Mr. Thanh (name changed), a US citizen, asked DEDICA:
"I left Vietnam more than 30 years ago and renounced my Vietnamese nationality when I naturalized in the United States. My mother recently passed away in Ho Chi Minh City, leaving behind a house with a title certificate (sổ hồng). My relatives say I must re-acquire Vietnamese nationality before I can be named on the title as an heir to the house, and I have also heard that a new 2025 law has changed things. I am in the US and unsure whether re-acquiring nationality is mandatory, or where to even begin."
DEDICA ADVISES You are not required to re-acquire (restore) Vietnamese nationality simply to inherit your mother's house and be named on its title. Under the 2024 Land Law, a person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad who is permitted to enter Vietnam already has the right to inherit and to be named as owner of housing attached to residential land in Vietnam, regardless of the passport you currently hold. Restoring your nationality, now far easier under the 2025 law and allowing you to keep your US citizenship, is only truly necessary when the estate includes a type of land that a person of Vietnamese origin may not be named on. Below are the legal grounds and the specific steps.
The right of persons of Vietnamese origin to inherit real estate does not depend on nationality
The most common misconception, and the one that worries those living far away the most, is the belief that holding a foreign nationality means losing the right to inherit real estate in Vietnam. This is not correct. Your US citizenship does not erase your status as an heir. As a biological child of the deceased, you belong to the first row of heirs, on equal footing with your siblings living in Vietnam.
The real difference does not lie in "whether you may inherit," but in the form in which you receive the estate, and that depends on the type of asset rather than on nationality. For your mother's house itself, that is, housing attached to residential land, the 2024 Land Law allows a person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad who is permitted to enter the country to inherit and be named as owner, almost like a domestic individual.
What this means for you: as long as you still hold documents proving your Vietnamese origin and you are permitted to enter the country, meaning you have a valid US passport and are not subject to an entry ban, you can fully complete the estate declaration and transfer your mother's house into your own name, without first having to restore your Vietnamese nationality. A "person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad" here means someone who once held Vietnamese nationality by bloodline but no longer does, which is precisely your situation.
When you should restore your nationality, and the steps to take from the US
So when does restoring your nationality genuinely become necessary? The answer lies in the type of land. The right to be named on the title described above applies only to housing and residential land. If the estate also includes another type of land not attached to a house, for example agricultural land or garden land split into a separate plot, a person of Vietnamese origin who has not restored their nationality may not be named on that portion and is entitled only to its value.
The good news is that, since 1 July 2025, restoring nationality has become much easier. The 2025 amendment removed the restrictions on who is eligible to restore their nationality: now a person who has renounced Vietnamese nationality, like you, only needs to file an application to have it considered. More importantly for someone living in the US, you may apply to keep your US citizenship as well, rather than having to give it up, if permitted by the President.
Whichever path you choose, the steps from the US essentially involve the following four, in order.
- Identify the assets and types of land in the estate, and assess whether you are permitted to enter the country and to be named on the title, or are only entitled to value.
- Prepare documents proving your relationship to your mother and your Vietnamese origin such as your birth certificate, passport, and former Vietnamese nationality papers, then have them consularly legalized and notarially translated into Vietnamese.
- If restoring nationality is needed, you may file your application directly at the Vietnamese representative mission in the US, without being required to fly back to Vietnam to submit it.
- Complete the estate declaration at a notarial organization and the title transfer, or authorize a lawyer in Vietnam to carry out this entire part if you cannot return.
Conclusion
In short, you do not need to re-acquire Vietnamese nationality merely to inherit and be named on the title of your mother's house, as long as you still hold documents proving your Vietnamese origin and are permitted to enter the country, because this is housing attached to residential land that a person of Vietnamese origin is entitled to own. Restoring your nationality, now easier and allowing you to keep your US citizenship, only needs to be considered when the estate includes a type of land you cannot be named on, or when you want the full rights of a citizen. The immediate steps: identify the types of land in the estate, gather and legalize documents proving your relationship and origin, then choose between completing the declaration in your name or first applying to restore your nationality. If you cannot return to Vietnam, you can authorize a lawyer to handle the whole matter.
If you are unsure what type of land your mother's house sits on, or if your documents proving Vietnamese origin have been lost, DEDICA can review your file, determine whether you fall within the category entitled to be named on the title or only to value, prepare and legalize documents from abroad, and act under a power of attorney to work with the notarial organization and the land registration authority on your behalf in Vietnam. Contact DEDICA for legal advice tailored to your family's specific situation.
This content is for reference only, based on the law in effect at the time of writing; each case has its own particulars, so please consult a DEDICA lawyer for accurate advice.
