The bill amends and supplements article No 126 of the Housing Law on home ownership for overseas Vietnamese. The draft law, which has been submitted to the Government for approval, will divide overseas Vietnamese into three categories.

Vietnamese citizens living abroad who retain their Vietnamese nationality will be eligible to buy an unlimited number of houses in Vietnam.

Those of Vietnamese origin who have not retained their Vietnamese citizenship will also be allowed to own an unlimited number of houses in Vietnam if they are investors in the country, are married to a Vietnamese citizen living in the country, have made significant contributions to the country or university graduates who are working in Vietnam’s socio-economic sectors.

Those of Vietnamese origin who have been in Vietnam for at least six months or hold a visa-exemption certificate will be permitted to own a single residence in the country.

If the changes are adopted, nearly two million out of three million overseas Vietnamese will be eligible to buy houses in Vietnam, according to the ministry.

“Owning houses in Vietnam will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese citizens living abroad like me to visit the homeland frequently, particularly to do business, thus contributing more to national construction and development,” said Le Phuc Hung, a businessman from Germany.

“The aim is to encourage more overseas Vietnamese to own houses in Vietnam, thus creating more equality in home-ownership rights for Vietnamese citizens both at home and abroad,” said Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Quan.

The current regulation stipulates that overseas Vietnamese can only own property in the country if they are of Vietnamese origin and long-term investors in Vietnam, scientists or cultural experts, have made significant contributions to the country, or are entitled to live in Vietnam for a protracted period of time.

Under the current regulation, overseas Vietnamese who have been staying in Vietnam for at least six months are allowed to own just one house in the country.