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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Real Estate Dispute Law
Firm in Vietnam
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.