Can Russians buy property in Vietnam? Yes, the dwelling. On a term, inside a quota.

Can Russians buy property in Vietnam?

Yes, within limits that apply to every foreign national. A foreign individual can own a dwelling, an apartment or a landed house, inside an approved commercial housing project. Land use rights are not available to foreigners. The model is set by the Housing Law 2023 and the Land Law 2024.

Start with the sentence that ends most Vietnam confusion. In Vietnam all land is administered by the State. There is no private freehold of land for anyone, foreign or Vietnamese. Vietnamese nationals hold land use rights, a foreign owner holds the dwelling, for a term.

That is a published feature of the system and it applies identically to a buyer from Russia, Australia or Singapore. The passport is not the variable here.

The full position: Vietnam foreign ownership, explained.

What are the quota and the term in Vietnam?

No more than 30 percent of the units in any single apartment building may be foreign held, and no more than 250 landed houses within a ward equivalent area. The dwelling term for a foreign owner is 50 years, renewable once. Both are hard ceilings in the Housing Law 2023 and neither depends on nationality.

The quota fills first come, by registration. A building already at 30 percent foreign ownership is closed to further foreign registration for as long as those owners hold. You can still be sold a unit in it, the contract is real and the money is real, but the certificate cannot issue in your name.

That is the one question a buyer abroad is least able to check from a brochure. Get the building's current foreign ownership count from the developer in writing, dated, and confirm the project appears on the province's current eligible project list, before any deposit moves.

The certificate itself: the red book and the pink book, explained.

Which projects can a foreign buyer actually buy in?

Approved commercial housing projects only, and not in national defence or security restricted zones. The relevant province publishes the eligible project list, and that list is the gate. It sits before the quota and before the price.

What is outside the fence, for every foreign buyer: a standalone land plot, a house bought from a private Vietnamese seller outside a commercial project, a unit in a project that has already reached its foreign quota, and anything in a defence or security designated area however the listing describes it.

A sentence in a sales brochure is not a check. The provincial listing plus a written, dated quota position is. Ask for both, keep the copy, and treat the price as the last question rather than the first.

How much Russian buying is there in Vietnam?

Not much that anyone can evidence. Vietnam publishes no nationality level property buyer data. The large Russian number in Vietnam is a tourism number: 689,714 Russian arrivals in 2025, up 196.9 percent, the sixth largest source market, with Khanh Hoa alone recording about 279,000 between January and August 2025.

Tourist volume is not buyer volume, and the one published signal on purchase intent points the other way. Tranio reported Russian purchase inquiries for Vietnam down 39 percent between January and August 2026, after a sharp rise in 2025. That is brokerage inquiry data rather than an official series, so treat it as directional, but it is the only measure available and it is not pointing up.

The honest summary for a buyer: Vietnam is a market you can buy in on clear published rules, and a market where the claim that Russian buyers are piling in has no official dataset behind it. If you want a destination where the nationality mix is actually published and auditable, that is Thailand.

The published comparison: Thai condo buyers by nationality.

What is the entry position, and does buying give residence?

Buying gives no residence in Vietnam. Entry is separate: Russian citizens have a 45 day visa exemption under Resolution 44/NQ-CP, valid from 15 March 2025 to 14 March 2028, and a 90 day e-visa is available. Ownership of a dwelling does not extend or replace either.

The dated window on the exemption is the part to note. It runs to 14 March 2028 on its current terms, which is inside the 50 year life of the asset you would be buying, so a stay plan built on it is a plan with an expiry date in it.

Plan the two separately. A purchase that only works if a particular visa route stays open is not a property decision, it is a bet on an immigration schedule.

What does a foreign owner pay in Vietnam?

What a Vietnamese owner pays: roughly 3 percent at purchase, a minor land use tax while holding, a flat 10 percent of gross rent above the annual threshold, and 2 percent of the full sale price on exit. None of it changes with nationality.

Two of those lines decide the underwriting. Rent is taxed on gross, with no deductions, so operating costs come out of what is left rather than out of the tax base. And the exit is charged on price rather than on gain, so a flat or falling sale still carries the 2 percent.

Money for a purchase should arrive through a Vietnamese bank in a documented way, and the exit proceeds are repatriated on the same paper trail. Banks and payment providers run their own checks, so confirm your own position with your own bank and a qualified professional before committing.

The full stack: Vietnam property tax for foreigners. The money leg: transfer money to Vietnam for a property.

Header photo: Unknown, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.