Can foreigners buy property in Vietnam

Can foreigners buy property in Vietnam? Foreigners cannot buy and own land in Vietnam but foreigners are allowed to lease land and own a house in some cases. 

The wave of investment in Vietnam together with the new provisions of the Housing Law 2014 have allowed foreign individuals to own houses in Vietnam, creating many favorable conditions for them to do business and live. However, foreign individuals owning houses in Vietnam (not investors) still have many limitations compared to domestic individuals. Regulations on home ownership of foreign individuals can be found in the Law on Housing 2014 and Decree 99/2015/ ND-CP.

Can foreigners buy property in Vietnam

A foreign individual to own a house in Vietnam must be allowed to enter Vietnam:

• Must have a valid passport with a stamp of entry verification by the immigration authority of Vietnam;
• Not entities enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities in accordance with the Ordinance on the privileges and immunities relating to diplomatic mission, consular post and representative offices of international organizations in Vietnam. 

Forms of house ownership by foreign individuals:

• Buy, rent and purchase, receive, inherit or own commercial houses including apartment building and separate houses in housing construction projects, except for areas under management relating to national defense and security.

Conditions to own:

For apartments:

• Foreign individuals are only allowed to buy, rent and purchase, receive, inherit and own no more than 30% of apartments in an apartment building;
• In case in an area whose population is equivalent to a ward-administrative division has multiple apartment buildings or regarding separate houses in a street, foreign individuals are only entitled to own no more than 30% of apartments of each apartment building and no more than 30% of the total number of apartments of all these apartment buildings.

For individual houses:

In an area with a population is equivalent to a ward-administrative division:

• Projects to build separate houses with under 2,500 houses: foreign individuals can own no more than 10% of the total number of houses in that project;
• A project on constructing 2,500 individual houses: foreign individuals can own no more than 250 houses in that project;
• For 2 or more projects with the total number of houses in these projects less than or equal to 2,500 houses, foreign individuals are only entitled to own no more than 10% of the houses of each project.

 Ownership period:

• The foreign individuals are eligible for the homeownership as agreed in agreements on housing sale, lease purchase, gifting, or inheritance for not more than 50 years, from the day on which they are granted the Certificate; the duration of the homeownership must be stated in the Certificate.

Extension: 03 months before the term of house ownership expires, a foreign individual that owns a house in Vietnam shall submit an application for extension with a copy of the certificate of house ownership to the Provincial People's Committee in where there are houses. The number of additional extensions is 01 times but must not exceed 50 years;

• If a foreign individual marries to a Vietnamese citizen or an oversea Vietnamese, he/she qualifies for stable and long-term homeownership and has all rights of homeowner similarly to Vietnamese citizens;
• When ownership expires: Before the time limit of the homeownership prescribed in this Law expires, the homeowner is entitled to gift or sell their house(s) to entities eligible for the homeownership in Vietnam; if not, their house(s) shall be under ownership of the State.

DFC Law Firm provides Land law and Housing law consultancy services for foreigners. For further information, please contract DFC Law Firm for detail advices.