Moving to USA for retirement

[madman]

Good day, we are retired Irish citizens living , at present, in South Africa. Is it possible as non U.S. citizens to buy and live in retirement communities such as you advertise. Thanks for the help.

[Boomer1]

Great question. I am sure many others wonder about the same issue. I spent a little bit of time at the U.S. State Department and Immigration Service trying to research this. I am sure other visitors know a lot more about it. Citizens of Canada and 27 other countries (including Ireland and mostly EEU countries) have a reciprocal visa arrangement that allows you to enter the U.S. without a visa for 90 days. I know from experience that a lot of Canadians winter in the U.S. for longer periods than that. Presumably those visitors in the visa reciprocal program have to leave the country every 90 days, which would not be very convenient unless that was already your plan. Here is a link to that page at the U.S. State Department, which might help further. http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1262.html Also check out US Immigration Service
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8b76194d3e88d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Also, Wikipedia on "permanent residency"

In general most foreigners are permitted to own real estate in the U.S., but some restrictions apply. Good luck, hope you get to come here!
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[jancullinane]

Hi,

It's not only possible for you to buy property, it's a big trend that the NY Times and others have covered.

If you go to the National Association of Realtors site (www.realtor.org) and put CIPS (Certified International Property Specialist) Network into the search bar, you'll find you can access realtors who specialize in selling property internationally.

Good luck,

Jan Cullinane, author, The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life (Rodale, 2007)

[55+]

You have no rights to buy land in USA legally, however you can rent a place for you in USA or ask your friends or relatives to get you shed in the USA.

[jancullinane]

Yes, foreigners can purchase land. From the National Association of Realtors:

22 percent of international buyers purchased condos/apartments, versus 12 percent of U.S. buyers. Twenty-eight percent of foreign buyers bought their houses with cash, compared to 8 percent of U.S. buyers. The median sales price of homes purchased by international buyers was $299,500, which is significantly higher than the U.S. median of $221,900 during the same period.

Forty-seven percent of all international buyers purchased homes exclusively for vacation, while 22 percent were motivated primarily by investment. Nearly a third of foreign buyers cited both vacation and investment as reasons for their purchase. International homeowners spent an average of 4.2 months of the year in their U.S. property in 2006.

Jan Cullinane, co-author, The New Retirement: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life (Rodale, 2007)

[Steve55+]