Buying a home in Amman, Jordan, from abroad: power of attorney and video viewings

Can I buy a home in Amman without travelling?

Yes. Most of the work can happen from where you live, whether you are buying an apartment or a villa. We show you homes on a live video call and send the photos and details you ask for. When you choose one, the sale is registered at the Department of Lands and Survey directorate responsible for the property, and someone you trust can sign there for you under a power of attorney. Start on the power of attorney early, and allow time for appointments, authentication and sending documents.

Four terms you will meet

• Power of attorney: a document, made before a notary or at an embassy, in which you appoint someone to act for you in the matters it names.
• Agent: the person you appoint to act for you under the power of attorney.
• Authentication: the official stamps that confirm the signature and seal on a document, so that an authority in another country accepts it. A power of attorney made abroad needs a chain of them, ending at Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Registration directorate: the Department of Lands and Survey office responsible for the area where the property is. The sale is registered there.

Step 1: shortlist and view from abroad

• We send the homes that fit your budget and areas, with photos, floor area and, where we have one, a video tour.
• We walk you through a home on a live video call: the rooms, the view, the building entrance, the parking and the street outside.
• We answer what you would ask in person: the building's age, the service charge, heating and water.
• If you are coming to Amman, we plan the viewings around your visit and when each home can be seen.

To set a budget first, see home prices and rents by area, and the neighbourhood guides for who each area suits.

Step 2: check the home before you commit

A video viewing shows you the home; it does not check its papers. Before you pay a deposit or let your agent complete the purchase, have the property's documents and condition checked independently: who is registered as the owner, whether the seller can sell, any mortgage or attachment on it, and what the title covers. Ask a lawyer which documents and checks your purchase needs.

Step 3: choose who signs for you

At the Department of Lands and Survey, either you or your agent signs. Your agent can be a relative or anyone else you trust in Jordan, as long as they are legally able to act and hold a power of attorney the Department accepts. Two rules from the Department apply: the person you appoint to buy for you cannot sell you a property of their own, and they cannot pass the power to someone else for an act that transfers ownership.

Step 4: make the power of attorney

Jordanian citizens can make one at a Jordanian embassy or consulate, and anyone can make one before a notary in the country where they live.

1. At a Jordanian embassy or consulate (Jordanian citizens). You go in person, by an appointment booked on the Foreign Ministry's e-services portal. Check the embassy's current identity-document and appointment requirements before you apply. The Department of Lands and Survey treats a power of attorney made at a Jordanian embassy as if it were made in Jordan. It must also be authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Amman.
2. Before a notary in the country where you live (anyone, including non-Jordanians). Before you sign, get the embassy's full list of authentications for a document from your country, since some countries require their own authentication first. The document must then be authenticated by that country's embassy in Jordan or by the Jordanian embassy there, and by Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If it is not in Arabic, it is translated with all its attachments by a sworn translator, and a notary in Jordan certifies the translation. Honorary consuls cannot make a power of attorney; they can only authenticate one made by a foreign notary.

An electronic option may also be available. The Ministry of Justice now offers notary services by video call and says Jordanians abroad can use them. Ask us or a lawyer whether a power of attorney to buy property can be made this way and accepted by the registration directorate.

What must the power of attorney say?

• The act it allows. The Department needs a text that names what the agent may do, for example buying and registering property in your name. Ask us or a lawyer for the wording before you book the appointment.
• That it applies in Jordan. A power of attorney made outside Jordan must say that it applies in the Kingdom and to property in Jordan. One made at a Jordanian embassy does not need this.
• Special or general. A special power of attorney is limited to the matters it names. A general one can grant much wider powers, such as borrowing, mortgaging and banking in your name. Ask a lawyer to set out the authority this purchase needs.
• How long it lasts. For powers of attorney made from 14 September 2022, the Department counts five years for acts that transfer ownership, unless the document sets a shorter period. Law No. 17 of 2026 amended the Property Ownership Law, so have a lawyer confirm the period that applies to yours.
• The original. The Department accepts the original, or a true copy certified by the authority that issued it or by the official body that keeps the original.

Step 5: registration in Amman

You or your agent completes the purchase at the registration directorate responsible for the property. Before you book the appointment, ask us or a lawyer what the directorate currently requires: the documents your agent brings, the payment methods and proof of payment, and what you need to arrange from abroad before registration.

The fees and taxes on a purchase will have their own guide.

Can I buy if I am not Jordanian?

Non-Jordanians can own property in Jordan under conditions and approvals set by the Property Ownership Law No. 13 of 2019, which Law No. 17 of 2026 amends. Have a lawyer confirm the approvals and conditions that apply to you and to the home you want.