Website Helps Certain Foreign Land Owners Register
Gov. DeSantis announced the SecureFlorida Portal – a site where foreign principals who must register ownership under a new law can do so before the Dec. 31 deadline.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Governor Ron DeSantis announced the launch of the state’s new SecureFlorida Portal, where foreign principals from foreign countries of concern must register property as required by sections 692.203 and 692.204, Florida Statutes.
The registration requirements for foreign principals were created by Senate Bill 264, which DeSantis signed in May.
Under the law, a foreign principal that owned or acquired an interest in real property before July 1, 2023, must register the property by Dec. 31, 2023. A foreign principal that fails to timely file a registration with FloridaCommerce is subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day the registration is late.
The law affects people from what Florida calls “foreign countries of concern” – China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria, with part of it specifically focused on Chinese people who are not U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents. It prevents such Chinese people from purchasing property in Florida, with some exceptions.
The latest announcement on registering focuses on foreign principals from those countries of concern who owned Florida land before the law went into effect, and certain buyers from those countries who legally buy land under the new law.
Section 692.204 limits the ability of individuals and businesses affiliated with the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party to acquire real property in Florida, and it requires the registration of all real property owned within the state.
Under section 692.203, foreign principals from other countries of concern may acquire property located within 10 miles of a military installation or critical infrastructure facility, but only under limited circumstances – and they must register such property with FloridaCommerce.
“Protecting Floridians and Florida’s infrastructure from agents like the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign adversaries is important to our state’s security,” DeSantis said in a statement.
FloridaCommerce will host a technical assistance webinar on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, at 11 a.m. Anyone who wants an instructional walkthrough of the portal may register ahead of time online.
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