Foreign ownership of land

1. Foreign citizens and foreign controlled corporations may own or beneficially own up to 2 parcels of controlled land not exceeding 20 acres in total.
2. Canadian citizens and permanent residents (landed immigrants) aren’t affected by the regulations.
3. Essentially, a 'foreign controlled corporation' is one in which the share ownership is 50% or more foreign or is effectively controlled by foreigners
   1. For public corporations with shares traded on a stock exchange in Canada, only shareholders owning 5% or more of the shares are taken into account, provided 2/3 of the directors are Canadian citizens or permanent residents).
4. Trusts cannot be used to circumvent the regulations.
5. The regulations do not prohibit the acquisition of an interest in controlled land for pipelines, oil and gas processing plants, refineries, power plants, electric distribution systems or extractions of coal and aggregates.
   1. Under certain conditions, industrial processing, manufacturing, commercial or transportation facilities and residential subdivisions are exempt.
6. The regulations do not affect the succession by any person to an interest in controlled land if a person dies.
7. Leases up to 20 years are exempt if registered at a Land Titles office within 60 days.
8. An acquisition of the majority of the shares of a corporation owning controlled land by an ineligible person or foreign-controlled operation is considered an acquisition of an interest in controlled land.
   1. The same principle is involved for an amalgamated or merged corporation. In this situation, the foreign controlled corporation has 3 years to divest itself of the controlled land acquired.
9. Mortgages are allowed but the foreclosure of a mortgage constitutes an acquisition of an interest in controlled land, and the ineligible person or foreign-controlled corporation must divest themself or itself of the land within 3 years.
10. A 'foreign controlled limited partnership' is one in which 50% or more of the value of the outstanding contributions by limited partners are made by ineligible persons or foreign-controlled corporations.
11. An ineligible person or foreign-controlled corporation may enter into an option to purchase controlled land for up to one year pending his or its becoming eligible under the regulations.
12. Enforcement will be by sworn declarations attached to transactions of land (such as transfers, caveats transmissions and leases) and investigations.
    1. The Registrar of Land Titles shall refuse to register a transfer, transmission, caveat or lease without statutory declaration as set forth).

Controlled land refers to land in Alberta but does not include:

1. land of the Crown in right of Alberta
2. land within the boundaries of a city, town, new town, village or summer village
3. mines and minerals

Core requirement: Declaration that the individual(s) acquiring the interest is (are) Canadian citizens or permanent residents within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and are also holding the interest in the land beneficially and not as a trustee.

Access the Foreign Ownership Form 1

Core requirements: Declaration that the corporation/entity is non-foreign (Canadian) controlled or non-foreign (Canadian) beneficially held and is holding the interest in the land beneficially. Proof of Canadian control or beneficial ownership by way of appendices to Form 2.

Access the Foreign Ownership Form 2

Core requirement: Declaration that the person, corporation, or entity is foreign or foreign controlled, is holding the interest in the land beneficially or, in the case of a Canadian corporation or entity claiming and relying on an applicable exemption in the FOLR. In either case, proof of a valid and substantiated use under the exemption requirements must be provided.

Access the Foreign Ownership Form 3

Core Requirements: Full disclosure of who is acquiring the interest, in what way they are acting and who or what is ultimately holding the beneficial interest. The following must be clearly communicated:

• if there is a transferee, caveator or lessee
• who or what is the transferee, caveator or lessee
• in what way is the transferee, caveator or lessee acting (as a trustee for or on behalf of)
• who or what the transferee, caveator or lessee is acting as a trustee for or on behalf of (ultimately, who is going to hold the interest in the land beneficially) and either one of the following:
  • If the ultimate beneficiary or beneficial owner of the interest is foreign, an applicable exemption in the FOLR must also be claimed, with proof of a valid and substantiated use.
  • If the ultimate beneficiary or beneficial owner of the interest is non-foreign (Canadian), proof of Canadian control or beneficial ownership by way of appendices to Form 4 must be provided.

Access the Foreign Ownership Form 4

Review the FOLR to determine if an exemption is required and how that may apply to the proposal or proposed transaction.

FOLR offers many exemptions, some general and others use-specific.

Orders in Council

Orders in Council (OC) – Section 14 of FOLR also provides for OC exemptions in certain circumstances and at the discretion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council. This provision would only be relied on where no other exemption exists. There are 2 different streams for applications:

• Estate-Family FOLR OC Exemption Application form
• Business or Development FOLR OC Exemption Application form

Standard FOLR exemptions

For Standard FOLR exemptions, see the Foreign Ownership of Land Exemptions List.

Should an Order in Council exemption be requested, there are 2 different streams with differing application forms. One is for estate or family matters and the other is for business or development proposals or transactions. These forms are subject to change so ensure to use and submit this form for estate or family matters or this form for business or development proposals or transactions. Remove any older precedents that may have been used prior to 2025 as those will no longer be accepted.

If relying on a standard FOLR exemption, determine applicable exemption, complete the required declaration and submit with any additional required documents. See the Foreign Ownership of Land Exemptions List.

In the case of a general or use-specific exemption, we target approximately 10 additional business days processing time above the posted Land Titles and Surveys document registration turnaround times.

For Orders in Council exemptions, the length of the review process and timeline to receive a decision on the exemption request varies (current, 2024, timeframe ranges from 4 to 8 months) and depends on several factors, including, but not limited to the:

• completeness and quality of the information provided in the application
• complexity of the proposal or transaction
• need to verify the information
• scope of required stakeholder consultation
• number of applications currently in the queue and their urgency
• cabinet schedule and availability

Records of Orders in Council are publicized on the Government of Alberta website.