Conditions for Overseas Vietnamese to Purchase Property in Vietnam

According to the legal provisions, overseas Vietnamese (Viet Kieu) who wish to have their homeownership recognized by the state must first be permitted to enter Vietnam. The condition for lawful entry is understood as having the individual possess documents as guided in Article 5 of Decree 99/2015/ND-CP as follows:

- In the case of holding a Vietnamese passport, the passport must be valid and have an entry verification stamp from the Vietnamese immigration management authority;- In the case of holding a foreign passport, the passport must be valid with an entry verification stamp from the Vietnamese immigration management authority and accompanied by documents proving Vietnamese nationality or documents confirming Vietnamese origin issued by the provincial Department of Justice, central cities, Vietnamese representative agency abroad, or the Vietnamese overseas management agency, or other documents as stipulated by Vietnamese law.

In cases where overseas Vietnamese cannot enter Vietnam but are given or inherit houses in Vietnam, they will not be recognized for homeownership but must either directly or authorize others to sell or gift the house. The sale or gifting of the house should ensure having documents as per the following regulations:

- The gifting contract, inheritance documents regarding the house must be formulated in accordance with the legal provisions on housing and the civil law of Vietnam;- Documents proving homeownership of the gifting party, inheritor according to the Housing Law 2014 and Article 72 of Decree 99;- The authorization document for selling or gifting the house must be formulated in accordance with the civil law if authorizing others to sell or gift the house.

Housing Law 2014 stipulates that overseas Vietnamese have the right to own houses lawfully without limitation on quantity through forms such as:

1. Purchase, lease purchase commercial houses from real estate businesses, cooperatives;
2. Purchase, receive gifting, exchange, inheritance of houses from families or individuals;
3. Transfer of homestead land use rights within investment projects for commercial housing where it is permitted to sell plots to self-organize house construction as per legal provisions.

Overseas Vietnamese homeowners have the following rights:

- The inviolable right to their legally owned houses;- Use houses for residential purposes and other lawful purposes;- Be granted certificates for their legally owned house in accordance with this Law and land law;- Sell, transfer purchase contracts, lease, lease purchase, gift, exchange, inherit, mortgage, contribute capital, lend, permit temporary residence, authorize house management; in cases of gifting or inheriting houses to entities not eligible for homeownership in Vietnam, these entities are only entitled to the house's value;- Utilize shared public facilities in the housing area according to the provisions of this Law and relevant laws.

In the case of owning an apartment, one also has the right to own, use shared areas of the apartment and shared infrastructure works of the apartment area, excluding facilities built for business or to be handed over to the State as per law provisions or agreements in sale, lease purchase contracts;- Maintain, renovate, demolish, rebuild houses in accordance with this Law and construction law;- Be compensated as per the law when the State demolishes, requisitions, requisitions the house, or is paid by the State at market price when the State buys the legally owned house preemptively for national defense, security purposes, economic-social development for national, public interests or in war, emergency situations, natural disaster prevention;- File complaints, denunciations, lawsuits against acts violating their lawful homeownership rights and other acts violating housing laws.

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