VietNamNet Bridge – The Government is expected to issue a decree guiding the implementation of the 2014 Housing Law soon to make it easy for foreigners, particularly overseas Vietnamese, to own houses in Vietnam, heard a conference in HCMC last week.

Prospective home buyers inspect an apartment project in HCMC. The Government is expected to issue a decree guiding the implementation of the 2014 Housing Law soon to make it easy for foreigners, particularly overseas Vietnamese, to own houses in Vietnam

Ta Nguyen Ngoc, deputy head of the general research department under the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, said the revised Housing Law has created more favorable conditions for overseas Vietnamese to own homes and obtain the land-use right certificates as Vietnamese citizens do.

If overseas Vietnamese still hold their Vietnamese citizenship, they will only have to show evidence together with their passports. In case they have lost their citizenship, they will have to prove their Vietnamese origin and show their passports with valid entry stamps.

Ngoc said procedures for proving the Vietnamese origin of overseas Vietnamese are made clear in Circular 05/2013 jointly issued by the ministries of justice, foreign affairs and public security.

The circular states overseas Vietnamese can apply for certification of Vietnamese origin at Vietnamese authorities in the places where they reside or at the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs and justice departments in Vietnam.

“In five working days, the authorities have to issue certificates to recognize the Vietnamese origin of applicants with clear evidence,” Ngoc said.

According to Ngoc, the local property market is not much influenced by the demand of overseas Vietnamese for buying houses in Vietnam as those who can afford to purchase houses in Vietnam have already made purchases and are now seeking to legalize the ownership of their properties.

Nguyen Manh Khoi, deputy head of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department under the Ministry of Construction, said the Government is expected to issue the decree guiding the implementation of the 2014 Housing Law soon. The draft decree was submitted to the Government in May but the drafting committee needed more time to make amendments based on comments it got.

Regarding the areas where foreigners are not allowed to buy houses, Khoi said the decree will clarify a list of those areas on the portals of local construction departments.

Around nine foreigners have got house ownership certificates in Vietnam since the Housing Law 2014 took effect on July 1 this year, Khoi said.