Rights to Real Estate of Vietnamese Residing Abroad and Individuals of Vietnamese Origin Residing Abroad

1. Land use rights

Vietnamese residing abroad are Vietnamese citizens: This group is classified as “domestic individuals,” being a “land user,”[1] and thus they have rights related to land similar to Vietnamese citizens. Therefore, with valid legal documentation confirming Vietnamese citizenship, this group can fully exercise their rights without encountering any limitations due to residing abroad.

Individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad: In comparison to Vietnamese residing abroad, this group no longer holds Vietnamese citizenship and therefore enjoys a narrower scope of LURs, specifically as follows:

a. Methods of accessing land of Individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad

Individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad are eligible to receive LURs in the following cases[2]:

(i) Obtaining LUR from the State:

• Being allocated land by the State[3];
• Being compensated with land when the State recovers land[4]; and
• Being leased of land by the State[5].

(ii) Obtaining LUR from the market:

• Receiving the transfer of LURs in Industrial Zone Land[6];
• Purchasing or leasing-purchasing of residential houses attached to residential land use rights, receive residential land use rights in housing development projects;
• Inheriting residential land use rights and other types of land on the same land plot with residential houses according to civil law regulations;
• Receiving donation of residential houses attached to residential land use rights from inheritors according to civil law regulations[7].

Considering the above methods of receiving LURs from the market, as a way to attract people of Vietnamese origin residing abroad to return to their homeland Vietnam to live, residential land is the type of land that individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad have many ways to receive LURs such as buying, renting and purchasing houses attached to the land, receiving inheritance, receiving gifts.

(iii) Other methods of receiving LUR[8]: According to the conciliation results concerning land disputes recognized by the competent People’s Committee; agreements in the mortgage contract for debt resolution; decisions of the competent state authority regarding the resolution of land disputes, complaints, accusations concerning land, judgments, court decisions, enforcement decisions of the executing agency that have been enforced; decisions or rulings of the Vietnam International Commercial Arbitration Center; documents acknowledging the auction results of land use rights in accordance with the law; documents concerning the division, separation of land use rights in accordance with the law for a group of land users with common land use rights.

b. Scope of rights of Individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad

The rights related to land for this group are primarily regulated under Article 41 of the Land Law 2024 – using land for investment projects, Article 43 – using land in Industrial Zone Land, and Article 44 – using residential land. Therefore, in general, this group is only permitted to use land for two purposes: implementing investment projects inside and outside Industrial Zone Land, and for residential purposes. Compared to Vietnamese residing abroad, this group enjoys a narrower scope of LUR, specifically as follows:

(i) In cases where land is allocated by the State with a land use fee for the implementation of an investment project using land and acquires Industrial Zone Land, individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad have most of the rights of land users, including[9]:

• Transferring, leasing LURs and their assets attached to the land;
• Mortgaging LURs and their assets attached to the land at licensed credit institutions, other economic organizations (excluding FICs that must meet the conditions and carry out investment procedures in accordance with the Law on Investment), or domestic individuals (including Vietnamese residing abroad);
• Contributing capital by LURs and owned assets attached to the land to domestic organizations and individuals (including Vietnamese residing abroad), individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad, and FICs; and
• Donating LURs to the State and for other community purposes such as expanding transportation roads, building gratitude houses, charity houses, and other cases as prescribed by law.

(ii) For land leased by the State with annual land rental payments to implement an investment project, individuals of Vietnamese origin residing overseas have similar rights as FIC as follows:

• Having ownership of property attached to leased land from the State is recognized, thereby having decision-making rights over their property attached to leased land such as (i) mortgaging assets at licensed credit institutions in Vietnam; (ii) contributing capital by assets, selling owed assets attached to land. In this case, the person receiving the capital contribution by assets or the purchaser of the assets will continue to be leased the land by the State;
• Having the right to lease (i) assets under their ownership attached to land, and (ii) land lease rights under lease contracts with the State; and
• If the land is located in industrial zones, industrial clusters, high-tech zones and has completed infrastructure construction in cases allowed to invest in infrastructure construction, they will have the right to sublease the land use rights with annually rental fees.

(iii) For land leased by the State with a one-time land rental payment to implement an investment project, individuals of Vietnamese origin residing overseas have similar rights as FIC as follows:

• Transfer, lease, sublease LURs, assets under their ownership attached to land during the land use period;
• Mortgage LURs, assets under their ownership attached to land at credit institutions permitted to operate in Vietnam; and
• Contribute capital by LURs and assets under their ownership attached to land.

(iv) For cases of leasing Industrial Zone Land with a one-time land rental payment, to facilitate these entities to operate in Vietnam when there is a demand for investment and business in industrial parks, industrial clusters, and high-tech zones, individuals of Vietnamese origin residing overseas have similar rights as FIC as follows:

• Transferring LURs and owned property attached to land;
• Re-leasing LURs and owned property attached to land;
• Mortgaging LURs, owned property attached to land at credit institutions permitted to operate in Vietnam, other economic organizations, or individuals as stipulated by law;
• Contributing capital by LURs and assets under their ownership attached to land with domestic organizations, individuals, Vietnamese nationals residing abroad and FICs as stipulated by the laws; and
• Donating LURs to the State, community for common interests, charitable homes, house of great unity as regulated by the law.

(v) For cases of leasing Industrial Park Land with annual land rental payments, individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad have similar rights as FIC as follows:

• Have the right to make decisions regarding its owned assets attached to the land, such as mortgaging assets at credit institutions permitted to operate in Vietnam, other economic organizations, or individuals as prescribed by law;
• Sell assets, contribute capital by their owned assets, and lease their owned assets attached to the leasehold rights in the land lease contract during the lease period. The purchaser of assets attached to the land and the leasehold rights in the land lease contract will continue to lease the land for the determined purpose and remaining usage period, while the recipient of capital contribution will also continue to be leased the land by the State for the confirmed purpose within the remaining lease period; and
• Receive the transfer of land use rights for Industrial Zone Land.

(vi) Regarding residential land, in principle, individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad being permitted to enter Vietnam are allowed to own houses attached to residential land use rights and have residential land use rights obtained through the transfer of residential land use rights in housing development projects[10]. This regulation is also consistent with the current provisions of the LOH 2023.

Accordingly, in this case, individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad have the following rights[11]:

• Transferring residential land use rights when selling, donating, inheriting, or exchanging houses with entities eligible to own houses in Vietnam;
• Donating houses attached to residential land use rights to the State, community, or for purposes such as building gratitude houses, charity houses, or solidarity houses;
• Transferring, leasing, donating, inheriting, or contributing capital with residential land use rights;
• Mortgaging houses attached to residential land use rights at credit institutions licensed to operate in Vietnam.

Additionally, it should be noted that if this group donates or inherits to subjects not eligible to own houses in Vietnam, the recipients of the donation or inheritance are only entitled to the value of the house attached to the residential land use rights and will not be granted a Certificate.

2. Right to own houses

Vietnamese residing abroad and individuals of Vietnamese origin residing overseas are entitled to own houses in Vietnam[12] and own houses attached to residential land use rights in accordance with the provisions of land laws[13].

It is evident that the LOH 2023 does not differentiate between individuals of Vietnamese origin and Vietnamese residing abroad; thus, it can be concluded that both groups are eligible to own houses in Vietnam with similar rights and obligations. However, to be consistent with the Land Law 2024, Vietnamese residing abroad have full rights to use land in addition to the right to own houses, with a broader scope than individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad (who are only entitled to land use rights obtained through the transfer of residential land use rights in housing development projects).

3. Real estate business rights

a. For Vietnamese residing abroad

In principle, this group has Vietnamese nationality, so they are allowed to conduct real estate business in all forms permitted by law, similar to domestic organizations and individuals.

It should be noted that, according to regulations, individuals conducting real estate business must establish enterprises under the law on enterprises, or establish cooperatives, unions of cooperatives under the law on cooperatives, and must have real estate business as their business line[14]. However, the requirement to establish enterprises, cooperatives, or unions of cooperatives is not mandatory for individuals conducting real estate business on a small-scale[15], selling houses, construction works, or parts of construction floor area in construction works not for business purposes or selling, leasing, leasing-purchasing houses, construction works, or parts of construction floor area in construction works below the small-scale, but they must declare and pay taxes according to regulations.[16]. According to Decree 96/2024/ND-CP guiding the LOREB 2023, individuals engaging in real estate business (i) who are not subject to establishment of investment project according to regulations of construction and housing law, and (ii) whose transactions do not exceed VND 300 billion per contract or more than 10 transactions in a year, will be considered “small-scale”, not for business purposes, and will not be required to establish a company, cooperative, or union of cooperatives to conduct real estate business activities[17].

b. For individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad

If this group meets the conditions for being allowed to enter Vietnam, they can conduct real estate business in forms similar to FIC that are required to meet conditions and carry out investment procedures applicable to foreign investors under the Law on Investment 2020.

In general, the scope of real estate business for individuals of Vietnamese origin residing abroad is significantly narrower compared to Vietnamese residing abroad (who retain Vietnamese nationality). Similar to Vietnamese residing abroad, as this group consists of individuals, they must meet the requirements for establishing enterprises, cooperatives, or unions of cooperatives with real estate business as their business line, as analyzed above.

[1] Article 4.3 of the Land Law 2024
[2] Article 28 of the Land Law 2024
[3] Article 28.1.(i) of the Land Law 2024
[4] Article 119.4 and Article 98 of the Land Law 2024
[5] Article 28.1(k) of the Land Law 2024
[6] Article 28.1(c) of the Land Law 2024
[7] Article 28.1(h) of the Land Law 2024
[8] Article 28.1(m) of the Land Law 2024
[9] Article 41.1, Article 43 and Article 33.1 of the Land Law 2024
[10] Article 44.1 of the Land Law 2024
[11] Article 44.2 of the Land Law 2024
[12] Article 8.1.(b) of the LOH 2023
[13] Article 8.2(b) of the LOH 2023
[14] Article 9.1 of the LOREB 2023
[15] Article 9.3 of the LOREB 2023
[16] Article 9.4 of the LOREB 2023
[17] Article 7 of Decree 96/2024 guiding the LOREB 2023