Overseas Vietnamese weigh up the merits of the Thu Thiem project at an investment fair in HCMC in 2008

Some legislators at a National Assembly Standing Committee session Thursday opposed an amendment allowing more Vietnamese expatriates to buy homes here, arguing it could hurt low-income earners with a housing price hike.

The categories currently include: individuals with permanent resident status in Vietnam; those doing direct business in Vietnam; those recognized by the president or other agencies as contributing to national development; scientists and cultural experts doing research in Vietnam that contributes to national development; or individuals that have resided in Vietnam for six months or more.

But a draft amendment of an article each in the two laws would broaden the categories to allow any Vietnamese expatriate that has Vietnamese citizenship to buy houses here. It would also grant home ownership privileges to overseas Vietnamese with special skills deemed necessary to meet domestic demands as well as those that currently have a Vietnamese visa exemption or a Vietnamese spouse currently living here.

The draft amendment is expected to take effect in September if approved at a National Assembly session in May.

However, National Assembly Economic Committee Chairman Ha Van Hien said some of the committee members were concerned the change could cause a disproportionate hike in property prices that could hurt low-income earners looking to buy houses.

Standing Committee member Pham Minh Tuyen said at the session Thursday that the law should limit the amount of houses an overseas Vietnamese can buy.

Assembly Deputy Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son said each expatriate should be allowed to buy only one house.

“House ownership also means land-use rights and the move may cause unexpected consequences,” he said.

Vietnam does not technically allow land ownership but grants land-use rights, which confer the same rights as freehold property.

Construction Minister Nguyen Hong Quan said the amended articles could be good.

“It won’t have any remarkable impact on the local property market,” he said, adding that the supply of housing was still high and that not all overseas Vietnamese wanted to buy a house in the country.

Reported by Xuan Toan