2024 Land Law: How do Overseas Vietnamese Inherit Land Use Rights?

2024 Land Law: How do Overseas Vietnamese Inherit Land Use Rights?

1. How do Overseas Vietnamese Inherit House Ownership and Land Use Rights?

According to Article 44 of the 2024 Land Law, overseas Vietnamese who are allowed to enter Vietnam can own houses and related land use rights. They can own houses and land in real estate development projects.

Overseas Vietnamese have the following rights and obligations regarding house and land use ownership:

• General rights and obligations stipulated in Articles 26 and 31 of the 2024 Land Law.
• Transfer land use rights (sell, gift, inherit, exchange houses) to individuals or organizations eligible to own houses in Vietnam; donate houses and land to the state, community, or for charitable purposes.
• If the inheritance recipient is not eligible to own houses in Vietnam, they can only receive the value of the house and land use rights, not the land use right certificate and related property ownership certificate.
• Transfer, lease, gift, inherit, or contribute capital with land use rights according to legal provisions.
• Mortgage houses and land at authorized financial institutions in Vietnam.

The 2024 Land Law simplifies the conditions for overseas Vietnamese to own houses, requiring only entry permission into Vietnam to own houses and related land use rights.

2. How do Foreigners and Ineligible Overseas Vietnamese Inherit Houses and Land Use Rights?

For foreigners and overseas Vietnamese who are not eligible to own houses, the 2024 Land Law specifies two scenarios:

Scenario 1: All heirs are foreigners or ineligible overseas Vietnamese.

In this case, the heirs cannot obtain land use right and property ownership certificates but can transfer or donate inherited land use rights according to the following regulations:

• When transferring land use rights, the heir is the transferor in the contract.
• When donating land use rights, the recipient must be eligible according to Article 37, Clause 1, Point e of the 2024 Land Law and housing laws.
• If the land use rights are not transferred or donated, the heir or authorized representative must submit inheritance documents to the land registration agency to update the cadastral records.

Scenario 2: There are ineligible overseas Vietnamese heirs and the inheritance has not been divided.

In this case, the heirs or authorized representative must submit inheritance documents to the land registration agency to update the cadastral records. After the inheritance is divided, eligible heirs will receive land use right and property ownership certificates. The inheritance portion of ineligible heirs will be handled as in Scenario 1.

Additionally, foreigners and ineligible overseas Vietnamese can authorize others in writing to manage or temporarily use the land according to legal regulations.

Overall, the 2024 Land Law has improved inheritance and house ownership conditions in Vietnam for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese, making it more convenient than the 2013 Land Law.