Can foreigners and overseas Vietnamese buy a house or land in Vietnam?

The answer depends on which group you belong to. Vietnamese people residing abroad who still hold Vietnamese nationality have the same rights as individuals in the country (Article 4(3) of the Land Law 2024 (Đ.4 khoản 3 Luật Đất đai 2024)). People of Vietnamese origin (người gốc Việt Nam) who no longer hold Vietnamese nationality and are permitted to enter Vietnam may buy a house together with the residential land use right (Đ.44 khoản 1). Foreigners may only buy commercial housing in projects, subject to quantity limits and a maximum ownership term of 50 years, renewable once (Articles 19 and 20 of the Law on Housing 2023 (Đ.19, Đ.20 Luật Nhà ở 2023)).

What about overseas Vietnamese who still hold Vietnamese nationality?

You are treated as an individual land user, just like someone living in Vietnam (Đ.4 khoản 3 Luật Đất đai 2024). You may buy detached houses, residential land and agricultural land, receive inheritances and gifts, and be issued certificates like citizens in the country.

You need papers proving Vietnamese nationality, for example a valid Vietnamese passport or other papers under nationality law (Đ.8 khoản 1 điểm b Luật Nhà ở 2023).

What can people of Vietnamese origin without Vietnamese nationality buy?

If permitted to enter Vietnam, you may (Article 44(1) of the Land Law 2024 (Đ.44 khoản 1 Luật Đất đai 2024); Đ.8 khoản 2 điểm b Luật Nhà ở 2023):

• Own a house together with the residential land use right, including detached houses outside projects.
• Receive residential land use rights in a housing development project.
• Inherit residential land use rights and other types of land on the same plot as the house; receive a gift of a house with residential land from a person in your rank of heirs (Đ.28 khoản 1 điểm h Luật Đất đai 2024).

You have the right to sell, give, bequeath, lease, and mortgage the house with residential land at a credit institution in Vietnam (Đ.44 khoản 2).

You may not receive transfers of agricultural land or vacant land without a house outside projects. The law only lists houses with residential land and residential land in projects.

How can foreigners buy a home?

Foreign individuals permitted to enter Vietnam, and not entitled to diplomatic or consular privileges and immunities, may own housing (Đ.17 khoản 1 điểm c, Đ.18 khoản 3 Luật Nhà ở 2023), with these limits:

• Only commercial housing in projects, bought from the developer or from another foreigner who lawfully owns it, including apartments and detached houses within projects (Đ.17 khoản 2).
• Not in areas where national defence and security must be safeguarded (Đ.16, Đ.17 khoản 2 điểm b).
• Quantity limits: no more than 30% of the apartments in one apartment building; for detached houses, no more than 250 houses in an area with a population equivalent to one ward (Đ.19 khoản 1).
• Ownership term: as in the contract but no more than 50 years from the date the certificate is issued, renewable once for no more than 50 years. The term is written on the certificate (Đ.20 khoản 2 điểm c).

Foreigners may not own land use rights. On the certificate, you are certified as the owner of the house.

Before the term expires, you may sell or give the house to someone permitted to own housing in Vietnam. If the term expires without a sale or gift, the house becomes public property (Đ.20 khoản 2 điểm đ).

What about a foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen?

A foreign individual married to a Vietnamese citizen living in Vietnam may own housing and has the same rights as a Vietnamese citizen (Đ.20 khoản 2 điểm c Luật Nhà ở 2023). If married to a Vietnamese person residing abroad who is permitted to enter Vietnam, you have the rights of a Vietnamese person residing abroad.

This applies to housing. For land without a house and agricultural land, the Land Law's rules on land users still apply.

What if you inherit a house and land but are not eligible to own it?

You are entitled only to the value of the house and land, and no certificate is issued to you (Đ.44 khoản 2 điểm b, khoản 3 Luật Đất đai 2024; Đ.20 khoản 2 điểm b Luật Nhà ở 2023). In practice, heirs usually sell to an eligible person or give it to a relative in Vietnam in order to receive the money.

If the heir is the wife, husband, child, parent or full brother or sister, inheriting real estate is exempt from personal income tax (Article 4(1) of the Personal Income Tax Law 2025 (Đ.4 khoản 1 Luật Thuế thu nhập cá nhân 2025)). See also taxes and fees when transferring a land certificate.

Is it safe to have someone in Vietnam hold the title for you?

No. The person named on the certificate is the one with rights under the law. If that person sells, mortgages, dies or divorces, you must prove through a court dispute that the money was yours. If the arrangement to hold title on your behalf was meant to get around the rules on who may own property, the court may not recognise your rights to the house and land, and may only consider returning your money.

What should foreigners and overseas Vietnamese note in the purchase procedure?

• A house sale contract must be notarised or certified. Exceptions include some transactions with organisations, such as buying social housing or resettlement housing (Đ.164 Luật Nhà ở 2023). See notarising a house and land sale contract.
• Papers proving eligibility: a valid passport with an entry stamp; people of Vietnamese origin also need papers proving Vietnamese origin. The Government specifies these papers (Đ.8 khoản 3 Luật Nhà ở 2023).
• Check that the apartment is still within the building's 30% quota before paying a deposit.

When to ask a lawyer

• You bought a house and land in the past and had someone else hold the title, and now want to transfer it to your name.
• You are inheriting a house and land but no longer hold Vietnamese nationality.
• The project you plan to buy in is near a military zone, the border or an island.
• You are married to a Vietnamese citizen and want joint title to a house and land.