Since joining WTO, Vietnam has been more widely known across the world, and with that more and more foreigners move to into Vietnam. In the past, a foreign home buyer had to go through many procedures.
A problem that Vietnam poses is, how to attract more foreigners and enable them to live and work in Vietnam?
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Government policies are more and more developed to adapt to the current demand of the country.
This includes the 2014 Housing Law, which allows foreigners to own homes in Vietnam.
Foreigners who can buy homes in Vietnam:
- Foreign organizations and individuals who invest in housing construction projects in Vietnam;
- Enterprises with foreign investment funds; affiliates and representative offices of foreign enterprises; foreign investment funds and foreign bank affiliates operating in Vietnam;
- Foreign individuals who have entry to Vietnam;
Conditions for foreign individuals and organizations to possess housing in Vietnam:
- In the case that foreign individuals and organizations invest in housing construction projects in Vietnam, Certificate of Investment and housing constructed in accordance to Housing Law in Vietnam or any other related act are required.
- Enterprises with foreign investment funds; affiliates and representative offices of foreign enterprises; foreign investment funds and foreign bank affiliates operating in Vietnam require Certificate of Investment or any other related documents.
- Foreign individuals who have entry to Vietnam are not of prioritized class or receive diplomatic or consular immunity;
- Forms of ownership in Vietnam for foreign individuals and organizations
- Ownership in housing investment projects in Vietnam in accordance to the law’
- Buying, renting, receiving as a gift, inheriting commercial housings.
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According to the policies, tax collection is the right of a tax bureau, but without a policy in writing in accordance to the law, the tax agency should not cease the transfer procedure in accordance to the existing interest.
This not only harms the legitimate rights and benefits of the taxpayer but also obstructs tax collection for the national budget.
According to our research, even though foreigners could own a home according to the 2014 Housing Law, they are still subject to many restrictions such as:
- Only allowed to own a home in a commercial housing construction project, unless in an area where national security is ensured and the Department of Defense and Ministry of Public Security is responsible for pinpointing the areas where national security is ensured in each region…
- Foreigners are only allowed to buy, rent, receive as a gift, inherit and own no more than 30% of the number of apartments in a building. In the case of separate homes, including mansions and detached houses, in an area with a population equivalent to an administrative division of ward level, foreigners are only allowed to buy, rent, receive as a gift, inherit and own no more than 250 houses…
Due to too many restrictions and contradictions in policies, the main problem here is that the investors circumvent the law by signing 50-year-long contracts with one-time payment with foreign home buyers. As such, in my opinion, the problem is not 2% or 10%; instead we need to focus on solving these 2 problems:
- Handling the remaining documents in accordance to the existing policies
- Handling the enterprises suspicious of circumvention to sign contracts with buyers
