Starting from early 2009, the Vietnamese government will allow foreign citizens to buy apartments in the country. As reported by Lenta.ru citing AFP, this project is designed for five years.
It is assumed that permission from the authorities will be granted to those foreigners who are spouses of Vietnamese citizens, possess any knowledge or skills that the country needs, as well as those whose contribution to Vietnam's development has been confirmed by the president or prime minister. The maximum period for which foreigners will receive housing ownership will be 50 years.
According to the Ministry of Construction of Vietnam, currently about 21,000 foreign citizens out of 80,000 working and living in Vietnam will be able to meet the authorities' criteria and become owners of local apartments. It is expected that approximately 10,000 foreign citizens will exercise this right and purchase housing with a total area of about 1.5 million square meters.