Can Foreigners Buy Property in Vietnam? The 2026 Rules, Step by Step
Yes. A foreign individual who is permitted to enter Vietnam (and is not entitled to diplomatic or consular immunity) can buy an apartment or house in a commercial housing project from the developer or from another foreign owner, but not from a Vietnamese owner (Housing Law 2023, Articles 17.2 and 18.3; the law's only exception is a foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen, Article 20.2.c). The purchase must fall within the 30% foreign quota per apartment building (Article 19.1), and the buyer holds the home for up to 50 years from the date the Pink Book is issued (Article 20.2.c). That term can be extended once, for up to 50 more years counted from the first expiry date on the Pink Book. Apply to the People's Committee of the province where the home is located at least 3 months before expiry; it decides within 30 days of receiving a valid file and must give written reasons if it refuses. You then have 15 days from receiving the approval to file it, so that the new term is entered on the Pink Book (Decree 95/2024/ND-CP, Article 6). The full timeline is in the 50-year renewal clock guide.
- Who you can buy from: the developer of a commercial housing project (by purchase or lease-purchase), or a foreign organisation or individual that already owns the home through that route. The only other routes are gift and inheritance of commercial housing in a project. A purchase from the developer is signed as an official Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA); a purchase from a foreign owner, as a sale contract with that owner. Article 8.2.c restates that foreigners own housing only through the forms in Article 17.2, so there is no route to buy from a Vietnamese owner. The law states one exception: a foreign individual married to a Vietnamese citizen who lives in Vietnam owns housing with the rights of a Vietnamese citizen; one married to an overseas Vietnamese permitted to enter Vietnam has the rights of an overseas Vietnamese. (Housing Law 2023 (27/2023/QH15), Art. 17(2)(b)-(c), Art. 8(2)(c), Art. 20(2)(c) paragraphs 2-3 — Official Gazette 37+38, 08-01-2024, pp. 10-20)
- Quota: foreign organisations and individuals together may buy, lease-purchase, receive by gift or inheritance, and own no more than 30% of the apartments in one apartment building, and no more than 250 landed houses (villas, townhouses) in an area with the population of one ward. The decree sets that population at 10,000 people and counts the 30% against the building's apartments for residential use (block by block where several blocks share one podium). Any transaction beyond the quota is legally void: no Pink Book is issued and the seller must compensate the buyer. (Housing Law 2023 (27/2023/QH15), Art. 19(1); Decree 95/2024/ND-CP, Art. 5(1), Art. 5(2)(a) and Art. 7(3))
- Term: a foreign individual owns the home for the period agreed in the contract, but for no more than 50 years from the date the certificate (Pink Book) is issued, and the term must be written on the certificate. A foreign organisation's term cannot exceed the term on its investment certificate, including any extension. (Housing Law 2023 (27/2023/QH15), Art. 20(2)(c) and Art. 20(2)(d))
- Renewal under the law itself: if the owner requests it, the term can be extended once only, by no more than 50 years; the Government sets the procedure. (Housing Law 2023 (27/2023/QH15), Art. 20(2)(c) and Art. 19(3))
- Renewal procedure: at least 3 months before expiry, file one set of documents with the People's Committee of the province where the home is located, in person, by post or online: the application on Form 01 in Appendix I of the decree; a certified copy of the Pink Book (or a plain copy presented with the original for comparison); and a copy of a valid passport bearing a Vietnam entry stamp, or an equivalent entry document, as at the time of the request. Within 30 days of receiving a valid file, the committee checks it and, if you still qualify as an eligible owner and meet the conditions of the Housing Law, issues a written approval of a one-time extension for the period you request, up to a maximum of 50 years counted from the first expiry date on the certificate (for a foreign organisation, no longer than the term on its extended investment registration certificate). If the conditions are not met, it must reply in writing stating the reasons. (Decree 95/2024/ND-CP (issued 24-07-2024, in force 01-08-2024), Art. 6(1) and Art. 6(2)(a)-(b) — read from the Government portal scan, pp. 7-8)
- After approval: the committee sends its approval both to you and to the office that issues the Pink Book. Within 15 days of receiving it, you must file it together with the application to register the change of ownership term on the Pink Book under the land law. No extension is granted if, when the first term ends, you have been ordered to leave Vietnam or have been deported (or, for a foreign organisation, it has been forced to cease operations); the home is then dealt with under Article 20.2.dd or Article 21.2.d of the Housing Law. (Decree 95/2024/ND-CP, Art. 6(2)(b) second paragraph, Art. 6(2)(c) and Art. 6(3))
- Leasing and exit before expiry: while you own the home you may lease it out, and you may sell or gift it, directly or through an authorised person, to anyone eligible to own housing in Vietnam. A buyer or donee who is a Vietnamese organisation or individual, or an overseas Vietnamese, holds it with the full owner's rights of Article 10.1, which carry no ownership term — what the market calls permanent ownership, although the law itself does not use that word. If the term lapses and the home has been neither sold nor gifted, it becomes public property. (Housing Law 2023 (27/2023/QH15), Art. 20(2)(dd), Art. 8(1)(a)-(b) and Art. 10(1))
- Not law yet: a Ministry of Construction draft amendment to the Housing Law, reported in September 2026, would remove the right of foreign organisations and individuals to own landed houses (the 250-house rule) and keep apartments only — still within 30% per building, and still for 50 years with one extension of up to 50 years. It is expected to go to the National Assembly at its year-end 2026 session. Until it passes, the rules above apply; Article 6 of Decree 95/2024 was not changed by the 2025 decentralisation decrees 140/2025 and 144/2025. (Tuoi Tre 16-09-2026 and 21-09-2026; Bao Phap luat (doanhnhan.baophapluat.vn) 18-09-2026; Decrees 140/2025/ND-CP and 144/2025/ND-CP of 12-06-2025, checked 30-09-2026)
The direct answer: yes, and you do not need to live here
A foreign individual who has entered Vietnam legally — a valid passport with an entry stamp is the whole test — may buy an apartment in a commercial housing project that is open to foreign buyers. There is no residency requirement, no work-permit requirement and no need to set up a Vietnamese company. The legal basis is the Housing Law 2023, Law No. 27/2023/QH15, which took effect on 1 August 2024 and replaced the 2014 law. A large share of what is published online in English still describes the 2014 regime; the conditions and numbers below are the current ones. Foreign-invested organisations operating in Vietnam may also own homes for their staff, but this guide is written for the individual buyer.
What you can own — and the one thing you cannot
Vietnam does not have private land ownership for anyone. Under the Land Law 2024 (Law 31/2024/QH15) land belongs to the people and is managed by the state; Vietnamese citizens hold land-use rights, and foreigners do not hold even those. What a foreigner owns is the home itself. In practice that means apartments in eligible commercial projects, and landed houses (villas, townhouses) inside such projects up to a ward-level cap — but never a bare plot, and never a home in an area the state has designated as sensitive for national defence or security. Before you fall for a villa listing, read how the landed-house rules differ from the apartment rules.
The quota that decides whether you can buy a specific unit
Article 19 of the Housing Law 2023 sets two ceilings: foreign buyers may collectively own no more than 30% of the apartments in any single building, and no more than 250 landed houses in any single ward-level administrative unit. The quota is tracked per building, not per project — so a tower that is 28% foreign-owned has almost nothing left even if the project as a whole has plenty. Ask the developer for written confirmation of the remaining foreign quota in the specific building before you pay a reservation fee. If they cannot or will not put it in writing, that is your answer. Our developer due-diligence checklist covers what else to ask at the same time.
Foreigner vs Vietnamese buyer: the differences that matter
Know exactly where you stand relative to a local buyer before you sign anything:
- Eligibility: a foreigner needs a passport with a legal entry stamp; a citizen needs nothing beyond ID.
- What you can buy: a foreigner buys apartments (and landed houses within the 250-per-ward cap) in eligible commercial projects; a citizen can buy anywhere.
- Land: a foreigner holds no land-use right at all; a citizen holds land-use rights.
- Quota: a foreigner is subject to the 30%-per-building cap (Article 19); a citizen is not.
- Term: a foreigner holds 50 years, renewable once (Article 20); a citizen holds permanently.
- Resale: a foreigner may resell freely — and a sale to a Vietnamese citizen converts the title to permanent ownership; a sale to another foreigner passes on the remaining years.
- Financing: a foreigner cannot in practice borrow from a Vietnamese bank; a citizen can.
The 50-year term, and what actually happens after it
Article 20 of the Housing Law 2023 gives a foreign owner a term of 50 years from the date of the ownership certificate, with the right to apply for one renewal. Two points are widely misunderstood. First, the clock is not a cliff: a sale to a Vietnamese citizen converts the home to permanent ownership immediately, which is why your eventual buyer is not put off by the term and why it protects your resale value. Second, a sale to another foreigner transfers only the remaining years, so a unit bought second-hand from a foreigner should be priced accordingly. The full mechanics — renewal, expiry, inheritance — are in the 50-year clock guide and the exit-strategy guide.
Money: pay through a bank, and keep every piece of paper
Pay the developer by bank transfer through a licensed Vietnamese bank, and keep each remittance advice together with the SPA. This is not bureaucratic caution — it is the record that lets you legally repatriate the proceeds when you sell. Cash payments and informal money changers leave no trail and can trap your capital in the country. The mechanics of bringing money in are in moving purchase funds into Vietnam legally; the mechanics of getting it out are in repatriating sale proceeds.
Financing: assume cash
Foreign individuals cannot in practice obtain a mortgage from a Vietnamese bank; the workable exceptions are narrow and explained honestly in can a foreigner get a mortgage in Vietnam. Most foreign buyers arrange funds at home and remit them in tranches that match the developer's construction-linked payment schedule — which is, in effect, the only widely available form of "financing". Check that schedule against the promised handover date before you sign, and read what protects your deposit on an off-plan purchase.
The five steps, from reservation to certificate
The process differs from a local purchase mainly in the quota check and the cross-border money trail:
- Choose the project, then get the developer's written confirmation that the specific building still has foreign quota available.
- Check the developer's documents: construction permit, the notice that the project is eligible for sale to foreigners, and — for a new-build — the bank guarantee (bao lanh) covering buyer payments.
- Sign the Sale & Purchase Agreement directly with the developer and read the payment schedule line by line against the handover date.
- Pay each instalment by bank transfer through a licensed Vietnamese bank and keep every remittance record with the SPA.
- After handover, apply for the ownership certificate — the pink book (so hong). Your 50-year term under Article 20 runs from its date. If the certificate stalls, see what to do when handover comes without a pink book.
Does buying property give me a visa or residency?
No. Owning a home in Vietnam grants no visa, no residence permit and no path to citizenship; you enter and stay under the normal visa rules. The persistent myth that property buys residency is dismantled in does buying property get me a visa or residency in Vietnam.
Sources
This guide is based on the Housing Law 2023, Law No. 27/2023/QH15 (effective 1 August 2024) — Article 19 on which foreign individuals and organisations may own housing and the 30%-per-building / 250-per-ward limits, and Article 20 on the 50-year term, its single renewal and the conversion to permanent ownership on sale to a Vietnamese citizen; the Land Law 2024, Law No. 31/2024/QH15, on the land-use-right regime; and Decree 95/2024/ND-CP, the implementing decree. Quota availability, payment schedules and handover dates are project-specific and should be confirmed in writing with the developer.
Frequently asked
Can foreigners buy property in Vietnam?
Yes. Under Article 19 of the Housing Law 2023 (Law 27/2023/QH15), any foreign individual who has entered Vietnam legally may buy an apartment in an eligible commercial project, without residency or a work permit, up to 30% of the units in any one building.
Can foreigners own land in Vietnam?
No. Under the Land Law 2024 land is managed by the state and nobody owns it outright; Vietnamese citizens hold land-use rights and foreigners do not. A foreigner owns the home itself on a 50-year renewable term (Article 20, Housing Law 2023).
How long can a foreigner own an apartment in Vietnam?
50 years from the certificate date, renewable once, under Article 20 of the Housing Law 2023. Selling to a Vietnamese citizen converts the title to permanent ownership; selling to another foreigner passes on the remaining years.
Do I need to live in Vietnam to buy?
No. A valid passport with a legal entry stamp is sufficient; there is no residency, work-permit or company requirement for an individual buyer.
Can a foreigner get a mortgage in Vietnam?
In practice, no — Vietnamese banks do not lend to foreign individuals for home purchase except in narrow cases. Plan on cash, remitted through a licensed bank on the developer's payment schedule.
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