TRANSFER OF LAND OWNERSHIP IN VIETNAM
I have a quick question regarding the transfer of land ownership. Currently, I am abroad and unable to return to Vietnam. However, due to my family facing difficulties, I want to transfer the ownership of land in Vietnam to someone else. Can you advise if there is a method to complete the transfer without having to return to the country?
Answer:
Based on the information you provided, you wish to transfer the ownership of land in Vietnam to your family, meaning you have been granted a Land Use Right Certificate (pursuant to Clause 1, Article 167 of the Land Law 2013). Therefore, as the lawful land user, you are entitled to transfer the land use right to another person.
In the case that you are abroad and wish to transfer the land use right in Vietnam, you can appoint a representative through a Power of Attorney (Article 562 of the Civil Code 2015) to someone in Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as the "Authorized Representative"). Your appointed representative will act on your behalf to carry out the procedures for transferring the land use right.
To execute the legal procedures related to real estate transactions, the Power of Attorney must be notarized to be valid. However, since you are abroad and cannot be present with the Authorized Representative to sign the Power of Attorney at a notary public office, you can proceed as follows:
Step 1: You can draft the Power of Attorney and have it notarized at the diplomatic or consular mission of Vietnam in the country where you reside (pursuant to Clause 1, Article 78 of the Notarization Law 2014).
Step 2: Upon receiving the notarized Power of Attorney from you, the Authorized Representative will request a notary public office (conveniently located) to further notarize this original Power of Attorney, completing the notarization procedure.
After the Authorized Representative completes the notarization procedure of the Power of Attorney at the notary public office, they can represent you to sign the land transfer contract and carry out other relevant administrative procedures.
In practice, the Authorized Representative will usually proactively contact the notary public office for guidance, advice, and drafting of the Power of Attorney template to execute the aforementioned tasks. Afterwards, they will send the Power of Attorney document to you abroad to complete Step 1. Once Step 1 is completed, you can send the Power of Attorney to the Authorized Representative to proceed with Step 2, at the notary public office that provided assistance in drafting the Power of Attorney. Subsequently, if necessary, the Authorized Representative can continue to communicate with the notary public office to be guided on preparing documents for signing the land transfer contract.
