They will also need to have a valid passport and there is a list of other documents depending on the position of the investor. For example, professionals working in the country should have a work permit and those with special skills have training or education certificates.
Those making direct investments in Vietnam should have an investment license with their name that is valid for one year or more, or documentation showing they are members of the board of directors of the company operating in the country.
Those granted diplomatic immunity are excluded from the decree and foreigners married to a Vietnamese citizen should have the marriage certificate and passport/identity papers of the spouse in Vietnam.
The decree covering foreign real estate purchase also states that foreign enterprises working in Vietnam with an investment certificate valid for at least one year will also come under the new rules.
Eligible individuals and organizations have to submit applications to the provincial Department of Construction which will be forwarded to the People's Committee for approval.
The maximum processing period for each application is 30 days, according to the decree, which also stipulates that a foreigner can only buy one house in Vietnam.
Meanwhile officials are also drawing up changes on planning for golf courses projects. There is concern about an explosion in applications. Some 144 golf course projects have been licensed and it is estimated that 76 are currently under construction.
'Project licensing on the local level is spontaneous and neither transparent nor subject to critique from scientists and the public,' said Dr Nguyen Hong Thuc from the Institute of Resettlement Studies.
