07 cases of land use change that require permission in Vietnam

07 cases of land use change that require permission in Vietnam​ (Illustrative image)

Land use purpose change in Vietnam is a change in the land use purpose compared to the original type of land, through an administrative decision in cases where permission is required, or through land registration in cases where permission is not required from the competent State agency.

1. Cases requiring permission for land use purpose change in Vietnam

According to Clause 1, Article 57 of the Land Law 2013, in the following 07 cases, land users in Vietnam must obtain permission for land use purpose change:

- Change from paddy land to perennial crop land, forest land, aquaculture land, or salt production land;

- Change from other annual crop land to brackish-water aquaculture land, salt production land, or aquaculture land in the form of ponds, lakes, or lagoons;

- Change from special-use forest land, protection forest land, or production forest land to other uses within the agricultural land group;

- Change from agricultural land to non-agricultural land;

- Change from non-agricultural land allocated by the State without land levy to non-agricultural land allocated by the State with land levy or leased land;

- Change from non-homestead land to homestead land;

- Change from land for the construction of non-business facilities, public purposes with business activities, non-agricultural production, and business land not being commercial land to commercial land; change from commercial land, land for the construction of non-business facilities to non-agricultural production establishment land.

In addition to the 07 cases requiring permission, Article 12 of Circular 33/2017/TT-BTNMT stipulates the following 05 cases where land users in Vietnam are not required to obtain permission for land use purpose change:

- Change from annual crop land to other agricultural land including land used for constructing greenhouses and other types of houses for cultivation purposes; land for constructing barns for livestock and poultry and other permitted animals; aquaculture land for educational or research experiment purposes;

- Change from other annual crop land, aquaculture land to perennial crop land;

- Change from perennial crop land to aquaculture land, annual crop land;- change from homestead land to non-homestead non-agricultural land;

- Change from commercial land to non-agricultural production and business land not being commercial land or non-agricultural production establishment land to land for the construction of non-business facilities.

Note: In the above 05 cases, land users in Vietnam are not required to obtain permission from the competent State agency but must register the land change.

2. Determining the authority to permit land use purpose change in Vietnam

According to the Land Law 2013, the authority to permit land use purpose change is determined as follows:

- Provincial People's Committees decide on the change for organizations;

- District People's Committees decide on the change for households and individuals.

In cases where the District People's Committees decide to permit households and individuals to convert agricultural land for commercial, service purposes with an area of 0.5 hectares or more, they must obtain written consent from the Provincial People's Committee before making a decision.

Note: The competent authority that decides on the land use purpose change is not allowed to delegate this authority.

3. Procedures for applying for land use purpose change in Vietnam

The procedures for permitting land use purpose change are guided in Article 69 of the Decree 43/2014/ND-CP. To be specific:

Step 1: Prepare the dossier

Land users wishing to apply for land use purpose change must submit:

- Application for permission to convert land use purpose

- Certificate of land use rights.

Step 2: Submit the dossier

Submit the dossier to the natural resources and environment agency:

- Office of Natural Resources and Environment if under the authority of the District People's Committee;

- Department of Natural Resources and Environment if under the authority of the Provincial People's Committee.

Step 3: Review the dossier

The natural resources and environment agency will carry out the following tasks:

- Verify the dossier; inspect the site, appraise the need for land use purpose change;

- Guide the land user to fulfill financial obligations as per legal provisions;

- Present the competent People's Committee with the decision to permit land use purpose change;

- Direct the update and modification of the land database and land records.

Step 4: Pay the land use purpose change fee

The land user must fulfill financial obligations as stipulated.

Step 5: Receive the result

According to Clause 40, Article 2 of the Decree 01/2017/ND-CP, the timeframe for processing land use purpose change procedures is no more than 15 days.

Thus, not all cases allow land users to voluntarily convert land use purposes. In the 07 cases mentioned in Section 1, land users in Vietnam must obtain permission from the competent authority before making the change. Land users should note these cases to comply with the law and fulfill all financial obligations when converting land use purposes.

Thuy Tram

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