LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON THE PROPERTY OWNERSHIP RIGHTS OF OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE

“Vietnam, oh our beloved homeland, An endless sea of paddy fields, where else could the sky be more beautiful?” (Excerpt from the Black Sea Epic – Nguyen Dinh Thi) In the flow of the nation's history, no matter where they reside in the world, the homeland always remains a steadfast spiritual anchor in the hearts and minds of every Vietnamese. Driven by the process of global integration and the growing desire of the overseas Vietnamese community to stay connected with their ancestral land, the recognition and safeguarding of housing and land ownership rights for Vietnamese residing abroad have become more open and consistent. The 2023 Housing Law and the 2024 Land Law were enacted in this context, establishing specific legal frameworks on the “property ownership rights of overseas Vietnamese,” marking a transformative step in ensuring the principle of equality between Vietnamese citizens both inside and outside the country.

1. Understanding legal terminology:

• Vietnamese people residing abroad include Vietnamese citizens and people of Vietnamese origin who reside and live permanently abroad (according to Clause 3, Article 3 of the 2008 Law on Vietnamese Nationality, amended and supplemented in 2014, 2025).

Example: Mr. Chien Than was born in 1970 in Vietnam and holds Vietnamese nationality. In 2000, he moved to the United States to live and work permanently but has not renounced his Vietnamese nationality. He resides stably, has a family, a job, and a life there. In this case, Mr. Chien Than is identified as a Vietnamese residing abroad who is a Vietnamese citizen.

• People of Vietnamese origin residing abroad are Vietnamese people who previously held Vietnamese nationality which was determined at birth by the principle of bloodline, and their children and grandchildren who are residing and living permanently abroad (Clause 4, Article 3 of the 2008 Law on Vietnamese Nationality, amended and supplemented in 2014, 2025).

Example: Ms. Hot Luu was born in Vietnam and previously held Vietnamese nationality. In 1990, she moved abroad to live and subsequently renounced her Vietnamese nationality to acquire Canadian citizenship. Currently, she resides and works stably and permanently in Canada. In this case, Ms. Hot Luu is no longer a Vietnamese citizen, but because she previously held Vietnamese nationality, she is identified as a person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad according to Clause 4, Article 3 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.

Clearly distinguishing these two groups of subjects is an important legal basis, as their housing ownership rights and land use rights are not entirely identical under current laws.

2. Legal regulations on land use rights and housing for Vietnamese people residing abroad through different periods:

Before the 2024 Land Law took effect

According to the provisions of the 2003 Land Law, only domestic households and individuals were permitted by the State to be allocated land, leased land, or recognized for land use rights, and to receive transferred land use rights (Article 9).

Therefore, prior to the 2013 Land Law, Vietnamese residing abroad (Overseas Vietnamese compatriots), when purchasing land and assets attached to land such as housing in Vietnam, often had to ask relatives, family members, or acquaintances to stand in their name (on their behalf) on the Certificate of land use rights and assets attached to land.

However, in reality, there have been many cases where these individuals, when needing to reclaim their assets and wanting to complete the procedures to transfer the title back, encountered disputes with the people holding the property on their behalf. According to Precedent No. 02/2016/AL regarding a "property reclamation dispute" case, when resolving the dispute, "the Court must consider and calculate the effort of preserving, maintaining, and renovating that increases the value of the land use rights for the person standing in name on behalf; in case the exact effort of that person cannot be determined, it should be determined that the person who actually paid to receive the transfer of land use rights and the person standing in name to receive the transfer of land use rights on behalf have equal effort to share the increased difference in value compared to the original principal amount for the initial transfer of land use rights". Thus, Vietnamese law has always been fair, respecting the contributions of parties in the process of renovating and preserving assets to increase their value. Nevertheless, for Vietnamese residing abroad, this is an unnecessary dispute when they want to reclaim their own property; the dispute resolution process takes a lot of time and involves costly travel expenses,…

Subsequently, the promulgation of the 2013 Land Law officially marked a major turning point by identifying Vietnamese residing abroad as one of the subjects whose land use rights are recognized by the State.

According to the 2013 Land Law, in cases of needing to use land for residential purposes, all Vietnamese residing abroad in general (regardless of whether they hold Vietnamese nationality or no longer hold Vietnamese nationality) are only allowed to receive the transfer of land use rights through housing transactions attached to residential land use rights or to receive residential land use rights in housing development projects (Point d, Clause 1, Article 169 of the 2013 Land Law). However, to be issued a Certificate of land use rights, ownership of houses and other assets attached to land, they must meet additional specific conditions regarding nationality and conditions for owning housing in Vietnam.

After the 2024 Land Law and the 2023 Housing Law took effect

(i) Regarding land ownership rights:

Since the introduction of the 2024 Land Law, there has been a specific delineation that clearly separates and expands the forms of receiving land use rights for people of Vietnamese origin residing abroad who are allowed to enter Vietnam, thereby increasing their opportunities to access the investment market. Pursuant to Clauses 3 and 6, Article 4 of the 2024 Land Law, land use rights are applicable to both Vietnamese people residing abroad and people of Vietnamese origin residing abroad.

Vietnamese people residing abroad who still retain Vietnamese nationality (Vietnamese citizens) will have full rights like domestic Vietnamese citizens, including the right to access land. Specifically, individuals (including Vietnamese people residing abroad who are Vietnamese citizens) are entitled to receive land use rights through transfer, donation, or inheritance (Article 28 of the 2024 Land Law). This is a new provision of the 2024 Land Law compared to the 2013 Land Law, as it does not need to be attached to housing ownership rights.

According to the aforementioned regulations, Vietnamese people residing abroad who are of Vietnamese origin and allowed to enter Vietnam have the right to buy houses and land in Vietnam, the right to own houses attached to residential land use rights in Vietnam, and the right to use residential land through receiving the transfer of residential land use rights in housing development projects.

It must be acknowledged that these new regulations have fundamentally contributed to resolving disputes related to the land use and housing rights of Vietnamese people residing abroad, which were prevalent during a period when the law had many limitations. At the same time, the policy of expanding housing ownership rights also creates a positive spillover effect, encouraging the flow of investment capital, knowledge, and social resources from the overseas Vietnamese community to return and contribute to domestic socio-economic development.

(ii) Regarding housing ownership rights:

Pursuant to Article 8 of the 2023 Housing Law, the subjects eligible for housing ownership include Vietnamese people residing abroad and people of Vietnamese origin residing abroad as subjects with housing ownership rights in Vietnam, provided they meet the condition of being allowed to enter Vietnam.

Point b, Clause 1 and Point b, Clause 2 of Article 8, and Point b, Clause 2 of Article 161 of the 2023 Housing Law state: "If they are foreign individuals or Vietnamese people residing abroad, they must belong to the subjects eligible to own housing in Vietnam according to the provisions of this Law and are not required to have residence registration at the place where the transacted housing is located."

Parallel to expanding the subjects eligible for housing ownership, the law still sets certain limits to ensure a balance of common interests. Article 19 of the 2023 Housing Law regulates the limits on the number of houses that Vietnamese people residing abroad can own, accordingly:

• Not exceeding 30% of the total number of apartments in an apartment building;
• Not exceeding 250 individual houses in an area with a population size equivalent to a ward-level administrative unit;
• In areas with special national defense and security requirements, the Government may apply stricter population conversion criteria and simultaneously limit or extend the ownership period.

Pursuant to Clauses 2 and 3, Article 3 of Decree 95/2024/ND-CP, people of Vietnamese origin residing abroad must have documents proving they belong to the eligible subjects and meet the conditions to own housing in Vietnam, including:

• Documents proving they belong to the subjects eligible to own housing in Vietnam include: A foreign passport or documents valid for international travel according to immigration laws, and documents confirming they are of Vietnamese origin according to the provisions of nationality laws;
• Documents proving the conditions for housing ownership include: For people of Vietnamese origin residing abroad, they must have a valid passport stamped with entry verification into Vietnam or a document valid for international travel stamped with entry verification into Vietnam at the time of signing the housing transaction.

3. Some notes for Vietnamese people residing abroad when receiving the transfer, donation, or inheritance of land and housing:

To help clients as well as readers better understand the delineation of rights of different groups of Vietnamese residing abroad, DL Pinnacle Law Firm LLC has prepared the following comparative table:

Thus, the 2024 Land Law has expanded land access rights for the group of land users who are Vietnamese residing abroad and still hold Vietnamese nationality (Vietnamese citizens). The recognition and guarantee of housing ownership rights and land access rights for Vietnamese residing abroad is not only a legal adjustment, but also an affirmation of the strong bond between our State and the Vietnamese community worldwide by facilitating the aspiration to return, be attached to, and accompany the long-term development of the homeland "Vietnam".

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