Land lease for foreign investors in Myanmar

Foreign investors cannot own land in Myanmar. The Myanmar Investment Law is the statute that lets them lease land for a long term once the MIC has issued a Permit or Endorsement. Without that order, a foreign-owned company is limited to much shorter private leases and cannot take state land on the investment terms.

Term: 50 years, plus 10, plus 10

With an MIC Permit or Endorsement, an investor may generally lease land for up to 50 years, with two possible extensions of 10 years each. Longer terms can be considered in remote or underdeveloped areas. The MIC order states the term; the registered lease must match it.

Private land vs state land

Private land is leased from the owner. You still need the MIC land-use right if you are a foreign investor taking a long term. State-owned land or buildings sit under a section 36 head — a Permit is usually required, not merely an Endorsement. Sub-leases and mortgages of the leasehold interest need the Commission’s approval where the law or the order says so.

What the land office will ask for

• MIC Permit or Endorsement that expressly grants land-use rights
• Draft lease (private) or grant papers (state land)
• Land map, holding number and record extracts
• Registration under the Registration Act once the lease is signed

Do not sign a 50-year private lease before the MIC order exists. Landlords will ask for the order; banks will not take an unregistered foreign lease as security. We sequence incorporation, MIC filing and lease registration so the land paper and the investment paper tell the same story.

Acreage that forces a Permit

Even on private land, occupying or using more than 1,000 acres for agriculture or more than 100 acres for other uses is a usual Permit trigger under the Rules. A warehouse on two acres is an Endorsement question; a plantation is not.