A "foreign person" is defined in the Residential Property Act as the follows:

1) Any person who is not a citizen of Singapore

2) Any Permanent Resident

3) Any foreign company or converted company or

4) Any society or converted society which has not been granted approval or received exemption by the minister

Yes. Unless there is a written approval from the Controller of Residential Property Land Dealings, a foreigner can only buy the following type of properties:

1) Any flat in a development bearing the tittle "Condominium"

2) Any flat in a building that has at least 6 levels, including the ground level and any level below the ground

3) Any non-residential, commercial or industrial property

A foreigner needs to apply to the authority if he/she wants to purchase the following properties:

1) Any landed residential properties including detached houses, semi-detached houses and terrace house

2) Any flat in a building of less than six levels

3) Any vacant land zoned for residential use

The application forms can be obtained from:

Controller of Residential Property Land Dealings (Approval Unit)

Applications are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the entire process should take about three months.

No. Such an arrangement is illegal.

No. It cannot be transferred.

The government will consider the following main factors:

1) your ability to make an economic contribution to Singapore

2) your qualifications

3) whether you are a Permanent Resident of Singapore

Yes. You may appeal to the Ministry of Law within three months from the date of notice of rejection. However, the Minister's decision is final and you will not be able to appeal again.

No. Even though you are the developer of the project, you are a foreigner and will still need to apply to the government for approval to purchase a landed residential property.

Yes. Foreigners (except Permanent Residents) and non-Singapore companies cannot be granted Singapore dollar loans to purchase residential properties. Each Permanent Resident is only allowed one Singapore dollar loan to purchase a residential property for owner-occupation. Permanent Residents are also able to borrow loans up to 80% of the purchase price of the property.

To obtain a Singapore dollar loan, you have to provide:

1) a written undertaking that you do not have outstanding housing loans from any other financial institutions in Singapore

2) you are buying the property for owner-occupation