Canada: from first choice to closed door
For decades Canada was the obvious destination for European emigrants and investors: politically stable, legally dependable, vast in area. For non-residents, acquiring agricultural land in the main farming provinces is today effectively out of reach.
| Province | Cap for non-residents | roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Saskatchewan | 10 acres | 4 ha |
| Alberta | 20 acres | 8 ha |
| Manitoba | 40 acres | 16 ha |
For comparison: the mean parcel traded in Uruguay in 2025 was 151 hectares. What a non-resident may hold in Saskatchewan is about one fortieth of that.
New Zealand: New Zealanders have to decline first
The Overseas Investment Act makes the acquisition of farm land by an overseas person subject to consent. Two elements matter to a buyer: the land must first have been advertised on the open market so New Zealanders had the chance to buy, and the statutory decision period is 100 working days.
In practice: you may only buy once it is established that no domestic buyer wanted it, and you then wait half a year for a decision.
Australia: notification and a register
Agricultural land must be notified to the Foreign Investment Review Board. Thresholds apply to your cumulative holdings rather than to a single purchase, and they differ by the buyer's country of origin. Australia also maintains a register of foreign-held land.
Uruguay's neighbours
Argentina, under Law 26,737, limits rural land in foreign hands to 15 % at national, provincial and municipal level, and caps acquisition per foreign owner in the core zone at 1,000 hectares. Border areas and land on permanent water bodies are excluded. A reform intended to lift these limits was before the Senate in 2026; until then the current text applies.
Brazil, under Law 5,709 of 1971, limits the total area in foreign hands to one quarter of a municipality's surface and caps acquisition per person in "modules" whose size varies by municipality. The Supreme Court upheld the regime in April 2026, expressly including Brazilian companies under foreign control.
Paraguay, under Law 2,532, closes a 50-kilometre strip along its borders to the acquisition of rural property. That bar targets nationals of Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia and does not bind a buyer from German-speaking Europe. It does show how routinely land acquisition is regulated across the region.
Uruguay: no cap, one condition
Uruguay applies neither a consent requirement for foreigners, nor an area cap, nor a domestic participation quota to the acquisition of farmland. A German, Austrian or Swiss buyer acquires on the same terms as a Uruguayan.
One condition does exist and is regularly missed: Law 18,092 requires rural property to be held by natural persons, or by companies whose entire capital consists of nominative shares held by natural persons. It concerns legal form, not nationality. The obvious route through an existing holding company therefore belongs under review before the purchase.
Open, or dependable. Uruguay is both.
Ten jurisdictions a buyer from German-speaking Europe seriously weighs. The vertical axis is how dependable the state is, the horizontal one whether it lets you buy at all. Only one square is occupied at the top right.
UruguayOpen
No limit by nationality, no area cap, no approval requirement. The single condition concerns legal form: rural land must be held by natural persons, or by companies whose shares are nominative and held by natural persons.
Legal basis: Ley 18.092
How much land may a non-resident hold?
- 4ha
SaskatchewanCanada
Non-residents and foreign entities may not hold more than 10 acres of agricultural land in aggregate. The Farm Land Security Board may grant exemptions.
The Saskatchewan Farm Security Actin the statute: 10 acres
- 8ha
AlbertaCanada
Non-residents may hold at most 20 acres in aggregate. Exceptions apply for industrial or residential development.
Foreign Ownership of Land Regulationsin the statute: 20 acres
- 16ha
ManitobaCanada
Foreign interest in farm land is limited to 40 acres.
The Farm Lands Ownership Actin the statute: 40 acres
- 1,000ha
Argentina
A cap of 1,000 hectares in the core zone per foreign owner, plus a ceiling of 15 % of rural land in foreign hands at national, provincial and municipal level. Border areas and land on permanent water bodies are excluded. A reform intended to lift these limits was before the Senate in 2026.
Ley 26.737
- Nonecap at all
Uruguay
No limit by nationality, no area cap, no approval requirement. The single condition concerns legal form: rural land must be held by natural persons, or by companies whose capital consists entirely of nominative shares held by natural persons.
Ley 18.092
Area caps as set by the relevant statute. The Canadian figures apply to non-residents: taking up residence removes them.
And where no area is capped, an approval stands in the way
Acquisition of farm land by an overseas person requires consent. The land must first have been advertised on the open market so that New Zealanders had the opportunity to buy. The statutory decision period is 100 working days.
Agricultural land must be notified to the Foreign Investment Review Board. Thresholds apply to cumulative holdings rather than to a single purchase and differ by the buyer's country. A register of foreign-held land applies in addition.
The total area in foreign hands may not exceed one quarter of a municipality's surface, and each buyer is capped in "modules" whose size varies by municipality. The Supreme Court upheld the regime in April 2026, expressly including Brazilian companies under foreign control.
A 50-kilometre strip along the land and river borders is closed to the acquisition of rural property. The bar targets nationals of the neighbouring states Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia. It does not bind a buyer from German-speaking Europe, but it belongs in the picture because it shows how routinely land acquisition is regulated in the region.
These states set no fixed hectare limit, but impose a procedure that has to be cleared before the purchase.
What you need to plan for
Five variables that decide whether an acquisition works, and that we go through with you before the first viewing.
- Lead time. 1,718 purchase contracts across the whole country in 2025: suitable supply appears irregularly. Searching means planning in months rather than weeks, and being ready to decide when a property surfaces.
- Operation. Around 11,000 kilometres, no direct flight from Vienna. Who farms the land and who reports on it belongs settled before the purchase, not after.
- Return without subsidy. Central European returns include direct payments; Uruguayan ones do not. What is earned here comes from the market, and is therefore independent of one continent's agricultural policy.
- Cost base. Labour costs and social charges run above the regional average. Uruguay is not a cheap location within South America. That is precisely what buys the institutions that decide the chart above.
- Currency. The market prices in US dollars. That removes the region's soft-currency risk and leaves euro against dollar, which can be named and discussed with your bank.
So the case does not work if you are looking for the cheapest hectare. It works if you want an asset you can acquire, as a foreigner, on the same terms as a local, in a state that keeps its contracts.
What follows from this
The list above is not an argument that Uruguay has the best farmland in the world. It is an argument that the number of countries where a European can acquire land at operating scale without relocating and without an approval process has become small.
Legal accessibility is not a soft criterion. It decides whether an investment is possible at all, and on exit it decides how wide the pool of possible buyers is. A market open to foreigners carries more demand than one that shuts them out.
Frequently asked questions
May foreigners buy farmland in Uruguay?
Yes, with no consent requirement, no area cap and on the same terms as citizens. The only condition concerns the owner's legal form: rural land must be held by natural persons or by companies whose shares are nominative and held by natural persons.
How much farmland may a non-resident buy in Canada?
It depends on the province. Saskatchewan allows 10 acres, Alberta 20 and Manitoba 40, in each case aggregated across all holdings. Becoming resident in the province removes the cap.
Can a European buy a farm in New Zealand?
Only with consent under the Overseas Investment Act. The land must first have been advertised on the open market so New Zealanders could buy, and the statutory decision period is 100 working days.
What limits apply in Argentina and Brazil?
Argentina limits foreign holdings of rural land to 15 % and caps acquisition per owner in the core zone at 1,000 hectares. Brazil limits total foreign-held area to a quarter of a municipality and caps acquisition per person in modules whose size varies by municipality.
Sources
- Ley N° 18.092: Titularidad de inmuebles rurales (07.01.2007) ↗
- DIEA / MGAP: Serie „Precio de la Tierra" (Compraventas) ↗
Figures verified on 2026-07-27
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. AegisTierra does not provide legal or tax advice; it coordinates vetted local specialists.