With open-door policies and a stable socio-economic situation,
Vietnam is one of the countries with great attraction to foreign investors.
There are many foreign individuals and organizations come to Vietnam to
live and work and a number of foreigners or foreign organizations wish to buy
houses or apartments. Many real estate developers also wish to expand the
customers base through selling houses and apartments to foreigners in Vietnam.
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However, according to current law, foreigners or foreign
organizations can buy houses and apartment in Vietnam; and real estate
developers could sell houses and apartments in Vietnam but must meet some
conditions.
First of all, to be able to buy a house in Vietnam,
foreign individuals and organizations must be one of the subjects that can own
houses in Vietnam. Specifically, foreign organizations and individuals that are
allowed to own houses in Vietnam include: (i) foreign organizations and
individuals investing in housing construction under projects in Vietnam; (ii)
foreign-invested enterprises, branches, representative offices of foreign enterprises,
foreign investment funds and foreign bank branches operating in Vietnam; (iii)
foreigners whom are allowed to enter Vietnam. Accordingly, to be able to buy a
house in Vietnam, these subjects must prove that they fully meet the conditions
prescribed by law.
Specifically, foreign organizations and individuals investing in
housing construction under projects in Vietnam must have an Investment
Certificate and have houses built in the project according to regulations. For
foreign organizations, they must set up company in Vietnam, have an investment certificate or a document
related to being allowed to operate in Vietnam, issued by a competent Vietnamese
state agency. Foreign individuals must be subject to permission to enter
Vietnam and not be entitled to diplomatic and consular privileges and
immunities.
Besides, depending on each different object, the documents proving
the object and conditions for owning a house in Vietnam vary. For a foreign
individual, s/he must have a valid passport with an entry verification stamp of
the exit and entry management agency of Vietnam and not be eligible for special
privileges and immunities. On the other hand, for foreign organizations, they
must be eligible to own houses and have an Investment Registration Certificate
or a document authorized by a competent Vietnamese agency to operate in
Vietnam. In addition, these individuals and organizations should note that
these documents must be valid at the time of signing the housing transactions.
Therefore, if organizations and individuals meet the above
conditions, foreign individuals and organizations can purchase houses in
Vietnam. However, it should be noted that foreign individuals can only own
houses in Vietnam in the form of apartments or separate houses in an investment
project to build commercial housing.
In addition, foreigners are also not allowed to purchase houses in
areas that are subject of national defense and security under Vietnamese law.
Further, foreign organizations and individuals are also limited in the number
of ownership. Accordingly, foreign organizations and individuals are only
allowed to own no more than 30% of the total number of apartments in an
apartment building, and no more than 10% for an individual housing project of
less than 2,500 units.
In general, purchasing houses for foreign individuals and
organizations are subject to complicated legal conditions. Therefore, in order
to ensure that the purchase of housing in Vietnam is in accordance with the
regulations and to limit the risks arising, relevant individuals and
organizations need to learn and seek legal advice and support from real estate dispute law firm in
Vietnam.
