Local construction departments are requested to send the list of foreigners who want to buy apartments to the ministry to help with the management of apartment ownership by the targeted individuals.

The move also aims to prevent the speculation in the real estate market, said the ministry.

On May 22, the National Assembly adopted a resolution giving foreign individuals and organisations in Vietnam the right to buy and own apartments in the country. The resolution will be implemented on a trial basis for five years, beginning January 1, 2009.

According to the resolution, foreign individuals and organisations investing directly in the country and those hired to be executives by Vietnamese or foreign-invested enterprises will be entitled to purchase and own apartments in Vietnam.

Also benefiting are foreigners who have made special contributions to Vietnam recognised by the State President and the prime minister, those are college graduates with special expertise working in socio-economic fields, and foreigners who have married to Vietnamese citisens.

Foreign apartment hunters are also required to have an authorised permit for residency in Vietnam for more than one-year and not the recipients of diplomatic treatment.

Those meeting the criteria are allowed to buy and own apartments in commercially-purposed housing development projects carried out in areas where foreigners are not banned to live or move around.

They are allowed to own apartments for a maximum 50 years from the certified date of ownership and are obliged to sell or donate their apartments within one-year from when their ownership certificates expire.

The resolution also gives foreign-invested businesses the right to buy and own apartments. However, they must not operate in real estate development and they must have demands for employee accommodation.

Foreign-invested businesses are required to have investment licences granted by Vietnamese authorised agencies and are allowed to own apartments for a time equivalent to their investment duration written in their investment licenses.

The Construction Ministry's Housing Management Department reported that about 80,000 foreigners are living and working in Vietnam, of which 21,000 pass the criteria for owning property in the country.

It said foreigners have leased around 220,000 square metres of housing space in Hanoi and close to 660,000 square metres in HCM City. They rent mostly villas, attached houses and apartments for the period ranging from three to five years.

The Construction Ministry estimates that around 10,000 foreigners will buy apartments with a total area of 1.5 million sq. m after the resolution takes effect.

Vietnam News Agency - October 15, 2008