Several policies for overseas Vietnamese returning to Vietnam

Right to Own Housing in Vietnam

Overseas Vietnamese who wish to have their housing ownership recognized by the State must be individuals allowed to enter Vietnam, which may include people of Vietnamese origin, whether or not they retain Vietnamese nationality, and who are residing abroad. They must prove their nationality through documents such as:

- Birth certificate;- Identity card, or;- Vietnamese passport.

2014 Housing Law stipulates that Overseas Vietnamese have the right to legal ownership of housing without limitation in quantity through methods such as:

- Buying, leasing, or acquiring commercial housing from real estate businesses or cooperatives;- Buying, receiving as a gift, exchanging, inheriting housing from families and individuals;- Transferring the right to use homestead land in commercial housing development projects that are allowed to sell land for self-organized housing construction in accordance with the law.

The duration of housing ownership, rights, and obligations regarding housing are the same as those for Vietnamese citizens.

No Limit on Bringing Cash

Overseas Vietnamese returning to the country are not limited in the amount of cash or foreign currency they can bring. However, they must declare with customs authorities.

According to Article 2 of Circular 15/2011/TT-NHNN, individuals exiting or entering Vietnam through international border gates with passports carrying foreign currency or Vietnamese dong in cash exceeding the limits below must declare to Customs at the border gate:

- 5,000 USD or other foreign currencies of equivalent value;- 15,000,000 VND.

In cases where individuals entering the country carry foreign currency in cash at or below 5,000 USD or other foreign currencies of equivalent value and wish to deposit this cash into a payment account in foreign currency opened at a licensed credit institution or a foreign bank’s branch in Vietnam, they must declare to Customs at the border gate.

Right to Import Automobiles

Imported automobiles must meet the following conditions:

- Registered for circulation in the country of residence or the country where the Vietnamese citizen resides while working abroad (different from the country of residence) for at least 6 (six) months; And- Driven a minimum distance of 10,000 km up to the time the car arrives at a Vietnamese port.

And must comply with the provisions of Decree 187/2013/ND-CP as follows:

- Used types of automobiles (including passenger cars, cargo trucks, mixed-use vehicles, special-purpose vehicles) imported must not exceed 5 (five) years from the year of manufacture to the year of import;- Importing passenger cars with fewer than 16 seats must comply with Inter-Ministerial Circular 03/2006/TTLT-BTM-BGTVT-BTC-BCA.

It must also comply with regulations on technical safety quality inspection and environmental protection for imported motor vehicles as stipulated in Circular 31/2011/TT-BGTVT.

Prohibited actions include:

- Importing various types of automobiles and car assembly kits that have been modified, functionally converted compared to the original design or have had chassis or engine numbers altered in any form or manner;- Disassembling automobiles during transport and importation;- Importing used ambulances.

Regarding taxes:

- Exempt from import tax as provided in Clause 2 of Article 12 of Decree 87/2010/ND-CP.- Subject to special consumption tax in accordance with the Special Consumption Tax Law.- Subject to value-added tax in accordance with the Value-Added Tax Law.

Tax Exemption for Carried Goods

Tax exemption applies to imported goods within the duty-free baggage allowance for incoming passengers as stipulated in Item 2a, Clause 5, Article 103 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC and Article 3 of Decision 31/2015/QD-TTg as follows:

- Alcohol, alcoholic beverages:- Alcohol 22 degrees and above: 1.5 liters;- Alcohol below 22 degrees: 2.0 liters;- Alcoholic beverages, beer: 3.0 liters.

Regarding alcohol, if the incoming passenger carries containers larger than the aforementioned capacity but not exceeding the limit by more than 01 liter, the entire container is exempt from tax; if the capacity exceeds the limit by more than 01 liter, the excess must be taxed according to legal regulations.

- Tobacco:- Cigarettes: 200 sticks;- Cigars: 100 sticks;- Tobacco: 500 grams.

For cigarettes and cigars, incoming passengers are allowed to carry the tax-free allowance; if exceeding the allowance, the excess must be temporarily stored at the customs warehouse and retrieved within 180 days from the date of storage at the customs warehouse.

The allowances for alcohol, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco do not apply to persons under 18 years old.

- Personal items: quantities appropriate to the purpose of the trip.

Other items outside the list of goods stated above and not on the list of prohibited imports, temporarily halted imports, or conditionally imported goods: total value not exceeding 10,000,000 VND.

In case the imported goods exceed the duty-free allowance, the excess must be taxed. If the total payable tax on the excess amount is less than 100,000 VND, the entire excess is exempt from tax. The incoming passenger can choose the items to be taxed if the luggage includes multiple items.

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