Selling Property in Vietnam From Abroad: Power of Attorney

This article is part of Zagdim’s Vietnam property series. It sets out how an owner who is not in Vietnam can authorize someone else to sell a Vietnam apartment, and how documents signed abroad are authenticated for that purpose, for an owner who does not plan to or cannot travel to Vietnam to sign in person. For the full sale process, see the main article on buyers, procedure, taxes, and transferring proceeds out of the country.

Why Does Selling From Abroad Get Complicated?

Vietnam’s property sale contracts must be notarized to take effect, and notarization requires checking the parties’ identity against original documents. An owner who is not in Vietnam needs a power of attorney (POA) for someone else to act on their behalf; if the POA or a marital-status document is signed abroad, it first needs authentication and translation before a Vietnamese notary office will accept it. Since September 11, 2026, when Vietnam joined the Hague Apostille Convention, which authentication route applies depends on whether the signer’s home country is also a convention member.

The Short Answer: Can You Sell Without Being in Vietnam?

Yes. Article 20 of the Law on Residential Housing (Luật Nhà ở 27/2023/QH15) states that a foreign owner can sell a property in person or through another organization or individual acting on their behalf. In practice, this means signing a notarized power-of-attorney contract (hợp đồng ủy quyền). A document signed abroad must first be authenticated, then accompanied by a Vietnamese translation that is itself notarized or certified under Vietnamese law:

• Check whether your home country is a Hague Apostille Convention member. If it is, the document generally needs only a single apostille from the competent authority there. If it is not, the document needs consular legalization instead: notarization in your home country, then authentication by your country’s foreign ministry (or equivalent), then authentication by the Vietnamese embassy or consulate there. Either way, the authenticated document still needs a Vietnamese-language translation notarized or certified in Vietnam before a Vietnamese notary office will accept it.

What Should the Power of Attorney Cover?

The scope of the power-of-attorney contract needs to be written out clearly. In practice, the scope can cover:

1. Signing the deposit agreement (đặt cọc) and the sale contract.
2. Receiving the buyer’s payment into the owner’s own bank account.
3. Filing the personal income tax return.
4. Registering the transfer with the Land Registration Office (Văn phòng đăng ký đất đai).
5. Handing over the property.
6. When selling to a foreign buyer, notifying the provincial housing authority of the buyer’s name and the property’s address within three working days of signing; this is the seller’s statutory obligation and can be included in the scope of the authorization.

The power-of-attorney contract can be signed at a notary office (Phòng/Văn phòng công chứng) in Vietnam if the owner is there in person, or signed abroad and then authenticated and translated. If a notary finds the scope of the authorization unclear, they can ask for clarification and refuse to notarize if it cannot be clarified; an unclear scope is a common reason for refusal.

Apostille or Consular Legalization: How Does the Authentication Work?

Vietnam acceded to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, effective September 11, 2026. From that date, a public document moving between Vietnam and another convention member with an applicable relationship to Vietnam needs only a single apostille, replacing the older consular legalization process. An apostille confirms that a signature, the signer’s identity, and a seal are genuine; it does not confirm the content of the document.

Two points to check before relying on this:

• Objecting states. Only Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic have objected to Vietnam’s accession to the convention; the convention does not apply between Vietnam and these three states, regardless of where the document is signed.
• Transition documents. A document that already completed consular legalization before September 11, 2026 remains valid in Vietnam and does not need to be redone as an apostille. A document that falls outside the convention’s scope still needs consular legalization; whether a given document falls inside or outside that scope is determined by the law of the place where it was issued.

The likely order for an apostille document is: notarization in the home country (by a local lawyer or notary) then an apostille issued by the competent authority there, then a notarized Vietnamese translation completed in Vietnam.

The likely order for a consular-legalization document is: notarization in the home country, then authentication by that country’s ministry of foreign affairs (or equivalent), then authentication by the Vietnamese embassy or consulate in that country, then a notarized Vietnamese translation completed in Vietnam.

Whether a particular country’s documents are accepted this way has not been explicitly confirmed by Vietnam’s authorities in every case. Where in doubt, it can help to check with Vietnam’s embassy or consulate in that country, or with the accepting notary office in Vietnam, before starting.

What Other Documents Need to Be Handled First?

• Marital-status documents. A notary office checks marital status: a marriage registration if the property is jointly owned by a couple, proof of being unmarried if it is individually owned, or a divorce judgment or decision if divorced. Whether a marital-status document issued abroad needs an apostille or consular legalization before a Vietnamese notary office will accept it is not explicitly stated in the current law and remains unconfirmed; a foreign-language document needs an accompanying Vietnamese translation either way.
• A replaced passport. The title deed records the passport number used at the time of purchase. Whether a notary office requires both the old and new passport if the owner has replaced their passport since buying is not explicitly stated in the current law and remains unconfirmed.
• Entry stamp. Decree 95/2024/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 95/2024/NĐ-CP) requires an entry stamp for a foreigner who “acquires” housing; whether a foreign seller signing a sale contract also needs to hold an entry stamp is not explicitly stated in the current law and remains unconfirmed. An owner who travels to Vietnam to sign in person would already hold a valid entry stamp.
• Bank account. Whether a bank will accept a representative handling receipt or repatriation of funds on the owner’s behalf, or will require the owner to appear in person, is not explicitly stated in the current law and remains unconfirmed. For the documentation needed to repatriate sale proceeds, see Zagdim’s article on transferring Vietnam property sale proceeds out of the country.

In Person or by Power of Attorney: How Do You Decide?

This depends on whether you can arrange the time to travel to Vietnam, and on which country your documents would be signed in and whether that country is a Hague Apostille Convention member.

Either way, it helps to decide before engaging someone to sell on your behalf; if you are going the power-of-attorney route, start the authentication process early. For the buyer, taxes, and the full sale process, see Zagdim’s main article on selling property in Vietnam as a foreigner.

FAQ: Selling Vietnam Property From Abroad

My home country is not a Hague Apostille Convention member. Do I still need consular legalization for my power of attorney?

Yes. If your home country has not joined the Hague Apostille Convention, a power-of-attorney document signed there still needs consular legalization: notarization at home, authentication by your country’s foreign ministry, and then authentication by the Vietnamese embassy or consulate there. Before starting, it can help to check with that embassy or consulate, or with the accepting notary office in Vietnam.

My home country is a Hague Apostille Convention member. Does that mean my power of attorney automatically works in Vietnam?

Not automatically, but it generally only needs an apostille rather than consular legalization, as long as your country is not one of the small number of states that formally objected to Vietnam’s accession (Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic). The apostilled document still needs a notarized Vietnamese translation, and it can help to confirm the specifics with the accepting Vietnamese notary office, or with Vietnam’s embassy or consulate in your country, before starting.

Can I still use a document that completed consular legalization before September 2026?

Yes. A document that completed consular legalization before September 11, 2026 remains valid in Vietnam; it does not need to be redone as an apostille.

Glossary

• Power-of-attorney contract (hợp đồng ủy quyền): the contract by which an owner authorizes someone else to handle a property sale; it must be notarized in Vietnam.
• Apostille: a single certification, used between convention member countries, confirming that a public document’s signature, signer identity, and seal are genuine.
• Consular legalization (hợp pháp hóa lãnh sự): the older authentication process used before the apostille took effect; still required for documents outside the convention’s scope.
• Notary office (Phòng/Văn phòng công chứng): the body that handles notarization in Vietnam, either a public notary room or a private notary office.
• Entry stamp: the stamp placed in a passport on entry into Vietnam; a foreign buyer is required to hold one when signing.

About This Information

This article was compiled by Zagdim research. The legal provisions have been checked by Zagdim against the source texts (Verified by Zagdim); market practices are noted separately. Data was checked as of October 8, 2026. The following points are not explicitly stated in the law and remain unconfirmed: whether documents from a particular country are accepted for use in Vietnam via apostille (summarized from the Hague Conference’s status table rather than a direct confirmation from Vietnam’s authorities); the consular legalization procedure in each signer’s own home country; whether marital-status documents signed abroad need authentication; the requirement when a passport has been replaced; whether a foreign seller must hold an entry stamp; and the requirements for a representative handling fund repatriation. The scope of the power of attorney is drawn from practitioner and legal-firm accounts. The effective date of the Apostille Convention is per the Vietnam Consulate-General in Shanghai’s announcement; the full text of Vietnam’s apostille implementing decree was not reviewed in this pass.

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

References

• hethongphapluat.com – Law on Residential Housing (Luật Nhà ở 27/2023/QH15), Article 20
• hethongphapluat.com – Law on Residential Housing, Article 164
• DAZPRO – Decree 95/2024/NĐ-CP (Nghị định 95/2024/NĐ-CP), full text
• Việt Nam News – Selling houses in Việt Nam: What do foreign homeowners need to know?
• LuatVietnam – Muốn bán chung cư, người dân cần biết gì?
• Vietnam Consulate-General in Shanghai – Notice on applying the Apostille certification in place of consular legalization from September 11, 2026
• HCCH – Apostille Convention status table
• Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam – Document Authentication

Important Notice

This article is general information and does not constitute individual legal advice. Data was checked as of October 8, 2026. Authentication requirements and accepting-office procedures may be updated; Vietnam’s competent authorities and accepting offices’ current announcements take precedence.