Can foreigners buy property in Sharjah?

Short answer: Yes — but only inside the areas and projects Sharjah has approved for it, and the answer depends entirely on which project you are buying.

Since November 2022, buyers of all nationalities may own real estate in Sharjah without limitation of time, inside real estate development areas and projects designated by the Sharjah Executive Council. Outside those designated areas, ownership remains limited to UAE and GCC citizens, and the older route — a registered usufruct right for up to 100 years — is what a foreign buyer can hold.

So the first question to ask about any Sharjah property is not “can foreigners buy here?” It is “is this project one of the approved ones, and what exactly am I being registered as holding?”

What changed in 2022

In October 2022, His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, issued Law No. 2 of 2022, amending Law No. 5 of 2010 on real estate registration in the Emirate of Sharjah.

The law replaced Article 4 of the 2010 law. In the official text as released by the Emirates News Agency (WAM):

The right to own real estate in the emirate is limited to persons who are citizens of the UAE and citizens of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and as an exception to this, the right of ownership may be granted to others according to the following:

1. Ownership with the agreement of the Ruler.
2. Transferring by inheritance by virtue of a legal notification.
3. Assignment by the owner to one of his first-degree relatives in accordance with what is specified in the executive regulations of this law.
4. Ownership in real estate development areas and projects in accordance with the regulations set by the Council.

The fourth exception is the one that matters to most foreign buyers. It does not open the whole emirate — it opens whichever areas and projects the Executive Council designates.

The day after, on 1 November 2022, the Sharjah Executive Council, chaired by Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, issued the decision that put it into effect. Again in WAM’s wording:

The council issued a decision allowing all nationalities to own real estate of all kinds without limitation of time in real estate development areas and projects.

“Without limitation of time” is the phrase that separates this from what came before.

What came before, and why it still matters

Under Executive Council Resolution No. 26 of 2014, a foreign national — or a UAE company owned by foreign nationals — could not own property in Sharjah, but could hold a registered usufruct: a right to use and benefit from a property for a maximum of 100 years, registered with the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department (SRERD).

That route was not abolished in 2022. Nothing we could find says Resolution 26 of 2014 was repealed. The sensible reading, and the one the sources support, is that the two sit side by side: ownership without a time limit inside designated development areas and projects, and the 100-year usufruct as the route elsewhere.

This matters commercially, because the two produce different paperwork and a different resale conversation. Which one you are getting is a question about the specific project, not about Sharjah.

What to establish before you commit

• Is this project on the approved list? Ask the developer in writing, and verify it with SRERD rather than with the seller. Sharjah does not publish an easily searchable public register of designated development areas and projects, so “it’s a new project in Sharjah” is not an answer.
• What instrument will be registered in your name? There is a real difference between ownership without a time limit and a 100-year usufruct. Ask which one, in writing, and ask to see the form of the document you will receive.
• Registration is what gives the right effect. Whichever instrument applies, it is the registration with SRERD that counts, not the sale agreement.
• Check the surrounding protections separately. Sharjah’s framework for jointly owned property, off-plan sales and escrow accounts is less developed than Dubai’s. Ask how your payments are held.
• Take your own legal advice. This article explains the public framework. It is not advice on your transaction.

Who registers it

The Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department (SRERD) is the registering authority, and the right place to direct eligibility questions about a specific property.

Azizi Florence, Sharjah

Azizi Florence sits in Umm Fanain, off Emirates Road (E311), in Sharjah — so the question above is the right one to be asking on that project’s page.

What a buyer at Azizi Florence is registered as holding is confirmed by the developer and the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department. Ask us and we will put the question to them in writing before you commit.

Sources

Published 12 November 2026. This article explains the public framework and is not legal advice on any transaction. Future Luxury Properties is a luxury real estate marketing platform; the developer and seller of each project is its developer.