Vietnam: Can foreigners be transferred or given inherited land use rights?
Can foreigners inherit land use rights from domestic individuals in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 186 of the 2013 Land Law of Vietnam provides as follows:
Article 186. Rights and obligations related to land use of overseas Vietnamese who are eligible to own houses in Vietnam; foreign individuals or overseas Vietnamese who are ineligible to buy houses associated with land use rights in Vietnam
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3. If all the heirs of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets are foreigners or overseas Vietnamese who are ineligible to own houses in Vietnam as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the heirs shall not be granted the certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets but may transfer or donate the inherited land use rights in accordance with the following provisions:
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According to the above provisions, foreign heirs are not granted certificates of land use rights, ownership of houses and other property attached to land, so foreigners can only receive the monetary value of inherited land use rights from domestic individuals.
Vietnam: Can foreigners be transferred or given inherited land use rights?
Can foreigners be transferred or given inherited land use rights in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 186 of the 2013 Land Law of Vietnam provides as follows:
Article 186. Rights and obligations related to land use of overseas Vietnamese who are eligible to own houses in Vietnam; foreign individuals or overseas Vietnamese who are ineligible to buy houses associated with land use rights in Vietnam
....
3. If all the heirs of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets are foreigners or overseas Vietnamese who are ineligible to own houses in Vietnam as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the heirs shall not be granted the certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets but may transfer or donate the inherited land use rights in accordance with the following provisions:
a/ In case of transferring land use rights, the heirs may act as the transfer or in the contract of transfer of land use rights;
b/ In case of donating land use rights, the people to receive land use rights must be the subjects specified at Point e, Clause 1, Article 179 of this Law and be eligible under the housing law, in which the heir may act as the donor in the contract or written document on donation commitment;
c/ In case of not making the transfer or donation of land use rights, the heir or his/her representative with a lawful document on authorization, shall submit a dossier on the inheritance to the land registration agency in order to update on the cadastral book.
Accordingly, foreigners may transfer or be gifted with inherited land use rights in the following cases:
- Transferring land use rights, the heir is named as the transferor in the land use right transfer contract;
- In case of donation of land use rights, the gifted person must be the object specified at Point e, Clause 1, Article 179 of the 2013 Land Law of Vietnam and in accordance with the provisions of the law on housing, in which the heir is named as the donor in the contract or written commitment to give;
- In case the land use right has not been transferred or not given, the heir or representative with the written authorization according to the regulations shall submit the dossier of inheritance at the land registration office for updating in the Cadastral Book.
Can foreign heirs inherit under a will in Vietnam in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 624 of the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam, the following provisions on wills:
Will
A will is an expression of an individual's will to transfer his or her assets to another person after death.
In addition, Article 626 of the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam stipulates the rights of testators as follows:
Article 626. Rights of testators
A testator has the following rights:
1. Appoint heirs or to deprive an heir of the right to inherit the estate;
2. Determine those parts of the estate which each heir is entitled to;
3. Reserve part of the estate as a gift or for worship purposes;
4. Designate heirs to perform obligations;
5. Appoint a custodian of the will, an administrator of the estate, and a distributor of the estate
Accordingly, a will is the expression of the will of the individual to transfer his property to another person after death. Either way, the last will of the person who left the will is respected and fulfilled.
At the same time the testator has the right to appoint heirs to his estate. Therefore, even if the heir is a foreigner, he can still inherit according to the will in Vietnam.
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