The first question to settle about any Seychelles parcel is not its price but its title: are you buying the land outright, or the right to use it for a term? The two look similar on a listing and are very different in law.
01 Two kinds of title
Freehold is absolute ownership. The land is yours indefinitely, to use, mortgage, sell or pass on, subject only to the law and any registered charges. Leasehold is a registered right to occupy and use the land for a fixed term, most commonly 99 years, after which it reverts to the owner (often the State). Both are registrable interests, and both are recorded at the Land Registry.
02 What a 99-year lease actually means
A long lease is a real, tradeable asset. You can usually build on it, live in it, lease it on and, with consent, sell the remaining term. But three things distinguish it from freehold.
- It runs down. A lease with 40 years left is worth less than one with 95, and financing gets harder as the term shortens.
- It has conditions. Leases carry covenants. Permitted use, development obligations, consent for transfer. That freehold does not.
- It reverts. At the end of the term the land returns to the lessor unless renewed.
03 Why foreigners usually get leasehold
Freehold acquisition by non-Seychellois is confined in practice to the developed inner islands and is subject to sanction and value thresholds. On State land, on the outer islands, and in many developments, the interest offered to foreigners is a long lease. That is not a lesser purchase by definition. Plenty of prime Seychelles property is leasehold, but you must price and plan around the term.
04 How to check what you are buying
SeyLand shows you the parcel, its boundary and its zone. The register shows the title. Use both.