Nowadays, the demand for the homeownership of Overseas Vietnamese in Vietnam has been increasing, especially since July 1, 2015 when the Law of housing of 2014 took effect, expanding to overseas Vietnamese may legally own houses in Vietnam and being entitled to exercise rights of homeowners similarly to Vietnam citizens.

This has encouraged overseas Vietnamese living abroad to return to Vietnam to buy houses. However, issues such as:

House ownership rights for overseas Vietnamese? and
How to be entitle rights of overseas Vietnamese even if they have no personal identity papers to prove that that they have Vietnamese nationality? or
Procedures for re-issuance of Vietnamese passports.

CNC finds it not easy to overcome these problems that overseas Vietnamese often encounter. So, we publish this article to clarify two following issues: (i) regulations of law on the ownership of the homeownership of overseas Vietnamese in Vietnam, and (ii) the procedure for registration to determine Vietnamese nationality and issuance of Vietnamese passport.

What is overseas Vietnamese?

Overseas Vietnamese refers to Vietnamese people living outside Vietnam whose nationality is Vietnam or/and host countries that is defined in law legal definition of Law No.24/2018/QH12 on Vietnamese nationality .

Methods of determing what is overseas Vietnamese are prescribed in Clause 4 Article 3 of Law on Vietnamese Nationality, and are based on the following grounds:

Requirements pertaining overseas Vietnamese eligible for the homeownership in Vietnam

In order to buy houses in Vietnam, overseas Vietnamese must have: (i) a permission to enter Vietnam and (ii) papers such as:

Useful note:

In case of having a foreign passport, overseas Vietnamese shall provide following documents to prove the Vietnamese heritage:

Forms of the homeownership in Vietnam relating to overseas Vietnamese

Procudures for sale

After completing the procedures of a sale, purchase, and/or transfer, overseas Vietnamese must apply for a Certificate of land, home ownership, and real estate. This application process must be completed at the land registration office in the People’s Committee of the district/province in which the house is located. The dossier must consist of:

Procedures for the determination of citizenship and issuing passports

CNC has received many customer requests from overseas Vietnamese with the intention of buying houses in Vietnam without proof of Vietnamese nationality. In these situations, the procedure for registration and determination of citizenship and the request to be granted a Vietnamese passport (if any) to prove their Vietnamese nationality and enjoy specific civil rights, must be conducted.

Proving Vietnamese nationality?

Overseas Vietnamese who have not yet lost Vietnamese nationality prior to July 1, 2009, and have no documents proving Vietnamese nationality and want to be granted Vietnamese nationality, must commence with the following procedures:

I. Competent agencies
Overseas Vietnamese representative ministry of the provincial-level Justice Service of the locality where he/she resides, or the place considered as most convenient if there aren’t any representative agencies where one resides.
II. The dossier
No.	Documents		Notes
1	“Registration statement for recognition as a Vietnamese national and issuance of a Vietnamese Passport” per the application form.
2	Proof of claimant’s identity – e.g. birth certificate, ID cards, residency documents, temporary residence cards, passports, visas, valid driver’s license, or other identity papers.		Certified copies of papers or copies and included with originals for checking.
3	One document pertaining to: – Birth(s), death(s), marriage(s), family registration(s), ID card(s); or – Birth(s), death(s), marriage(s), family registration(s), ID card(s), or other relevant documents issued by competent agencies between 1945 and June 30, 2009, in which Vietnamese nationality or related information were stated. – Birth(s), death(s), marriage(s), family registration(s), ID card(s), or other relevant documents issued prior to April 30, 1975 by the former Southern Vietnam Government or by any competent foreign agency in which related Vietnamese nationality information is also considered as a solid bases for consideration and determination of Vietnamese nationality.		Certified copies of papers or copies and included with originals for checking. These papers are considered as solid bases for consideration and determination of Vietnamese nationality.
4	Photos (4 x 6 cm)		4 photos less than six months old
III. Procedures
No.	Content		Notes
Step 1	Dossier preparation and submission		Direct submission or by post.
Step 2	Dossier review by representative agencies
	2.1 Have adequate bases for determining	Recording in the register that such persons have Vietnamese nationality; issue a copy of such recognition issIuing Vietnamese passport to them or ask them to perform procedures at the office of the representative agencies if the dossier is received by post (if any)	Within five working days
	2.2 Having no adequate grounds for determination	Applicant was born in and resided permanently in Vietnam: Representative agencies will review and research the declared information provided in the Registration statement against identification and relevant documents. Upon finding any information as a solid basis for determination of Vietnamese nationality of such persons, the representative agency will submit appropriate documentation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for proposal to the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Justice for verification.	Within a period of five working days
		Applicants who were born abroad and resided in Vietnam: Representative agencies will review and research the declared information provided in the Registration statement against identification and relevant documents. Upon finding any information as a solid bases for determination of Vietnamese nationality of such persons, will conduct an investigations, interviews, and verifications for clarity.
IV. Fees
No.	Objects		Fees
1	Persons applying for Vietnamese nationality without applying for Vietnamese passports.		Free
2	Persons applying for Vietnamese nationality and applying for Vietnamese passports.		70 USD

Support:

CNC is honored to receive and respond to any and all inquiries to support effective and efficient homeownership of overseas Vietnamese in Vietnam.

Requests can be made by email or phone according to the information below:

Lawyer Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan | Senior Associate

T: (+84-28) 6276 9900

E: ngan.nguyen@cnccounsel.com

Nguyen Thi Hong Tra | Cộng Sự

T: (+84-28) 6276 9900

E: tra.nguyen@cnccounsel.com

The Sun Avenue, 28 Mai Chi Tho, An Phu Ward, District 2

Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam

T: (+84-28) 6276 9900 | F: (+84-28) 2220 0913

cnccounsel.com | contact@cnccounsel.com

Disclaimers:

The content herein does not reflect any legal perspective of CNC or any of its partners in the past, present or future. This newsletter is not considered to be accurate and/or suitable for legal issues encountered by clients. In no way does this newsletter constitute a service agreement between CNC and client. CNC objects all liability arising from or relating to client’s quoting any content of this newsletter to apply to their own issues. Clients are encouraged to ask for legal advice for each specified circumstance they encounter.

The Homeownership of Overseas Vietnamese in Vietnam