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Many overseas Vietnamese want to buy houses in their homeland
The policy on allowing overseas Vietnamese (Viet Kieu) to own houses in Vietnam is about to become more open, good news for many who look forward to spending their retirement here.
Leaves always fall back to the soil that nurtured them
“I guess that half of us Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) want to have houses of their own in our home country,” Hoang Anh Tuan sighed to a VietnamNet reporter.
Tuan’s guess is not unreasonable. He lived in Poland for 20 years, and has many Viet Kieu friends and acquaintances.
There is a saying in Vietnamese to the effect that the falling leaves always go back where they came from, meaning that Vietnamese people always want to return ‘home’ when they grow old. Tuan believes that more and more Viet Kieu will return to settle in Vietnam if a proposed amendment to Article No 126 of the Housing Law is ratified by the National Assembly
“Most Viet Kieu like us dream of returning to the homeland when we get older. Those who have been successful with their business think of making investment in the homeland,” he said. “Even those who believe that they will spend all their lives in foreign countries still want to have houses of their own in Vietnam, where they stay when they visit the homeland.”
Tuan returned to Vietnam to set up a business in 2003. He is now the Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Vietnam Minerals Resources, Power and Environment Corporation (VMPEC), headquartered in Hanoi.
Luong Anh Dung, after 30 years in Germany, plans to return to Vietnam permanently with his family in three or four years. “In our youth, we are busy doing business and earning money, but we all think of returning home in our old age,” he said.
In 1994, Dung started a business in Vietnam and purchased a house, but the house was owned in uncle’s name. Two years ago, when the policy on allowing Viet Kieu to purchase house in Vietnam became more open, he successfully purchased an apartment in the upscale Ciputra development north of central Hanoi. Dung met hardly any difficulties with the purchase since he still has Vietnamese citizenship.
Dung now spends eight or nine months each year in Vietnam. Therefore he needs a house which can serve him well in his daily life and work.
Policy is more open, but still relatively tight
A hot topic in the current National Assembly session is a debate over the amendment of Article 126 of the Housing Law. If the amendment proposed by the Government is ratified, certain groups of Viet Kieu will automatically qualify to purchase houses.
These are people who have retained Vietnamese citizenship, overseas Vietnamese who directly invest in Vietnam, people who have served the country, scientists, artists and other highly skilled people, and people whose spouses are Vietnamese citizens resident in Vietnam. A second group of ‘eligibles’ includes all overseas Vietnamese who are granted visa exemption allowing them to live in Vietnam at least three months. People in this group cannot mortgage the houses they purchase.
“The policy on Viet Kieu housing has become more open, but it remains tight,” said Do Quan, a senior executive of the Viet Kieu Chau Au Village (European Viet Kieu) project in Ha Dong, Hanoi
Quan said that in Poland, a lawful certificate on temporary residence all people need to purchase apartments. Regarding the visa exemption paper, Quan said, not everyone can get the paper.
In fact, not every Viet Kieu can so lucky like Tuan and Dung.
Do Khai, also a Viet Kieu investor who has returned from Poland, complained that he still cannot buy a house. In the last five years, every time he visits Vietnam, he has to live at relatives’ home. “In Poland, I can easily purchase three or four houses, but I cannot buy a house in Vietnam. It is because the current policy sets too many requirements for buyers to follow,” Khai said
To date, Viet Kieu have registered to purchase 40 percent of the 552 villas of a project in Ha Dong province near Hanoi (the Lang Viet Kieu Chau Au project). At a cooperative apartment development called ‘EuroLand,’ Viet Kieu have registered to buy 150 out of 500 units. Most of the buyers come from Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Russia and the Czech Republic. Many of them purchase houses to stay at when they visit Vietnam, while others purchase houses with permanent resettlement in mind.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 100,000 overseas Vietnamese have been granted visa exemptions so far.
After two years of implementing the Housing Law, barely 140 cases Viet Kieu have been granted the certificates of house ownership, a low figure compared to apparent demand.
A lot of Viet Kieu want to own houses in Vietnam, but they do not belong to the groups automatically eligible to buy houses in Vietnam.
Pham Huyen
vietnamnet
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