Can foreigners buy property in Vietnam in 2026?

An eligible foreign individual is someone allowed to enter Vietnam who does not have diplomatic or consular immunity. The buyer proves this with a valid foreign passport carrying the required Vietnam entry evidence under Decree 95/2024.

The home must be an apartment or standalone house in a commercial housing project that is open to foreign ownership and outside areas requiring national defence or security protection. A foreign buyer cannot treat any street house, agricultural plot, or private land parcel as eligible merely because a seller offers it.

Check the provincial People's Committee or construction authority's current published project list, then obtain written confirmation of the remaining project or building quota. Ho Chi Minh City's 2026 publications include post-merger addresses, sometimes showing an old address and its new ward. Familiar labels such as District 2 or Thảo Điền may describe the market area, but Vietnam no longer has district-level local government after the 2025 reform.

Foreign organisations and individuals together may own no more than 30% of the residential apartments in one condominium building. If blocks share a basement, Decree 95 applies the percentage to each block. For standalone villas or row houses, the ceiling is 250 foreign-owned homes across projects in an area planned for 10,000 people, the law's ward-equivalent measure.

That 10,000-person test applies regardless of the current administrative unit's level. The 2025 reorganisation therefore did not turn an old district name into the quota boundary. Use the provincial planning authority's current ward-equivalent area and published project information.

A foreign individual's ownership term is agreed but cannot exceed 50 years from issue of the certificate. One extension of up to 50 years may be requested under the statutory process. A foreign individual married to a Vietnamese citizen and living in Vietnam may own and exercise homeowner rights like a Vietnamese citizen.

Use an independent Vietnamese property lawyer. Verify the developer or seller, project approvals, eligibility for foreign ownership, remaining quota, price and payment schedule, construction and handover status, existing mortgages, management charges, defects, and transfer restrictions. For an off-plan home, confirm the developer's legal right to sell and the statutory payment protections under the current Real Estate Business Law.

The sổ hồng, or "pink book", is the common name for the certificate recording land-use and home ownership rights. Confirm what the certificate will record, the ownership expiry date, and the shared land-use basis before signing. Budget at a high level for registration, certificate, notary or legal work where relevant, building funds and fees, and taxes allocated by the contract. Obtain transaction-specific tax advice rather than assuming the seller's estimate is complete.

An owner can sell, gift, or leave a qualifying home within the Housing Law framework. If an inheritance or gift is ineligible, over quota, or in a restricted area, the foreign recipient may be entitled only to its value. Sale timing must also respect the certificate term and buyer eligibility.