Buying Property on a Temporary Visa in Australia (2026 rules)

What a temporary visa holder can and can't buy under Australia's foreign investment rules — including the ban on established dwellings running to 30 June 2029, and the FIRB fees and state surcharges on new dwellings and vacant land. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

Watch

Chapters

  1. 0:00 Can you buy an existing home on a temporary visa?
  2. 0:13 Established dwellings: banned
  3. 0:25 Every temporary visa is affected
  4. 0:41 Exceptions are for developers, not home buyers
  5. 0:51 Still allowed: new dwellings and vacant land
  6. 1:01 FIRB application fee
  7. 1:11 Foreign buyer stamp duty surcharge
  8. 1:22 Annual land tax surcharge
  9. 1:33 $750,000 Victorian home
  10. 1:45 Empty 183+ days a year?
  11. 1:58 PR ends the ongoing surcharge —
  12. 2:09 Where to read more

Transcript

Can you buy a house in Australia on a temporary visa? The kind most people picture — an existing home — is banned right now, for almost everyone.

From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, foreign persons — and that includes temporary residents — are generally banned from buying an established dwelling.

This applies whatever visa you're on. Subclass 482, 500, 485, 494, and Working Holiday visas 417 and 462 are all treated the same way.

There are exceptions, but they're built for developers, not home buyers. A redevelopment only qualifies if it adds at least 20 new dwellings.

What's still open to you? A brand new dwelling, with no limit on how many. Or vacant land, if you finish building within 4 years.

Buying a new dwelling up to $1 million still needs Foreign Investment Review Board approval, and that approval costs $15,600.

On top of that, each state adds its own stamp duty surcharge. New South Wales charges 9 percent. Victoria and Queensland both charge 8 percent.

There's also an annual land tax surcharge for as long as you hold the property. 5 percent in New South Wales, 4 in Victoria, 3 in Queensland.

Add it up. On a $750,000 new dwelling in Victoria, the 8 percent duty surcharge alone is $60,000 — plus the $15,600 FIRB fee.

If the property sits empty, or isn't genuinely offered for rent, for 183 days or more in a year, a vacancy fee applies too — generally the same as the FIRB fee you already paid.

Get permanent residency, and most of this ends. The land tax surcharge stops from that date — but the stamp duty surcharge you already paid is generally not refunded.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.

Short versions

Talk it through with a registered agent

Every agent on Migratio is on the official OMARA register. Compare agents and their consultation fees.

Related Migratio resources