What conditions do overseas Vietnamese own land and houses in Vietnam need to meet as prescribed by law?
What conditions do overseas Vietnamese own land and houses in Vietnam need to meet as prescribed by law?
Pursuant to Point dd, Clause 1, Article 169 of the 2013 Land Law of Vietnam on acquisition of land use rights as follows:
Acquisition of land use rights
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e/ Overseas Vietnamese who are eligible to own houses in Vietnam under the housing law may acquire land use rights through purchase, lease-purchase, inheritance or donation of houses associated with land use rights, or acquire land use rights in housing development projects;
Pursuant to Article 8 of the 2014 Law on Housing in Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Entities eligible for the homeownership recognition
1. Vietnamese entities; overseas Vietnamese permitted to enter Vietnam; foreign entities prescribed in Article 160 in this Law.
2. Entities having legitimate housing through following transactions:
a) Vietnamese entities who invest in housing construction, purchase, enter into lease purchase agreements, receive gifts, receive inheritance, receive capital contribution, exchange houses, or make other transactions prescribed in regulations of law .
b) Overseas Vietnamese who enter into agreements on commercial housing purchase, lease purchase with enterprises or cooperatives conducting real estate trading (hereinafter referred to as real estate enterprise); agreements on housing purchase, gifting, exchange, inheritance with households or individuals; agreements on residential land transfer in the project on commercial housing construction which is permitted to divide the piece of land into smaller lots/plots for sales as prescribed.
c) Foreign entities who enter into agreements as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 159 of this Law.
At the same time, based on Article 7 of the 2014 Law on Housing in Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Entities eligible for the homeownership in Vietnam
1. Vietnamese organizations, households or individuals (hereinafter referred to as Vietnamese entities).
2. Overseas Vietnamese.
3. Foreign organizations and individuals (hereinafter referred to as foreign entities) prescribed in Clause 1 Article 159 of this Law.
Thus, the conditions for overseas Vietnamese own land and houses in Vietnam are:
- Must be permitted to enter Vietnam;
- Having legitimate housing entered into agreements on commercial housing purchase, lease purchase with enterprises or cooperatives conducting real estate trading (hereinafter referred to as real estate enterprise); agreements on housing purchase, gifting, exchange, inheritance with households or individuals; agreements on residential land transfer in the project on commercial housing construction which is permitted to divide the piece of land into smaller lots/plots for sales as prescribed.
What conditions do overseas Vietnamese own land and houses in Vietnam need to meet as prescribed by law?
What are the overseas Vietnamese’s documents proving eligible house owners?
Pursuant to Article 5 of Decree No. 99/2015/ND-CP stipulating overseas Vietnamese’s documents proving eligible house owners as follows:
- The applicant being a Vietnamese citizen residing overseas must submit the following documents:
+ An unexpired Vietnamese passport that bears the entry seal of a Vietnam’s immigration authority; or
+ An unexpired foreign passport that bears the entry seal of a Vietnam’s immigration authority together with documents proving the Vietnamese nationality or Vietnamese heritage issued by the Department of Justice of a province, an overseas Vietnam’s diplomatic mission, or an authority in charge of management of overseas Vietnamese citizens, or other documents prescribed by Vietnam’s law.
- The applicant being a foreign organization or individual must submit documents proving their eligibility according to Article 74 of Decree No. 99/2015/ND-CP. In case a foreign individual submits documents proving his/her Vietnamese heritage, he/she has to choose between policies applied to Vietnamese citizens residing overseas and policies applied to foreigners to determine his/her house ownership in Vietnam.
What are the rights of overseas Vietnamese to housing?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 10 of the 2014 Law on Housing in Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Rights of homeowners and occupiers
1. If the homeowner is a Vietnamese entity or an oversea Vietnamese, he/she shall have rights to:
a) Enjoy inalienable rights to his/her lawful housing;
b) Use the house for residential purposes and other purposes not prohibited by regulations of law.
c) Obtain the Certificate of the house(s) under their lawful homeownership as prescribed in this Law and law on land;
d) Sell housing or transfer the agreement on housing purchase, lease , lease and purchase, gifting, exchange, inheritance, mortgage, capital contribution, lending, permission for stay, or authorize housing management ; if the agreement on housing gifting or inheritance is concluded with an entity ineligible for the homeownership in Vietnam, such entity is only entitled to the value of the house;
dd) Share the public utilities in that residential area as prescribed in this Law and relevant regulations of law.
The owner of an apartment building has the right to ownership and enjoyment of the common areas and infrastructural works of such apartment building, exclusive of buildings for business or transfer to the State as prescribed, and the agreement on housing sale or lease purchase;
e) Maintain, renovate, demolish, or rebuild his/her house as prescribed in this Law and law on construction.
g) Receive the compensation as prescribed in regulations of law or payment according to fair market price when their house is demolished, imposed compulsory purchase order, or commandeered by the State for national defense and security purposes; for socio-economic development purposes, or in the state of war, state of emergency, or disaster situations;
h) File complaints, denunciation, or lawsuits over violations against their lawful ownership and other violations against law on housing.
2. If for a person has a fixed-term homeownership as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 123 in this Law, he/she may exercise the rights prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article over the homeownership period, unless otherwise agreed among the parties; when the contractual term expires, the house which is under management of the homeowner must be returned to the initial homeowner.
3. If the homeowner is a foreign organization or individual, he/she shall have the rights prescribed in Article 161 of this Law.
4. Any occupier other than the homeowner may exercise rights to manage or use the house as agreed with the homeowner.
Thus, overseas Vietnamese will have the rights specified above.
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