Is it possible for citizens to register a lawful place of residence that they rent, borrow, or stay in as permanent residence in Vietnam?

Is it possible for citizens to register a lawful place of residence that they rent, borrow, or stay in as permanent residence in Vietnam? (Internet image)

Regarding your question, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What is permanent residence?

According to Clause 8 Article 2 of the Law on Residence 2020, place of permanent residence (hereinafter referred to as “permanent residence”) refers to a place of secure and long-term residence of a citizen that is registered as their permanent residence;

2. Is it possible for citizen to register a lawful place of residence that they rent, borrow or stay in as their permanent residence in Vietnam?

According to Clause 3, Article 20 of the Law on Residence 2020, a citizen may register a lawful place of residence that they rent, borrow or stay in as their permanent residence on the following conditions:

- The owner of the lawful place of residence agrees to let the citizen register the location that they rent, borrow or stay in as their permanent residence and the household head agrees to let the citizen register the location as their permanent residence with the household;

- The condition for minimum floor area stipulated by the provincial People’s Council is satisfied, which shall be more than 08 m2 of floor/person.

* Note: Excluding the cases mentioned in Clause 2 of the Law on Residence 2020:

- The citizen is someone who comes to live with their spouse; a child coming to live with their parent(s); or a parent coming to live with their child;

- The citizen is an old person coming to live with their biological sibling or grandchild;

Or a person with very severe disability, a person with severe disability, a person who has lost work capacity, a person suffering from a mental illness or another disease that causes them to lose awareness or behavior control coming to live with their paternal grandparent(s), maternal grandparent(s), biological sibling, biological uncle, biological aunt, biological niece/nephew, biological grandchild or guardian;

- The citizen is a minor coming to live with their great-grandparent(s), paternal grandparent(s), maternal grandparent(s), biological sibling, biological uncle or biological aunt with the permission of their parent or guardian or if they have no parent; or a minor coming to live with their guardian.

Thus, tenants can still register for permanent residence in case the head of the household agrees if they register for permanent residence in the same household and ensure that the area is not less than 08 m2 of floor/person.

3. Application for permanent residence registration for tenants in Vietnam

Application for permanent residence registration for a tenant as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 21 of the Law on Residence 2020, includes:

- Declaration of change to residence information, including permission for permanent residence registration from the household head and owner of the lawful place of residence that the applicant rents, borrows or stays in or authorized person, unless a written permission has been obtained;

- Agreement or document on renting, borrowing or staying in the lawful place of residence notarized or certified as prescribed by law;

- Written proof of sufficient floor area for permanent residence registration per the law.

4. Procedure for permanent residence registration in Vietnam

Procedure for permanent residence registration as prescribed in Article 22 of the Law on Residence 2020 are as follows:

- The applicant shall submit their application to the registration authority of the locality where they reside.

- Upon receipt of an application, the registration authority shall check and issue an acknowledgement of application receipt to the applicant; and instruct the applicant on how to complete their application if it is incomplete.

- Within 07 working days starting from the date of receipt of an adequate and valid application, the registration authority shall appraise and update information on the new permanent residence of the applicant to the residence database and notify the applicant of such update; and provide a written explanation for the applicant if the application rejected.

- A person who has registered their permanent residence but is moving to another lawful place of residence and is eligible for permanent residence registration shall register their new place of residence as their permanent residence according to regulations of the Law on Residence 2020 within 12 months starting from the date upon which they become eligible.

Vo Van Hieu

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