Yes. Foreign nationals can buy and own property in St. Maarten, on both the Dutch and the French side, with no nationality restriction and no requirement to be a resident. You get freehold title, the same title a local buyer gets, and you can sell it, rent it, mortgage it or leave it to your children.
This is one of the more open property markets in the Caribbean. There is no permit to apply for before you buy, no local partner requirement, and no minimum investment. A buyer in Toronto or Amsterdam can put an offer on a condo at Cupecoy and complete the purchase without ever setting foot in the notary’s office, provided the paperwork is done properly.
What follows is the whole process: what you own, what documents you need, what the notary does, whether to buy in your own name or a company, whether any of this gives you residency (it does not, automatically), and how a closing works when you live somewhere else. Rules do change, so confirm the current position with the notary handling your file.
What you actually own: freehold
Most property on the Dutch side is sold freehold. You own the land and the building outright and indefinitely, and the ownership is recorded in your name at the Kadaster, the Land Registry. In a condo building you own your unit plus an undivided share of the common property, and you become a member of the owners association by virtue of owning.
Some parcels on the island are held on long lease rather than freehold, and a few developments sit on land with particular conditions attached. That is not a problem in itself, but it changes the value and the resale profile, so establish the tenure of any property in writing before you get emotionally involved. It is one of the first things the notary will confirm.
Who can buy, and what is not required
Any nationality can buy. You do not need residency, a work permit, a local bank account, a local company or a local co owner. That has been the position here for a long time, and it is one reason the buyer pool is so international.
What you do need is clean, documented money. Notaries and banks here apply the same anti money laundering and source of funds checks you would meet in Europe or North America. Nobody will accept a large wire from an unexplained account.
The documents you will typically need
Your notary will give you a definitive list for your file, but a purchase in a personal name usually calls for:
- A valid passport for every buyer named on the deed, and often a second form of identification.
- Proof of your residential address, commonly a recent utility bill or bank statement.
- Evidence of the source of the funds. Sale proceeds from another property, investment account statements, business income or a mortgage offer are all normal.
- Marital status details, because they can affect how title is held and how the property passes on death.
- A signed purchase agreement, and the deposit, usually held by the notary in a client account rather than paid to the seller.
- If you are financing, a mortgage offer from your lender, whether that is Windward Islands Bank, RBC, Republic Bank, Orco Bank or a lender in your own country.
If you are buying through a company, add the corporate documents: certificate of incorporation, articles, register of shareholders and directors, proof of who ultimately controls the company, and a resolution authorising the purchase.
The notary, and how your title is verified
On the Dutch side the notary is a neutral officer of the law. This surprises buyers from common law countries who expect an attorney fighting their corner. The notary does not act for you and does not act for the seller. They act for the transaction, and the transaction has to be lawful and correctly recorded.
In practice they search the Kadaster to confirm the seller genuinely owns what they are selling, identify any mortgage, lien, easement or encumbrance registered against the parcel, check that property related taxes and GEBE accounts are settled, draft the deed of transfer, hold your funds in a client account, and register the transfer once the deed is signed. Registration is what makes you the owner in the public record.
Because the notary is neutral, many international buyers also retain their own attorney to review the purchase agreement, particularly on a villa, an unfinished development, or anything with unusual conditions. That is a sensible expense, not a sign of distrust.
Personal name or a local company
Both are common, and the right answer depends on your circumstances rather than a general rule. A personal name is simpler and cheaper: no company to form, no annual filings, no accountant on retainer. For a holiday home your family uses, that is usually the obvious choice.
A local company can make sense with several unrelated owners, where a rental business will run from the property, where liability separation matters, or where your estate planning at home works better that way. It brings formation costs and ongoing administration. Some buyers also acquire the shares of a company that already owns the property, which is a different transaction with a different risk profile.
Decide before you sign the purchase agreement. Changing the buying entity afterwards can mean redoing the deed, and against a 4 percent transfer tax that is not a trivial correction. Talk it through with your own tax adviser, because the consequences that matter most are usually in your home country.
Does buying property give you residency?
No, not automatically. Owning property here does not by itself give you the right to live here, to work here, or to stay beyond the period a visitor is normally admitted for. Ownership and immigration are separate systems.
Sint Maarten is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and administers its own admission rules. The French side follows French procedure. What you may apply for, and what you must show, depends on your nationality, your income and your intentions, and those rules change.
So take this as the firm line: if your plan depends on being able to stay, speak to an immigration lawyer on the relevant side before you buy, not after. Many owners simply keep a holiday home, visit for weeks at a time under ordinary visitor conditions, and never need a permit. Just do not assume a deed is a substitute for status.
Buying from abroad: how a remote closing works
Most of our international buyers never attend the signing in person. The mechanism is a power of attorney.
You sign a power of attorney authorising a named person, often someone at the notary’s office, to sign the deed of transfer on your behalf. It is normally signed in front of a notary public where you live and then legalised, in most cases with an apostille, so that it is recognised here. The notary handling your purchase will supply the exact wording and tell you what form of legalisation they need. Do not have a document drafted locally and hope it fits.
Everything else runs by email and wire. Identification documents are sent and verified, the purchase agreement is signed electronically or in counterparts, the deposit goes to the notary’s client account, and the balance is wired ahead of the closing date. Start the bank paperwork early. International wires of this size trigger compliance review at the sending bank, and that is the single most common cause of a delayed closing.
What the process looks like, start to finish
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Define the brief | Budget, purpose, and district. A condo at Maho behaves very differently from a villa above Guana Bay. |
| 2. View, in person or by video | Walkthroughs by video are routine. Many buyers view a shortlist on one trip. |
| 3. Offer and purchase agreement | Price, inclusions, conditions, deadlines and the deposit are all set here. |
| 4. Deposit to the notary | Usually 10 percent, held in a client account. |
| 5. Due diligence | Title search at the Kadaster, association accounts and dues, insurance history, permits, and what was rebuilt after Irma. |
| 6. Financing, if any | Valuation, formal offer, mortgage deed prepared alongside the transfer deed. |
| 7. Signing | In person, or by power of attorney if you are abroad. |
| 8. Registration and handover | The transfer is registered, funds are released, utilities and the association are put in your name. |
Timelines vary with financing, title complexity and how fast documents come back from abroad. A cash purchase moves considerably faster than a financed one. Use the buyer cost guidance in our property tools to size the cash you need at stage 8, and the current listings to sharpen the brief at stage 1.
Veelgestelde vragen
Can Americans buy property in St. Maarten?
Yes. There is no nationality restriction. American buyers are one of the largest groups here, helped by direct flights into SXM and by prices quoted in US dollars, even though the guilder is the official currency at a peg of about 1.79.
Do I need to be in St. Maarten to close?
No. Closings are routinely completed by power of attorney, typically signed before a notary where you live and legalised, in most cases with an apostille.
Does buying property get me residency or citizenship?
No. Ownership does not grant residency, the right to work, or citizenship. Residency is a separate application under separate rules. Consult an immigration lawyer before making plans that depend on it.
Can I get a mortgage as a foreign buyer?
Often, yes. Local banks lend to buyers who live abroad, though loan to value limits and terms are usually less generous than for residents. Get a written cost schedule and an indication of what you qualify for before you make an offer.
Is title insurance available or necessary?
The Kadaster based system, with a neutral notary performing the searches, is the protection most buyers here rely on. If you want additional cover, raise it with your own attorney early rather than at the signing.
Where to start
The legal answer is simple: you can buy, you will own it outright, and you can do it from anywhere. The work is in the detail, which means the title search, the association accounts, the insurance position and the construction history of a building on an island that was reshaped by Hurricane Irma on 6 September 2017.
Tell us what you are trying to do and we will tell you what it costs and how long it takes. Contact us, or meet the team first. For anything touching tax, ownership structure or immigration, take advice from your own adviser and from a local notary, because these rules change.
