Can a QFC Company Own Property in Qatar? Rules by Owner

Can a QFC company own property in Qatar?

A QFC company can own property in Qatar, and the answer to where it can buy depends on its shareholders. Article 5 of the Qatar Financial Centre Real Estate Ownership Regulations, issued in August 2021, provides that QFC companies acquire ownership or usufruct of real estate in Qatar in accordance with Law No. 16 of 2018 concerning Ownership and Use of Real Estate by Non-Qataris. This provision removes the uncertainty as to whether QFC companies could register real estate in their name. Accordingly, QFC companies wholly owned by Qataris can own real estate anywhere in Qatar, while QFC companies with any level of foreign shareholding can only own real estate in areas designated for ownership by non-Qataris under that law.

“The provisions of the Real Estate Ownership Law apply to QFC Companies.”

Prior to the introduction of the regulations, it was not always straightforward for QFC entities to register property in their name, irrespective of the nationality of their shareholders. In practical terms, Article 5 means that QFC companies are treated in the same manner as any other legal person for the purposes of the foreign ownership law. Their QFC registration is disregarded, and what counts is the nationality of their shareholders.

Who counts as a Qatari person under the QFC rules?

The regulations define a QFC company as a body corporate established, licensed, or registered in the Qatar Financial Centre. Article 6(2) then sets out who is considered a Qatari person for the purposes of the regulations. There are five categories, and the list goes further than a simple nationality test.

“(a) entities established, licensed or incorporated in the State of Qatar that are wholly owned by one or more Qatari natural persons; (b) entities listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange or any other regulated exchange in Qatar; (c) entities wholly owned by entities listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange or any other regulated exchange in Qatar; (d) entities wholly owned by entities whose budget is financed by the State, including ministries, public institutions, agencies and authorities; and (e) entities wholly owned by private institutions for public benefit which receive financial subsidies from the State.”

There are two key things to note from the definition.

• A QFC company owned by Qatari natural persons qualifies directly. Entities can also qualify as Qatari persons even where they have non-Qatari shareholders, and this is most notably seen in relation to companies listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange (and any entity wholly owned by such a listed company).
• The word “wholly” carries real weight. If any entity in the ownership chain of a QFC company, whether direct or indirect, has even one shareholder that is not a Qatari person, then that QFC company falls into the second category described below. Ownership is looked through at every level, which is why the QFC Authority requests information on the entire shareholding structure.

Qatari-owned QFC companies can buy anywhere in Qatar

Article 6(1) sets the rule for the first group.

“A QFC Company that is wholly owned, directly or indirectly by one or more Qatari Persons, is eligible to own, or have a usufruct in, Real Estate located anywhere in the State.”

Companies registered in the QFC and wholly owned by Qatari persons enjoy the same property acquisition rights as Qataris themselves under this article. Accordingly, such companies are permitted to acquire real estate (for example plots of land for development, commercial properties, or residential properties such as villas and apartments) anywhere in Qatar, not limited to the designated areas open for foreign ownership. Such companies can also obtain usufruct rights, meaning long-term rights of use, over real estate located anywhere in Qatar, with such rights noted on the title.

This article gives Qatari families and business groups the flexibility to own real estate in Qatar via QFC companies, subject to prior approval from the CRO as discussed below.

Foreign-owned QFC companies are limited to designated areas

Article 7 applies to QFC companies which are not wholly Qatari owned.

“(1) is eligible to own, or have a usufruct in, Real Estate located within the Designated Areas; and (2) must not own, or have a usufruct in, Real Estate located outside the Designated Areas, unless otherwise permitted by a law of the State.”

Such a QFC company is in the same position as a foreign national. It is therefore able to acquire properties on a freehold basis in areas permitted by a decision of the Cabinet in accordance with Law No. 16 of 2018, and to acquire properties on a usufruct basis in the areas identified for that purpose. Cabinet Decision No. 21 of 2026 updated the freehold list to ten locations, including The Pearl Island, Lusail, West Bay (Legtaifiya), Al Dafna, Onaiza, Al Kharayej, Jabal Thuaileb, Al Khor Resort and the Simaisma Resort and Beach Project. Arady’s guide on where foreigners can buy property in Qatar covers each area and the conditions and restrictions applicable to such acquisitions.

Subject to any other permission under any other Qatari law, such QFC companies are not permitted to register real estate located outside those areas. There is no new exception introduced by the regulations permitting them to submit an application to the CRO for property outside the designated areas.

How a Qatari-owned QFC company gets approval for property outside designated areas

Article 8 deals with approval requirements for Qatari-owned QFC companies that wish to own real estate outside the designated areas. Such companies must submit an application in the form prescribed by the QFC Authority to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) seeking its approval. Where the CRO is satisfied that the company is directly or indirectly wholly owned by Qatari persons, it approves the application and the QFC Authority imposes a restriction on the company’s QFC license to the effect provided for in Article 8(3).

“Before issuing the approval, the QFC Authority will impose a restriction on the QFC Company’s licence such that a transfer of ownership of any shares in the QFC Company to third parties may not be registered without the written consent of the CRO, along with any other conditions that the QFC Authority considers appropriate. Any registration of a transfer of ownership of any shares in a QFC Company that owns Real Estate located outside the Designated Areas made without the written consent of the CRO is null and void.”

Any purported transfer of shares in such a company registered without the CRO’s written consent is null and void. The intention behind the requirement appears to be to ensure that real estate owned outside the designated areas by Qatari-owned QFC companies cannot fall into non-Qatari hands through a transfer of shares in such companies.

Article 8(4) provides that each legal person which directly or indirectly owns the QFC company must remain wholly owned by Qatari persons for as long as the QFC company owns real estate outside the designated areas. Where such legal persons are QFC companies, the QFC Authority imposes the same restriction on their QFC licenses. Where they are not, the QFC Authority obtains an undertaking from them that any future change in their shareholding will be made in accordance with Article 8.

Changing shareholders while the company holds mainland property

Under Article 9, a Qatari shareholder may apply to the CRO for consent, given in writing, to any change in its shareholding in the QFC company during the restriction period. Such a change in shareholding can take the form of a transfer of shares, an allotment of new shares, a buyback of shares, or any other mode of change including by operation of law or by court order.

Consent is given if the proposed transferee is a Qatari person. Where the proposed transferee is a non-Qatari person, the CRO first ascertains whether the QFC company owns or has usufruct over any property outside the designated areas. If the CRO has reason to believe it does, consent may be refused unless the shareholder or the QFC company proves that no such property is owned.

Article 10 covers the simple case. Where a QFC company owns property in a designated area and does not own or have usufruct over any property outside the designated areas, its shareholders may transfer their shares to a third party without the need to obtain consent from the CRO. Accordingly, where a QFC company owns apartments on The Pearl Island or in Lusail, its share register works like that of any other QFC company.

Penalties, disclosure and the 30-day registration deadline

Article 11 gives the QFC Authority the power to request full and accurate information about its shareholding and real estate ownership from a QFC company to ensure compliance with the regulations, and the QFC company must provide that information within 10 days of the request.

Article 12 stipulates that any person who contravenes any of the provisions of the regulations is liable to a financial penalty of no less than QAR 500,000 and no more than QAR 10 million, without prejudice to any other penalty that may be imposed under the applicable laws of Qatar. The regulations also empower the QFC Authority to direct a QFC company in breach to take remedial action, which could mean unwinding a property transfer or divesting real estate.

Article 13 required any QFC firm that held real estate or usufruct rights when the regulations were issued to register that ownership or usufruct interest with the CRO within thirty days of their issuance. Article 14 confers jurisdiction on the QFC Courts to resolve any matter arising under the regulations, and Article 15 gives the QFC Authority Board the power to determine the types of QFC companies entitled to own real estate, notwithstanding Articles 6 and 7.

Registering the title at the QFC

Cabinet Decision No. 21 of 2026 confirms that the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice undertakes all procedures for the registration of ownership and usufruct rights for non-Qataris. As such, once CRO approval has been obtained, a QFC company needs to go through the same registration process, and comply with the same requirements, as any other purchaser before title can be transferred into its name.

In order to facilitate matters for QFC companies and other QFC investors, the Ministry of Justice opened a Real Estate Registration and Authentication Office at the QFC in October 2021, one month after the regulations were signed into effect. The usual transfer costs apply to QFC companies purchasing property in Qatar, and Arady’s guide to property fees in Qatar sets them out in detail.

What the rules mean for corporate buyers

For a Qatari-owned group, operating through the QFC provides access to mainland Qatar, with the caveat that share transfers require the CRO’s written consent and shareholding disclosures must be made to the QFC Authority on request. For other companies, meaning those wholly or partly owned by non-Qataris, the QFC route makes no difference as to where they can buy. The ten designated freehold areas and the usufruct areas remain the available market.

In practice this means Lusail and The Pearl Island. Arady’s report on the Qatar real estate market in October 2026 noted that out of 206 registered apartment sales across Qatar, 77 were in Lusail, while sales on The Pearl Island accounted for the highest value. The Arady property prices map shows indicative asking prices on both islands.

See all apartments for sale

See all apartments for sale

Sources