Most explanations of how to get residency in Egypt by buying property make it sound simple: buy a home, register the title, apply. Egypt does grant residence on the basis of ownership, but in Sharm El Sheikh the simple version stops working. The property route is built around a registered title to a home you own, and a foreigner cannot own an apartment in Sharm. What a foreign buyer usually gets is a long-term usufruct, under the regime of Presidential Decree 128/2022, where every real-estate dealing needs prior security approvals.
As of October 2026, no published rule says whether a usufruct qualifies for property-based residence. For a Sharm buyer the answer starts with the contract, and the time to check it is before you sign.
How to get residency in Egypt by buying property: the general rule
Residence for foreigners rests on Law 89/1960, and permits are issued by purpose: tourism, work, study, family, ownership and investment. Ownership is one of those purposes, so a permit based on a home you own is an established route, not a loophole.
The route rests on two things. The first is a registered title: every published description of the property route that we have checked requires one. The second is the registered USD value of the property, which sets how long the residence runs. Websites quote different thresholds and we do not repeat them (see the correction box below); the authorities confirm the current tiers at application.
What you receive is renewable residence. As of October 2026, Egypt grants no permanent residence to newcomers and has no dedicated retirement visa.
Can a foreigner own an apartment in Sharm El Sheikh?
No. Since 1 April 2022, Presidential Decree 128/2022 has taken Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab and the Gulf of Aqaba tourism sector (within the decree's maps) out of the general Sinai law, Law 14/2012, and given them their own regime. Under it:
- land and buildings may be owned only by Egyptians or by entities that are wholly Egyptian-owned;
- every ownership, allocation, usufruct or other real-estate dealing needs the prior approval of the Ministries of Defence and Interior and General Intelligence, for Egyptians and foreigners alike, or the contract is void.
Buying through a company does not get round this, because a company with any foreign shareholder is not wholly Egyptian-owned. Law 11/2024 did not open Sinai land to foreigners either, so treat foreign land ownership anywhere in Sinai, Sharm included, as prohibited.
What a foreign buyer of a Sharm apartment usually holds is a long-term usufruct: the right to use the unit and take its benefit, with the term set by the contract and the approvals. It brings obligations as well as rights. The usufruct holder, for example, pays the built-property tax on the unit, just as an owner would. The open question is whether it also carries the residence benefit that ownership does.
Does a usufruct contract count for Egyptian residency?
No published rule we have found answers this directly. The property route is described in terms of a registered title and a registered USD value, while a usufruct is a right over a unit that someone else owns. Nothing we have checked says a usufruct contract qualifies, and nothing says it is excluded. Anyone who tells you "yes, always" or "no, never" for every Sharm contract is guessing.
What decides your case is the paper in front of you. These are the points we look at first:
| What to look at | Why it matters for a residence file |
|---|---|
| What the seller actually holds: ownership, a state-land usufruct, or a usufruct passed on | Your right can only be as strong as the seller's |
| Whether the Decree 128/2022 security approvals were obtained, or are a condition of the deal | Without them the contract is void, and a void contract supports nothing |
| Whether and how the contract can be registered | Every published description of the property route requires a registered title |
| The USD value the contract records | The registered USD value sets the residence length |
| The term and any renewal clauses | The term depends on the contract and the approvals, not on a figure from a website |
A contract can work well for living in the flat and still be weak for a residence file. That is why we read it before any money changes hands.
Sharm, Hurghada or Cairo: does it matter where you buy?
Very much. Sinai has rules that the rest of Egypt does not, and for a foreign buyer who wants residence, the location can matter more than the price.
| Where the apartment is | What a foreign buyer can hold | What to watch for residence |
|---|---|---|
| Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Gulf of Aqaba tourism sector (Decree 128/2022) | Long-term usufruct; land and buildings stay with Egyptians or wholly Egyptian-owned entities | The usufruct question and the registered title: check the contract |
| Rest of Sinai, such as El Tor, Saint Catherine and Ras Sudr (Law 14/2012) | No foreign land ownership; usufruct, not ownership | The same question as in Sharm, under a different law |
| Hurghada and the Red Sea tourist area | Treated like Egyptians for residential units, subject to the approval of the competent authorities | Ownership is possible with that approval, so registration and the recorded value are the usual questions |
| Cairo and most of mainland Egypt (Law 230/1996) | Up to two homes of no more than 4,000 m² each; no resale within 5 years without an exception | As in Hurghada |
If residence is one of your main reasons for buying, settle this question when you choose the unit. More on the purchase side, including approvals and tax on the way in, is in our guide to buying property in Sharm El Sheikh as a foreigner.
"Buy for USD X, get Y years": what the websites get wrong
Part of the confusion comes from a different programme that does publish figures: citizenship by investment. It is not residence, and the two should not be mixed up.
| Route | What it rests on | What is published, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Residence through property | A property you own, with a registered title | No reliable figures; the authorities confirm the current tiers at application |
| Investor residence | A company or investment project in Egypt | Renewable for the life of the project (May 2023 regulation); holders are exempt from the work-permit requirement |
| Citizenship by investment (PM Decree 876/2023) | Property, a deposit, a company or a donation | Property of USD 300,000 held for 5 years; an application fee (Law 28/2023); in-person visits required since 2025 |
What other routes to residence are there if you live in Sharm?
If your contract does not support a property-based file, you can still use the apartment, and your residence can rest on another purpose. Which one fits depends on what you do here, not only on what you bought.
- Investment. Investor residence is renewable for the life of the project. In the Decree 128/2022 areas, a non-Egyptian investment project must be an Egyptian joint-stock company, and changes to its founders, shareholdings or articles need security approvals plus GAFI or FRA approval. That is a company decision, not a shortcut for an apartment.
- Work. Work residence goes with employment and a work permit. Under Labour Law 14/2025, in force since 1 September 2025, permit fees are set by ministerial decision.
Family and tourism residence are separate purposes with their own files, and neither depends on the property. Our residence permit service covers how these routes compare and how renewals work, and the full guide to residency routes in Egypt sets them out for business owners, buyers and retirees.
Where do Sharm residents apply, and how are fees paid?
Appointments are booked through the Ministry of Interior portal, eres.moi.gov.eg. In Sharm, Google Maps lists the Police Complex as the passport and visa office, so check its hours before you go.
Fees are paid from hard currency converted through a bank, and the bank receipt goes in with your file. Under the 2023 rules the receipt had to be no more than 15 days old; check how recent it needs to be when you apply. The official fees themselves are small, a few hundred pounds. The local steps are set out on our page on residence permits in Sharm El Sheikh.
What changes for your taxes once you have residence, and what does not
A residence permit and tax residence are different things. For tax, you are resident if you have a permanent home in Egypt or spend more than 183 days here in 12 months. Residents are taxed on Egyptian income, and on foreign income only if their centre of activity is in Egypt.
Other obligations come with the unit itself, and a residence permit does not remove them:
| Obligation | Applies to | Notes, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Built-property tax (Law 196/2008) | Every unit, including chalets and empty units; the owner or usufruct holder pays | 10% of the annual rental value after a 30% deduction for residential units; two instalments, end of June and end of December |
| 2026 main-home exemption (MoF/RTA) | A main home worth under about EGP 8m | Holiday and second homes are not a main residence |
| Tax on rental income | The person who receives the rent | Actual rent minus 50%, then the income-tax brackets; individuals file by 31 March |
Residence does matter if you plan to let the flat to tourists. The Ministry of Tourism's holiday-home licence requires a foreign individual applicant to hold a valid residence permit. The licence, the rental tax and the yearly filing are covered in our guide to renting out your apartment in Sharm El Sheikh, and the full tax picture for owners is on our tax filing service for property owners.
