Hi,
I hope my (bad) experience in Zanzibar can help all foreigners who like Tanzania and would like to move there.
I have a degree in Swahili and started to visit Tanzania in 1973. So I know enough about the country, but....
I knew that land and houses still belong to the governament. If you want a plot you should apply to the governamet but didn't know anything about the procedure. I knew that a foreign must have local partner! I knew too that those local partners are used to deceive their foreign partners.
I knew that a person in Zanzibar was brought up by a foreign couple, when the couple reached the retirement age since they didn't have any relatives decided to move to Zanzibar. Of course they "bought" a plot jointly with that person telling him that he will inherit all. Well after few months the Zanzibari killed them! Fortunately, the police discovered that and captured him (this was very extraordinary action, because police don't anything if you don't pay for "mafuta"!) Well, that person said that he killed them because they were delaying their death! This is a true story.
Another case. A Hungarian female built a hotel jointly with a Zanzibari female (they were friends, of course). After a few year the Zanzibari female succeeded with the help of her Zanzibari friends to expel out the Hungarian one. The police didn't nothing... as usual. She tried to go to court, but her lawyer (one of the most famous lawyers) agreed with the Zanzibari and registered the property to himself! Now the Hungarian doesn't have any money, she can't buy food every day, she can't go back to Europe! Even this is a true story.
I knew other incredible stories, but let me continue with my own story.
So because I knew the problem I tried to be careful. I followed the procedure my two "friends" told me, but before asking for a plot I obbliged them to visit a lawyer and I asked them to subscribe a declaration in which they declare that were dummies and that every things belongs to me. In the meanwhile I was waiting for a resident permit, which according to lawyers would allow me to "buy" any property. The declaration was officially registered.
So I allowed one of them to register every thing to him. After eight month I discovered that he was stealing me, so I sent him away. I went to the Land Office to explain my case, so I discovered that any foreign can get a lease! They told me that my "friends" cheated me and they helped me to get the lease. Everything seems ok, now. Not at all! My friend went to court pretending that he got the land! I showed my documents, the declaration and the lease, to the court and he withdrew the charge. I lost a lot of money because the court didn't ask him to pay a penality!
Nowdays, after one year someone told him that I'm in Europe because of an emergecy operation he went again to the court with the same charge!
It's incredible!
I will lose everything.
So please pay attention!