Sending Vietnam Property Sale Proceeds Abroad: Law and Bank Documents

This article is part of Zagdim’s Vietnam property wiki series. It sets out the legal basis, the bank documents typically requested, and the situations that commonly cause problems when a foreign owner sends the proceeds of a Vietnam property sale back to their home country. It is written for readers who have already sold, or are preparing to sell, a condominium in Vietnam. The full sale process is covered in the companion guide on selling property in Vietnam as a foreigner.

Why Is This Step the Easiest to Get Stuck On?

The law sets out the principle, but which documents are actually required is left to each bank. A foreigner may convert lawful Vietnamese dong income into foreign currency and remit it, but the State Bank of Vietnam has not published a document checklist specific to sale proceeds; each bank reviews each transfer on its own terms. What the bank cares about most is being able to trace where the money came from, and that trail is usually set, for better or worse, back when the property was originally bought.

The Short Answer: Can the Proceeds Be Sent Out?

Yes. Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 70/2014/NĐ-CP), Article 7, Clause 3, allows non-residents and foreigners residing in Vietnam who hold lawful Vietnamese dong income to buy foreign currency and remit or carry it out of Vietnam. Sale proceeds count as lawful Vietnamese dong income, so this clause applies.

Two conditions sit behind that answer. First, the bank reviews the documents you present against the actual, reasonable need for each transfer; how much can be sent and which documents are required are decided by the bank handling the transaction. Second, the funds used to buy the property originally need to have entered Vietnam through a traceable bank channel, and any tax due on the sale needs to have already been paid.

What Is the Legal Basis?

• Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP: Took effect on September 5, 2014, as the implementing decree for the Ordinance on Foreign Exchange (Pháp lệnh Ngoại hối). Article 7, Clause 3 is the basis for remittance by foreigners; Article 7, Clause 4 sets out the bank’s responsibility to review the documents. Clause 2 separately lists the purposes for which Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam may remit money abroad, which is a different provision from the one foreigners use. As far as we could establish, this decree remains in effect; we did not check this against the National Legal Database on this occasion, so this is unconfirmed.
• The State Bank of Vietnam’s 2015 official dispatch: Official Dispatch No. 9505/NHNN-QLNH, issued by the State Bank of Vietnam (Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam), states that a foreigner buying or selling housing in Vietnam must pay and receive only in Vietnamese dong, through a bank; the foreigner may open a Vietnamese dong account to receive the sale proceeds, then buy foreign currency from the bank to remit it; and the bank must review, verify and retain the related documents. This dispatch was issued to implement an earlier decree that has since been repealed by Decree 95/2024/NĐ-CP. Whether the State Bank of Vietnam still enforces it this way is not stated in the current law and is unconfirmed; in practice, Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP, Article 7, Clause 3 is treated as the primary basis.
• Which track applies: A Vietnamese citizen residing in Vietnam who remits money abroad follows Circular No. 20/2022 of the State Bank of Vietnam. A non-resident foreign seller living outside Vietnam comes under Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP, Article 7, Clause 3. Whether a foreigner residing in Vietnam should instead follow Circular No. 20/2022 is unconfirmed.

What Documents Will the Bank Want?

The State Bank of Vietnam has not published a current document checklist for sale proceeds; the written checklist of the bank handling the transaction governs. In general, banks want to see a record that lines up, transfer by transfer, from the money coming in to the money going out:

1. The notarized sale and purchase contract for the resale, showing the sale price.
2. Proof of tax paid, the receipt for personal income tax paid on the sale.
3. The original purchase contract and payment receipts, the contract signed with the developer or the previous owner at the time of purchase, and the receipt for each installment paid.
4. Proof that the purchase funds entered Vietnam that year, the international remittance advice, the currency exchange slip, and the bank statement for each installment of the purchase price.
5. Identity documents, your passport.
6. Accounts, the Vietnamese dong account in your own name that received the buyer’s payment, and the overseas receiving account in your own name.

We suggest asking the bank you plan to use for its written document checklist before you engage someone to handle the sale.

What Situations Make the Transfer Get Stuck?

The following points are practice observations rather than statutory text, but they all point to the same thing: a break in the money trail.

• Using informal currency exchange at the time of purchase. Unofficial currency exchange is illegal and can freeze a transaction, which affects the ability to remit funds out later.
• Paying in cash, or through a friend or a third party. If the money did not move through your own account, the record is broken.
• An account that has received cash from an unclear source. The account can be regarded as “tainted,” making it hard to show that only qualifying funds are being sent out; many banks also limit cash deposits by foreigners, and international transfers often have to be handled in person at a branch.
• Under-reporting the contract price. The tax authority recalculates tax using the official price schedule as a floor, and the bank reviews based on the documents; funds that do not show up on the contract are hard to explain as coming from a lawful source.

Not in Vietnam Anymore: What Happens With the Account and the Transfer?

For an owner who has already left Vietnam and no longer holds a Vietnamese bank account, whether opening an account requires being there in person is not stated in the current law and is unconfirmed. Whether a bank accepts a transfer handled by an appointed representative, and whether it requires the account to be in the owner’s own name or requires the owner to appear in person, is also not stated and is unconfirmed.

This depends on whether you still hold a Vietnamese account and on whether you plan to handle matters in person or through a representative. Power-of-attorney requirements for this situation are covered in a separate guide on selling Vietnam property from abroad.

What Should You Check Next?

Start by gathering the remittance records from the time of purchase and matching them, installment by installment, against the purchase payment receipts, to see whether anything is missing. Then ask the bank for its written document checklist. How the tax on a Vietnam property sale is calculated is covered in a companion guide; the buyer, the process, parking spaces and other steps of a sale are covered in the main guide on selling property in Vietnam as a foreigner.

FAQ: Sending Vietnam Property Sale Proceeds Abroad

My remittance records from the original purchase are incomplete. Can the sale proceeds still be sent abroad?

Whether the funds can be sent, and which additional documents are needed, is decided by the handling bank based on its review of each transfer. When the money trail is broken, it is harder for the bank to confirm that the funds come from a lawful source. We suggest organizing whatever receipts you have, installment by installment, and then confirming the bank’s requirements.

Can the Vietnamese buyer pay the sale proceeds directly into my overseas account?

Under the State Bank of Vietnam’s 2015 official dispatch, a foreigner buying or selling housing in Vietnam may only pay and receive in Vietnamese dong, through a bank, and the seller then buys foreign currency from the bank to remit it. Whether this dispatch is still enforced this way is unconfirmed.

Do the same rules apply to a foreigner who has lived in Vietnam for several years?

Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP, Article 7, Clause 3 covers both non-residents and foreigners residing in Vietnam who hold lawful Vietnamese dong income, allowing them to buy foreign currency and remit it. Whether a foreigner residing in Vietnam must separately follow Circular No. 20/2022 is unconfirmed; the handling bank’s requirements govern.

Glossary

• Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 70/2014/NĐ-CP): The implementing decree for Vietnam’s Ordinance on Foreign Exchange; Article 7 governs one-way remittances abroad.
• State Bank of Vietnam (Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam): Vietnam’s central bank, which administers foreign exchange.
• Vietnamese dong (VND): Vietnam’s legal currency; property sales are paid and received in dong.
• Non-resident: A person who stays in Vietnam for fewer than 183 days in a year and has no registered residence or a fixed-term lease in Vietnam.
• Remittance advice: A bank-issued document evidencing an international funds transfer.

Notes on Sources

This article was compiled by Zagdim research. The statutory provisions have been checked by Zagdim against the legal text (Verified by Zagdim); market practice is marked separately. Information was checked as of October 8, 2026. The following points are not stated directly in the law and are listed as unconfirmed: whether the State Bank of Vietnam’s 2015 official dispatch is still being enforced, the current legal status of Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP in the National Legal Database, whether a foreigner residing in Vietnam is subject to Circular No. 20/2022, and the requirements for opening an account and arranging remittance from abroad. The points about bank documents and what causes a transfer to get stuck reflect practice as described by industry and consulting firms. The statement that “under-reporting the contract price makes it harder to explain the source of funds received” is a conclusion drawn from the statutory provisions, not a direct quotation.

Have a question about this guide? Leave a comment below, or ask Zagdim directly.

References

• Government of Vietnam, Decree 70/2014/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 70/2014/NĐ-CP): https://apolatlegal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/70_2014_ND-CP.pdf
• State Bank of Vietnam, Official Dispatch No. 9505/NHNN-QLNH: https://dulieuphapluat.vn/van-ban/ngan-hang-tien-te/cong-van-9505nhnn-qlnh-nam-2015-ve-trien-khai-thi-hanh-diem-b-khoan-4-dieu-84-nghi-dinh-992015nd-cp-do-ngan-hang-nha-nuoc-viet-nam-ban-hanh-274507.html
• DAZPRO, full text of Decree 95/2024/NĐ-CP: https://dazpro.com/vi/nd-95-2024-ve-nha-o/
• i-LAW, Chuyển tiền bán bất động sản ra nước ngoài: https://i-law.vn/cau-tra-loi-phap-ly/chuyen-tien-ban-bat-dong-san-ra-nuoc-ngoai-99827
• Happy Land, Repatriating Sale Proceeds Out of Vietnam
• Realtique, Transferring Money to Vietnam & Repatriating Profits: https://www.realtique.net/en/news/real-estate/40482/transfer-money-vietnam-repatriate-profits-foreign/
• Acclime, Repatriating Funds From Vietnam for Foreign Individuals: https://vietnam.acclime.com/news-insights/repatriating-funds-for-individuals/
• LuatVietnam, Decree No. 253/2026/NĐ-CP dated June 30, 2026 (English translation): https://english.luatvietnam.vn/decree-no-253-2026-nd-cp-dated-june-30-2026-of-the-government-detailing-a-number-of-articles-and-providing-measures-to-organize-and-guide-the-imple-439303-doc1.html

Important Notice

This article is a general information summary and does not constitute individual legal, tax or financial advice. Information was checked as of October 8, 2026. Foreign exchange and banking rules may change; refer to the current announcements of the competent Vietnamese authorities and the requirements of the bank handling the transaction.