Can someone who isn't Canadian buy a home in BC?

Until January 1, 2027, federal law bars most people who aren't citizens or permanent residents from buying a home in the census area round a BC city or larger town, and BC adds a 20% transfer tax in five regional districts.

131 of 319 BC places lie in one of the 28 census areas where the federal ban applies (7 census metropolitan areas and 21 census agglomerations); the other 188 are outside them. The places, by name.

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What the answer means

Two separate rules apply to a buyer who isn't a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. The federal ban, in force since January 1, 2023, stops most of them buying a home inside a census metropolitan area or agglomeration, the census areas round BC's cities and larger towns. BC's additional property transfer tax charges a foreign buyer 20% more on a home in Metro Vancouver and four other regional districts. Every BC place's census area is listed below.

Who the ban covers: A non-Canadian is anyone who isn't a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or registered as an Indian under the Indian Act, a corporation formed outside Canada, and a Canadian corporation or entity not listed on a Canadian stock exchange that such a person controls, which includes holding 10% or more of its value or votes (Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act s. 2; Regulations ss. 1, 2).
What and where: Residential property is a detached house or similar building of up to three homes, or a semi-detached house, rowhouse unit or condominium unit, with the land reasonably needed to live in it (Act s. 2). Property outside every census metropolitan area and census agglomeration is left out (Regulations s. 3 (1)): there the ban doesn't apply at all. Since March 27, 2023 vacant land isn't caught (Regulations s. 3 (2), repealed), and buying a home to develop it isn't a purchase under the ban (Regulations s. 4 (2) (e)); whether a plan counts as development is a question for a lawyer (our reading).
The exceptions: The ban doesn't apply to a temporary resident on a work permit with 183 days or more left on it who hasn't bought another home, an international student who has filed 5 years of Canadian tax returns, spent 244 days a year here for 5 years and pays $500,000 or less, a protected person, a refugee claimant referred for a hearing, a non-Canadian buying with a spouse or common-law partner who is Canadian, a permanent resident or one of the others excepted, and diplomats (Act s. 4 (2); Regulations ss. 5, 6). A home received by inheritance, divorce, separation or gift isn't a purchase, nor is renting one (Regulations s. 4 (2)).
The penalty: A non-Canadian who buys in breach of the ban, and anyone who knowingly helps them, can be fined up to $10,000, and after a conviction a court can order the home sold, the buyer getting back no more than they paid (Act ss. 6, 7; Regulations s. 7). The sale itself stays valid (Act s. 5).
When it ends: The Act was made for two years from January 1, 2023 and extended in 2024 to end on January 1, 2027, when the repeal in the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 takes effect (s. 236). When we read it on 2026-10-20 no further extension had been made; a purchase that completes after that date may not be caught.
BC's additional property transfer tax: A foreign national, a foreign corporation or a trustee for one pays an additional 20% of the fair market value of residential property in Metro Vancouver (bar the Tsawwassen First Nation's treaty lands, which are taxed in their own right), the Capital, Central Okanagan, Fraser Valley and Nanaimo regional districts, on top of the general tax (Property Transfer Tax Act ss. 2.01, 2.02; Regulation ss. 17.01, 17.02). A BC Provincial Nominee Program nominee buying a home to live in can be exempt, and a buyer who becomes a citizen or permanent resident within a year and lives in the home as their principal residence for that year can ask for it back (Regulation ss. 18, 19, 21).
The speculation and vacancy tax: Where the speculation and vacancy tax applies, a home's owners each declare every year, and the rate is 1% of the assessed value a year for Canadian citizens and permanent residents, 3% for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners (4% from 2027), unless an exemption applies, such as living in it as a principal residence or renting it out long term. See the speculation and vacancy tax.
What it means for a seller or an agent: The ban falls on the buyer, but anyone who knowingly helps a buyer break it risks the same fine (Act s. 6 (1)). A seller who isn't Canadian can sell as anyone else does, though the buyer's lawyer holds back part of the price until the Canada Revenue Agency's clearance for a non-resident seller (our reading).

Our summary of the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act and Regulations, read on the Justice Laws Website 2026-10-20 (current to 2026-09-30), and of the Property Transfer Tax Act and Regulation, read on BC Laws 2026-10-20. Both have more conditions than these lines say; a lawyer is the final word on a purchase.

Sources, read 2026-10-20 and summarised in our words unless marked otherwise: Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, S.C. 2022, c. 10, s. 235 (ss. 2, 4 to 7); Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Regulations, SOR/2022-250 (ss. 1 to 7); Property Transfer Tax Act (ss. 2.01, 2.02); Property Transfer Tax Regulation, B.C. Reg. 74/88 (ss. 17.01, 17.02, 18, 19, 21); Census subdivisions, 2021, Statistics Canada (on the Province's openmaps) (Statistics Canada Open Licence).

By place

Each of 319 BC places, listed by name: whether it lies in one of the 28 census metropolitan areas or agglomerations, where the federal ban applies while it's in force, and whether its regional district is one where a foreign buyer pays the additional 20% property transfer tax. 131 places are inside one.

Place	Census area (federal ban)	Additional 20% tax
100 Mile House	Outside both	No
Abbotsford	Abbotsford - Mission census metropolitan area	Yes
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area D	Port Alberni census agglomeration	No
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area E	Port Alberni census agglomeration	No
Alberni-Clayoquot, Electoral Area F	Port Alberni census agglomeration	No
Alert Bay	Outside both	No
Anmore	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Armstrong	Outside both	No
Ashcroft	Outside both	No
Barriere	Outside both	No
Belcarra	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Bowen Island	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area F	Outside both	No
Bulkley-Nechako, Electoral Area G	Outside both	No
Burnaby	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Burns Lake	Outside both	No
Cache Creek	Outside both	No
Campbell River	Campbell River census agglomeration	No
Canal Flats	Outside both	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area A	Quesnel census agglomeration	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area B	Quesnel census agglomeration	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area C	Quesnel census agglomeration	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area D	Williams Lake census agglomeration	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area E	Williams Lake census agglomeration	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area F	Williams Lake census agglomeration	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area G	Outside both	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area H	Outside both	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area I	Quesnel census agglomeration	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area J	Outside both	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area K	Outside both	No
Cariboo, Electoral Area L	Outside both	No
Castlegar	Outside both	No
Central Coast, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Central Coast, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Central Coast, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
Central Coast, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area E	Nelson census agglomeration	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area F	Nelson census agglomeration	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area G	Outside both	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area H	Outside both	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area I	Outside both	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area J	Outside both	No
Central Kootenay, Electoral Area K	Outside both	No
Central Okanagan	Kelowna census metropolitan area	Yes
Central Okanagan West	Kelowna census metropolitan area	Yes
Central Saanich	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Chase	Kamloops census metropolitan area	No
Chetwynd	Outside both	No
Chilliwack	Chilliwack census metropolitan area	Yes
Clearwater	Outside both	No
Clinton	Outside both	No
Coldstream	Vernon census agglomeration	No
Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
Columbia-Shuswap, Electoral Area F	Outside both	No
Colwood	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Comox	Courtenay census agglomeration	No
Comox Valley, Electoral Area A	Courtenay census agglomeration	No
Comox Valley, Electoral Area B (Lazo North)	Courtenay census agglomeration	No
Comox Valley, Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek)	Outside both	No
Coquitlam	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Courtenay	Courtenay census agglomeration	No
Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area D	Duncan census agglomeration	No
Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area E	Duncan census agglomeration	No
Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area F	Outside both	No
Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area G	Ladysmith census agglomeration	No
Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area H	Ladysmith census agglomeration	No
Cowichan Valley, Electoral Area I	Outside both	No
Cranbrook	Cranbrook census agglomeration	No
Creston	Outside both	No
Cumberland	Courtenay census agglomeration	No
Daajing Giids	Outside both	No
Dawson Creek	Dawson Creek census agglomeration	No
Delta	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Duncan	Duncan census agglomeration	No
East Kootenay, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
East Kootenay, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
East Kootenay, Electoral Area C	Cranbrook census agglomeration	No
East Kootenay, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
East Kootenay, Electoral Area F	Outside both	No
East Kootenay, Electoral Area G	Outside both	No
Elkford	Outside both	No
Enderby	Outside both	No
Esquimalt	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Fernie	Outside both	No
Fort St. James	Outside both	No
Fort St. John	Fort St. John census agglomeration	No
Fraser Lake	Outside both	No
Fraser Valley, Electoral Area A	Outside both	Yes
Fraser Valley, Electoral Area B	Outside both	Yes
Fraser Valley, Electoral Area C	Outside both	Yes
Fraser Valley, Electoral Area D	Chilliwack census metropolitan area	Yes
Fraser Valley, Electoral Area E	Chilliwack census metropolitan area	Yes
Fraser Valley, Electoral Area F	Outside both	Yes
Fraser Valley, Electoral Area G	Outside both	Yes
Fraser Valley, Electoral Area H	Chilliwack census metropolitan area	Yes
Fraser-Fort George, Electoral Area A	Prince George census agglomeration	No
Fraser-Fort George, Electoral Area C	Prince George census agglomeration	No
Fraser-Fort George, Electoral Area D	Prince George census agglomeration	No
Fraser-Fort George, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
Fraser-Fort George, Electoral Area F	Prince George census agglomeration	No
Fraser-Fort George, Electoral Area G	Outside both	No
Fraser-Fort George, Electoral Area H	Outside both	No
Fruitvale	Trail census agglomeration	No
Gibsons	Outside both	No
Gold River	Outside both	No
Golden	Outside both	No
Grand Forks	Outside both	No
Granisle	Outside both	No
Greenwood	Outside both	No
Harrison Hot Springs	Chilliwack census metropolitan area	Yes
Hazelton	Outside both	No
Highlands	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Hope	Outside both	Yes
Houston	Outside both	No
Hudson's Hope	Outside both	No
Invermere	Outside both	No
Juan de Fuca (Part 1)	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Juan de Fuca (Part 2)	Outside both	Yes
Kamloops	Kamloops census metropolitan area	No
Kaslo	Outside both	No
Kelowna	Kelowna census metropolitan area	Yes
Kent	Chilliwack census metropolitan area	Yes
Keremeos	Outside both	No
Kimberley	Outside both	No
Kitimat	Outside both	No
Kitimat-Stikine, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Kitimat-Stikine, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Kitimat-Stikine, Electoral Area C (Part 1)	Terrace census agglomeration	No
Kitimat-Stikine, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
Kitimat-Stikine, Electoral Area E	Terrace census agglomeration	No
Kitimat-Stikine, Electoral Area F	Outside both	No
Kootenay Boundary B / Lower Columbia-Old-Glory	Outside both	No
Kootenay Boundary C / Christina Lake	Outside both	No
Kootenay Boundary D / Rural Grand Forks	Outside both	No
Kootenay Boundary E / West Boundary	Outside both	No
Kootenay Boundary, Electoral Area A	Trail census agglomeration	No
Ladysmith	Ladysmith census agglomeration	No
Lake Country	Kelowna census metropolitan area	Yes
Lake Cowichan	Outside both	No
Langford	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Langley	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Langley	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Lantzville	Nanaimo census metropolitan area	Yes
Lillooet	Outside both	No
Lions Bay	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Logan Lake	Kamloops census metropolitan area	No
Lumby	Outside both	No
Lytton	Outside both	No
Mackenzie	Outside both	No
Maple Ridge	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Masset	Outside both	No
McBride	Outside both	No
Merritt	Outside both	No
Metchosin	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Metro Vancouver, Electoral Area A	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Midway	Outside both	No
Mission	Abbotsford - Mission census metropolitan area	Yes
Montrose	Trail census agglomeration	No
Mount Waddington, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Mount Waddington, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Mount Waddington, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Mount Waddington, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
Nakusp	Outside both	No
Nanaimo	Nanaimo census metropolitan area	Yes
Nanaimo, Electoral Area A	Nanaimo census metropolitan area	Yes
Nanaimo, Electoral Area B	Outside both	Yes
Nanaimo, Electoral Area C	Nanaimo census metropolitan area	Yes
Nanaimo, Electoral Area E	Outside both	Yes
Nanaimo, Electoral Area F	Outside both	Yes
Nanaimo, Electoral Area G	Parksville census agglomeration	Yes
Nanaimo, Electoral Area H	Outside both	Yes
Nelson	Nelson census agglomeration	No
New Denver	Outside both	No
New Hazelton	Outside both	No
New Westminster	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
North Coast, Electoral Area A	Prince Rupert census agglomeration	No
North Coast, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
North Coast, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
North Coast, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
North Cowichan	Duncan census agglomeration	No
North Okanagan, Electoral Area B	Vernon census agglomeration	No
North Okanagan, Electoral Area C	Vernon census agglomeration	No
North Okanagan, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
North Okanagan, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
North Okanagan, Electoral Area F	Outside both	No
North Saanich	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
North Vancouver	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
North Vancouver	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Northern Rockies	Outside both	No
Oak Bay	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area D	Penticton census agglomeration	No
Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area F	Penticton census agglomeration	No
Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area G	Outside both	No
Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area H	Outside both	No
Okanagan-Similkameen, Electoral Area I	Penticton census agglomeration	No
Oliver	Outside both	No
Osoyoos	Outside both	No
Parksville	Parksville census agglomeration	Yes
Peace River, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Peace River, Electoral Area C	Fort St. John census agglomeration	No
Peace River, Electoral Area D	Dawson Creek census agglomeration	No
Peace River, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
Peachland	Kelowna census metropolitan area	Yes
Pemberton	Outside both	No
Penticton	Penticton census agglomeration	No
Pitt Meadows	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Port Alberni	Port Alberni census agglomeration	No
Port Alice	Outside both	No
Port Clements	Outside both	No
Port Coquitlam	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Port Edward	Prince Rupert census agglomeration	No
Port Hardy	Outside both	No
Port McNeill	Outside both	No
Port Moody	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Pouce Coupe	Dawson Creek census agglomeration	No
Powell River	Powell River census agglomeration	No
Prince George	Prince George census agglomeration	No
Prince Rupert	Prince Rupert census agglomeration	No
Princeton	Outside both	No
qathet, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
qathet, Electoral Area B	Powell River census agglomeration	No
qathet, Electoral Area C	Powell River census agglomeration	No
qathet, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
qathet, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
Qualicum Beach	Parksville census agglomeration	Yes
Quesnel	Quesnel census agglomeration	No
Radium Hot Springs	Outside both	No
Revelstoke	Outside both	No
Richmond	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Rossland	Outside both	No
Saanich	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Salmo	Outside both	No
Salmon Arm	Salmon Arm census agglomeration	No
Saltspring Island	Outside both	Yes
Sayward	Outside both	No
Sechelt	Outside both	No
Sicamous	Outside both	No
Sidney	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Silverton	Outside both	No
Slocan	Outside both	No
Smithers	Outside both	No
Sooke	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Southern Gulf Islands	Outside both	Yes
Spallumcheen	Outside both	No
Sparwood	Outside both	No
Squamish	Squamish census agglomeration	No
Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Squamish-Lillooet, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
Stewart	Outside both	No
Stikine Region	Outside both	No
Strathcona, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Strathcona, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Strathcona, Electoral Area C	Outside both	No
Strathcona, Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay - Buttle Lake)	Campbell River census agglomeration	No
Summerland	Outside both	No
Sun Peaks	Kamloops census metropolitan area	No
Sunshine Coast, Electoral Area A	Outside both	No
Sunshine Coast, Electoral Area B	Outside both	No
Sunshine Coast, Electoral Area D	Outside both	No
Sunshine Coast, Electoral Area E	Outside both	No
Sunshine Coast, Electoral Area F	Outside both	No
Surrey	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Tahsis	Outside both	No
Taylor	Fort St. John census agglomeration	No
Telkwa	Outside both	No
Terrace	Terrace census agglomeration	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area A (Wells Gray Country)	Outside both	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area B (Thompson Headwaters)	Outside both	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area E (Bonaparte Plateau)	Outside both	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area I (Blue Sky Country)	Outside both	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area J (Copper Desert Country)	Kamloops census metropolitan area	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area L (Grasslands)	Outside both	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area M (Beautiful Nicola Valley - North)	Outside both	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area N (Beautiful Nicola Valley - South)	Outside both	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area O (Lower North Thompson)	Outside both	No
Thompson-Nicola, Electoral Area P (Rivers and the Peaks)	Kamloops census metropolitan area	No
Tofino	Outside both	No
Trail	Trail census agglomeration	No
Tumbler Ridge	Outside both	No
Ucluelet	Outside both	No
Valemount	Outside both	No
Vancouver	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Vanderhoof	Outside both	No
Vernon	Vernon census agglomeration	No
Victoria	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
View Royal	Victoria census metropolitan area	Yes
Warfield	Trail census agglomeration	No
Wells	Quesnel census agglomeration	No
West Kelowna	Kelowna census metropolitan area	Yes
West Vancouver	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Whistler	Outside both	No
White Rock	Vancouver census metropolitan area	Yes
Williams Lake	Williams Lake census agglomeration	No
Zeballos	Outside both	No

From Statistics Canada's 2021 census subdivisions as the Province's openmaps holds them, read 2026-10-20; each place is one subdivision, and census areas are built from whole subdivisions. Our reading of the census areas: a lawyer confirms whether a purchase is caught. First Nations reserves inside a census area aren't area pages and aren't listed.