Buying Australian property from Taiwan: FIRB, the tax agreement and moving money out of Taiwan

Where Taiwanese buyers stand under FIRB

The ATO treats you as a foreign person when buying Australian property unless you are an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen with a special category visa. A permanent resident who is not ordinarily resident in Australia may still be a foreign person in some circumstances, and Treasury's guidance puts the test at 200 days in Australia in the previous 12 months, with no time limit on the stay. The guide on who counts as a foreign person covers that.

Taiwan does not appear in the list of free trade partners in Treasury's 2026 thresholds table. For a home it makes no difference, because the table lists residential land at $0 or more for all investors, partners included.

While the established dwelling ban runs, new dwellings and vacant land are the main routes. The ATO says temporary residents can still apply for new dwellings and vacant land, and that where a developer holds an exemption certificate a buyer of a new dwelling does not need to apply if the price is under $3 million. See exemption certificates and the fees page.

Moving money out of Taiwan

The Central Bank's English page on foreign exchange regulations separates remittances that involve converting New Taiwan dollars from those that do not. It describes cash flows with no conversion as completely liberalised. For remittances that involve conversion, it lists these limits:

The limit is stated as a total annual figure for each natural person, so earlier remittances in the same year may count toward it. If US$3.5 million had already counted, US$1.5 million (5,000,000 - 3,500,000) would remain before approval is needed. The bank handling the transfer can say which category applies, what counts toward the total and what paperwork it needs.

The Central Bank describes capital movements in Taiwan as liberalised, with the figures above as the points where its prior approval is required.

The Taiwan-Australia tax agreement

Treasury lists the agreement, under the name Taiwan, as signed on 29 May 1996 and in force from 21 October 1996, and does not list it as modified by the Multilateral Instrument. It is unusual in form: the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 describes it as an agreement between the Australian Commerce and Industry Office and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, done at Canberra on 29 May 1996. Section 11ZF of the Act deals with its force of law, and the text is set out in Schedule 1 of the Act.

Which articles govern rent and gains on an Australian home, and how Taiwan gives credit for Australian tax, is a question for a tax adviser who knows both systems, working from Schedule 1. The sister guide on Australian tax on property held from overseas covers the Australian side.

Identity, documents and names

The Australian Office in Taipei says it can certify copies of originals and witness signatures on certain documents, including statutory declarations. It also says it will not sign or complete other "Identifiers Certificates" or "Verification of Identity Certificates" for a land transfer or mortgage document. It can complete a DFAT Identity Certificate if you give it written instruction from your Australian legal practitioner, licensed conveyancer or mortgagee, and it says to check with your Australian representative first whether that certificate is suitable. It adds that its approved consular employees are neither Justices of the Peace nor notaries public.

The Hague Conference's Apostille Convention status table lists states, and Taiwan does not appear in it. How a Taiwanese document is authenticated for use in Australia is therefore something to ask the Australian conveyancer, not something this guide can assume.

The ATO lists a passport among the attachments for a new dwelling application and treats a spelling correction in a purchaser's name as a simple variation, which costs $4,600 for 2026-27. If your name appears in Chinese characters on some documents and in Roman letters on others, the spelling on the passport and the contract is the one worth matching. The ATO's other languages page lists Traditional Chinese and the Translating and Interpreting Service.

Frequently asked questions

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