and registered document that most foreign Red Sea purchases run on, and it is accepted for residency. It is not full Shahr Aqari registration. Understand which one you are getting, have an independent lawyer confirm it, and price the difference.

Do I have to sell within five years or hold for five years?
Hold. Foreign owners are generally barred from disposing of the property within five years of registration.

What is the biggest mistake foreign buyers make in Egypt?
Paying in a way that cannot be documented. The second biggest is using the developer's or agent's lawyer. Both are avoidable and both are expensive.

Are Red Sea rental yields as high as advertised?
Gross yields on paper are high because entry prices are low. Net returns after management fees of 15% to 25%, service charges, seasonal voids, tax and currency movement are a different number. Model the net figure in your own currency, not the gross in pounds.

Keep reading on JanusHermes

Egypt rewards buyers who solve the payment route before they choose the apartment. JanusHermes aggregates local agency listings across more than 50 countries in 11 languages, with the local agency's contact details on the listing.

For the investor-side view of the same country, see Egypt's New Capital and North Coast, and for the regional picture the rise of African property markets. On the rules elsewhere, read foreign ownership restrictions by country. On the money, see transferring money abroad to buy property and net after-tax rental yield by country. Before you sign anything, read the international real estate scam atlas.

This article is general information about the Egyptian property market, not legal, tax, financial or investment advice, and it creates no advisory relationship. Egyptian foreign-ownership limits, residency thresholds and citizenship routes are largely set by decree and have changed more than once in the last three years, and the Cabinet amendment to Law 230/1996 on foreign-currency payment was still in the legislative pipeline at the time of writing. No figure here should be relied on without confirmation from the relevant Egyptian authority. Instruct an independent Egyptian lawyer who is not connected to the seller, developer or agent, and take Egyptian tax advice on rental income and repatriation, before committing funds. JanusHermes accepts no liability for actions taken based on this content.

Primary sources: Law No. 230 of 1996 on ownership of built real estate and vacant land by non-Egyptians; Law No. 143 of 1981 on desert land; Decree-Law No. 14 of 2012; the January 2024 amendment to the desert land law removing the Egyptian-majority requirement for investment projects; the Egyptian Cabinet draft amendment to Law 230/1996 requiring payment in foreign currency through fully state-owned banks, with the State Information Service announcement; Central Bank of Egypt foreign exchange and repatriation regulations; Real Estate Publicity Department (Shahr El-Aqari); Law No. 190 of 2019 and Prime Ministerial Decree No. 876 of 2023 on citizenship by investment; Egyptian investor residency provisions; GAFI foreign ownership guidance; Egyptian Real Estate Tax Authority.

Positions as published; latest available as of August 2026.