PROVISIONS ON FOREIGN PROPERTY RIGHTS IN VIETNAM BY FOREIGN ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS
- Foreign entities eligible for the homeownership in Vietnam include:
a) Foreign entities who invest in project-based housing construction in Vietnam as prescribed in this Law and corresponding regulations of law;
b) Foreign-invested enterprises, branches, representative offices of foreign enterprises, foreign-invested funds and branches of foreign banks operating in Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as foreign organization);
c) Foreign individuals who are allowed to enter Vietnam.
- Rights of foreign entities as homeowners
Foreign organizations and individuals investing in the construction of residential apartments in Vietnam have the same rights and obligations as Vietnamese but have the following limitations:
- He/She may not buy, rent and purchase, receive, inherit and own more than 30% of apartments in an apartment building; or more than 250 houses regarding separate houses including villas, row houses in an area whose population is equivalent to a ward-administrative division.
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, the Government shall provide guidance on number of apartments or number of separate houses that a foreign entity is entitled to buy, rent and purchase, receive, inherit and own.
- 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 and they may be also granted extension as prescribed in regulations of the Government; the duration of the homeownership must be stated in the Certificate.
- 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;
- If the homeowner is a foreign organization, its house(s) is/are only provided for their employees but it is not allowed to use their house(s) for lease, offices, or other purposes;
- They pay off the total amount through credit institutions operating in Vietnam.
- 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.