Eligible Entities and Conditions for Homeownership in Vietnam

According to Article 8. Eligible Entities and Conditions for Homeownership in Vietnam
(Article 8, Law on Housing 2023)

1. Entities eligible for homeownership in Vietnam include:
   a) Domestic organizations and individuals;
   b) Overseas Vietnamese in accordance with the law on nationality;
   c) Foreign organizations and individuals as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 17 of this Law.

2. Conditions for homeownership in Vietnam include:
   a) Domestic organizations and individuals may own houses through investment in construction, purchase, hire-purchase, receipt of donation, inheritance, capital contribution, exchange of houses; receipt of resettlement housing in accordance with law; or other forms as provided by law;
   b) Overseas Vietnamese permitted to enter Vietnam may own houses associated with residential land use rights in accordance with the Land Law;
   c) Foreign organizations and individuals may own houses through the forms prescribed in Clause 2, Article 17 of this Law.

3. The Government shall detail documents evidencing the eligibility and conditions for homeownership as prescribed in this Article.

Specifically, Clause 3 is guided by Article 3 of Decree No. 95/2024/ND-CP, effective from 01 August 2024:

Article 3. Documents evidencing eligibility and conditions for homeownership in Vietnam

1. Documents evidencing organizational eligibility for homeownership in Vietnam:
   a) For domestic organizations: Enterprise Registration Certificate, Investment Registration Certificate, or other documents proving establishment of the organization issued by a competent authority in accordance with law;
   b) For foreign organizations investing in housing construction projects in Vietnam: Investment Registration Certificate in accordance with the Law on Investment;
   c) For foreign organizations not falling under Point b, Clause 1 of this Article: Investment Certificate, Investment Registration Certificate, or documents issued by a competent authority of Vietnam permitting operation or establishment in Vietnam, valid at the time of entering into housing transactions (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Investment Registration Certificate”).

2. Documents evidencing individual eligibility for homeownership in Vietnam:
   a) For Vietnamese citizens: Identity card, passport, or other valid documents proving Vietnamese nationality;
   b) For persons of Vietnamese origin residing overseas: Foreign passport or international travel documents as prescribed by the law on entry and exit, and documents certifying Vietnamese origin in accordance with the law on nationality;
   c) For foreign individuals: Foreign passport and a written undertaking that they are not entitled to diplomatic or consular immunities and privileges.

3. Documents evidencing conditions for homeownership:
   a) For domestic organizations and individuals: Documents proving ownership of houses through one of the forms prescribed in Clause 2, Article 8 of the Law on Housing;
   b) For overseas Vietnamese who are Vietnamese citizens: Valid Vietnamese passport bearing an entry stamp into Vietnam at the time of house acquisition as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 8 of the Law on Housing;
   c) For persons of Vietnamese origin residing overseas: Valid passport bearing an entry stamp into Vietnam, or valid international travel documents bearing immigration verification at the time of entering into housing transactions;
   d) For foreign individuals: Valid passport bearing an entry stamp into Vietnam, or equivalent legal entry documents into Vietnam at the time of entering into housing transactions as prescribed at Points b and c, Clause 2, Article 17 of the Law on Housing.

Article 17. Foreign Organizations and Individuals Eligible for Homeownership and Forms of Homeownership in Vietnam

1. Foreign organizations and individuals eligible for homeownership in Vietnam include:
   a) Foreign-invested economic organizations investing in housing construction projects in Vietnam in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws;
   b) Foreign-invested economic organizations, branches, representative offices of foreign enterprises, foreign investment funds, and foreign bank branches operating in Vietnam (hereinafter collectively referred to as “foreign organizations”);
   c) Foreign individuals permitted to enter Vietnam.

2. Foreign organizations and individuals prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article may own houses in Vietnam, including both apartments and detached houses, through the following forms:
   a) Organizations prescribed in Point a, Clause 1 of this Article may own houses through investment in housing construction projects in Vietnam;
   b) Organizations and individuals prescribed in Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article may own houses through purchase or hire-purchase of commercial houses from project developers, receipt of donation, or inheritance of commercial houses in housing construction projects not located in areas critical to national defense and security;
   c) Organizations and individuals prescribed in Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article may own houses through purchase or hire-purchase from foreign organizations or individuals who have already acquired homeownership in accordance with Point b of this Clause.