Non-citizen lease limit (foreigners' 50-year rule)

Foreign buyers can acquire land in Ghana, but only as leaseholders. The rule has two parts:

• No freehold. A non-citizen cannot hold a freehold interest.
• Capped lease term. A non-citizen's lease cannot exceed the maximum in the figures at any one time. It can be renewed by agreement, but a longer single term is not allowed.

Companies. The Land Act 2020 treats a company as non-citizen if foreign shareholding passes the threshold in the figures. Such a company is subject to the same limit.

Citizens and dual citizens. Ghanaian citizens, including dual citizens, are usually granted longer leases, and that is the term most residential land is sold on. Diaspora buyers who are Ghanaian citizens can therefore take the longer term; foreign nationals cannot.

Marketing. Some developers advertise long leases to the diaspora without explaining this distinction. If you are not a Ghanaian citizen, a lease offered to you for longer than the legal cap should be corrected before you sign; see Sources differ.

Leases to non-citizens are still granted through an indenture, stamped and registered like any other lease.

Practical routes for foreign buyers. Foreign nationals usually take a lease of land or of a flat in a development for the permitted term. Some invest through a Ghanaian-registered company, but the company counts as non-citizen if foreign ownership is above the threshold. Registering land in a Ghanaian nominee's name to get round the rule is risky, because the nominee would be the legal owner.

When the lease ends. At the end of the term the land returns to the lessor unless the lease is renewed. Ask for a renewal clause and understand what it promises before you sign.

The rule is national and applies to all land: stool, skin, family and state land.