Buying Property in AustraliaFrom Ho Chi Minh City
Home loan, refinancing and investment lending advice for Australians and expats buying from Ho Chi Minh City. We’re former bankers, we compare 40+ lenders, we’re paid by the lender (not by you), and we work Ho Chi Minh City hours.
- Australian citizens in Vietnam face no FIRB approval and no foreign-buyer ban: the whole Australian market is open to you, established homes included, and permanent residents are generally treated the same way while they remain ordinarily resident in Australia.
- Vietnamese dong sit on the preferred currency list, so lenders commonly count 80 per cent of your net salary, and foreign overtime, allowances, commission and bonuses are now accepted in servicing at select lenders.
- Ho Chi Minh City runs three hours behind Melbourne: your morning is Melbourne’s midday. We work your evening, not ours.
- The full journey, documents to settlement without a flight, is in our step-by-step overseas buying guide. This page covers what is specific to Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnamese dong, through a lender’s eyes
Vietnamese dong on an Australian credit desk now assess briskly: preferred-list treatment commonly counts around 80 per cent of net salary, with each lender setting its own line on overtime, allowances and bonuses. Most model the pay at Australian tax scales whatever the Vietnamese rate actually was. Between the best and worst match for a given payslip sits a budget difference that routinely reaches six figures.
Vietnam’s Australian community has grown fast with the manufacturing and services boom, and Vietnamese dong now appear on preferred currency lists, which would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
Dong on the preferred list keeps the tempo: 80 per cent of your net salary commonly counts, and foreign overtime, allowances, commission and bonuses now clear servicing at select lenders. Note the modelling quirk before you plan around take-home pay: lenders generally assess the salary as if Australian tax applied to it, even where your actual rate is lower, one more variable that widens the gap between lenders.
Getting your own number needs no meeting: today’s dong rate from xe.com, straight into the shading calculator on our expat guide. Then hold the caveat that outranks the rest: from the same Ho Chi Minh City payslip, lender policies routinely produce answers six figures of budget apart, which is why matching the lender comes ahead of hunting the house.
Vietnam’s boom has pulled Australian engineers, teachers and manufacturing managers to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, often on packages that mix dong salaries with housing support. Document translation is the main friction, so the NAATI step belongs at the top of the checklist here more than anywhere.
Updates as fast as you type, and privately: what you enter stays inside your browser, unseen by us or anyone. The 80 per cent shading tier and the debt-to-income cap of five are indicative settings; the finished figure waits on tax modelling, commitments and full serviceability, and the same payslip still spans six figures between lenders. General information only, not credit advice.
Our house-median tracking for August 2026 sets each capital’s bar: Sydney $1,282,020, Brisbane $1,126,149, Perth $1,050,354, Adelaide $950,703, Melbourne $812,621. Against those, an indicative ceiling near $560,000 runs under every big-capital house median, which turns the search toward units and regional markets, or toward a bigger deposit or a co-borrower. It is priced on the worked example’s illustrative rate, so as the dong moves the ceiling moves with it, live in the calculator above; the full median tracker has the full city detail.
Five years of the dong, in Australian dollars
On Reserve Bank of Australia monthly data the dong has kept a steady beat, about A$0.00006 in August 2021, A$0.00006 in August 2023 and A$0.00006 in August 2025, before easing to about A$0.00005 now. Even that quiet drift matters at deposit scale: a ₫2.5 billion transfer caught the top of the range at $163,859 and the bottom at $132,591, and the $31,268 between them is why timing sits in the plan beside lender choice.
Work the scenario at your own speed: the live rate sits at xe.com and the calculator above turns it into borrowing power immediately. No one predicts the dong reliably, so the job is simpler: know beforehand what a small rate move does to your deposit, move large sums in staged legs rather than on one date, and keep every leg inside the settlement-transfer safeguards. Exchange-rate figures are RBA monthly averages and general information, not financial or FX advice.
The practical bits, from Ho Chi Minh City
Practicalities for Ho Chi Minh City-based buyers: the time difference of three hours behind Melbourne shapes call scheduling rather than preventing it; documents follow the standard expat file of employment evidence, bank statements and recent payslips; documents issued in Vietnamese require NAATI-accredited translation; and inspections, contracts and settlement all complete remotely as covered in the step-by-step guide.
- Time zones: Ho Chi Minh City is three hours behind Melbourne. Your morning is Melbourne’s midday, and our calendar shows slots in your local time.
- Documents: the standard expat file applies: employment contract or letter, three months of salary credits, two payslips no older than about 60 days. If your payslips and contract are issued in Vietnamese, they need translation by a NAATI-accredited professional translator, not by you and not by your broker, so build that into the timeline early.
- On the ground: Hanoi runs identically. Inspections, exchange and settlement all run remotely: the mechanics are Steps 5 and 6 of the main guide.
- The city, redrawn: Vietnam’s 2025 provincial restructuring folded Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau into an expanded Ho Chi Minh City, listed by the Viet Nam Government Portal at 6,772.6 square kilometres and 13,608,800 people. If your payslips or rental contract now carry redrawn ward or province names, have the NAATI translation follow the documents exactly so the file stays consistent.
- Paperwork, closer than Hanoi: the Australian Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City sits on the 20th floor of the Vincom Centre at 47 Ly Tu Trong in District 1, per Smartraveller. If a conveyancer or bank asks for certified copies of identity documents, that office is the consular contact for Australians in southern Vietnam, so check its current services and appointment process before planning anything further afield.
- Two passports, one household: Australia’s Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462) lists Vietnam among its eligible passports, and Home Affairs notes that Vietnamese passport holders enter a ballot before applying for a first visa, per the Home Affairs eligibility page. Where a Ho Chi Minh City household spans an Australian and a Vietnamese passport, mention both early, because visa status is one of the first things a lender asks about a second applicant.
- The market you are buying into: premium values fell 3.2 per cent in the three months to July while clearance rates sit under 50 per cent: the case for this cycle is in our buyer’s market analysis and buy-back window piece.
In Ho Chi Minh City? Start with one email. Email ahmed@everstonefinance.com.au, the link pre-fills a short template, and we reply within a day, your time. Or book a slot that lands in your evening.
Australians elsewhere: our guides for Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong, or the full overseas playbook.
Already own in Australia? Refinance and equity release, from Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City-based Australians who already own at home can refinance those loans and release equity from Vietnam, at select lenders, without flying back. Two local facts help: the clock, three hours behind Melbourne, keeps the file moving inside a shared working day; and lenders assess the currency on your payslip rather than the country you sit in, whether that is dong on the preferred tier or the AUD and USD salaries of the regional remote workers this page describes. According to Everstone Finance, Australians in Ho Chi Minh City can refinance an Australian mortgage entirely from Vietnam: identity is certified locally, loan documents are signed electronically, and settlement goes through PEXA, the electronic platform Australian property settles on.
A review usually comes first: the steps in our negotiate-your-rate guide run from Ho Chi Minh City in near-Melbourne hours, and the cashback market currently rewards qualifying refinancers. Equity comes next: at select lenders, growth in the Australian property can come out as the deposit on a second property, and because those funds are drawn and settled inside Australia, the foreign-currency transfer rules on the Vietnam side never enter the picture, the timing question buyers moving fresh dong otherwise plan around. The file follows the standard expat pattern with one local addition: payslips or contracts issued in Vietnamese need NAATI-accredited translation, so order it at the start rather than the end. Both loans still have to service on shaded income, inside current valuations and LVR caps, and the structuring, dong salary or remote package paid in AUD or USD, is what a former banker maps in one conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Can an Australian living in Ho Chi Minh City buy property in Australia?
Yes, at whatever pace suits you. FIRB screens foreign persons, and an Australian citizen living in Ho Chi Minh City is not one, so there is no approval step and no category of property you cannot buy. Permanent residents are generally treated the same way while they remain ordinarily resident in Australia, though a PR holder who has lived overseas for an extended period can be treated as a foreign person under FIRB rules and should confirm their position before signing a contract. The genuine work is the lending file and the remote settlement mechanics.
How much of a VND salary will an Australian lender count?
Commonly around 80 per cent of net salary, and the place Vietnamese dong hold on the preferred currency lists is what makes that tier available. Select lenders now fold overtime, allowances and bonuses into the assessment as well. The quiet variable is lender policy, which shifts budgets by six figures, in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi alike.
Do I need to fly back to Australia to buy?
No. Inspections run by video and local eyes, contracts sign electronically in most cases, and settlement completes electronically between your conveyancer and lender, and with Ho Chi Minh City only three hours behind Melbourne the file moves in near-shared working hours. The step-by-step mechanics are in our main overseas buying guide.
What documents do I need from Ho Chi Minh City?
Take it at a steady pace: the lender wants an employment contract or employer letter, bank statements that show salary credits across three months, two payslips issued inside about 60 days, and separate proof of bonus or allowance income. Vietnamese documents must be translated by a NAATI-accredited professional translator, never by you and never by your broker, which is worth booking before the rest of the file matures.
I work remotely from Ho Chi Minh City and am paid in AUD or USD. How does that assess?
Lenders read the currency of the salary, not the city on the utility bill. AUD income needs no shading whatsoever, USD income qualifies for the preferred 80 per cent tier, and a remote file is often the most straightforward expat application there is. Ho Chi Minh City’s regional remote workers sit squarely in that lane.
Will my Ho Chi Minh City bonus count towards an Australian loan?
At select lenders, yes: foreign bonuses, commission and incentives are now accepted in servicing, evidenced by bank statements showing the credits plus employer letters or payslips covering the most recent year. Lenders differ on averaging and haircuts, which is part of the matching exercise. Where a Ho Chi Minh City package is documented in Vietnamese, the NAATI translation step comes first, so start it early.
When should I convert my VND savings into Australian dollars?
There is no correct date, only a plan: the five-year spread above quantifies what timing luck is worth, and staged transfers keep any single day from deciding it. Deposit funds must also reach the lender traceable and seasoned, which sets the movement plan early in the sequence rather than settlement week. Vietnam’s transfer rules, covered above, are the extra reason the dong plan starts early here.
Vietnam limits foreign currency transfers. Will that block my purchase?
It complicates timing rather than blocking it: documented transfers for property purchase are achievable, and many Vietnam-based Australians also hold offshore accounts in Singapore or Australia that simplify the trail. Lenders care that the funds are traceable and seasoned; starting the movement early keeps the settlement clock safe.
I already own a property in Australia. Can I refinance or release equity from Ho Chi Minh City?
Yes, at select lenders: refinancing and equity release run remotely from Ho Chi Minh City, assessed on the same shaded foreign-income basis as a purchase, and because released equity is drawn and settled inside Australia, the foreign-currency transfer limits on the Vietnam side do not come into play. Serviceability, current valuations and LVR caps still govern both loans, and the structure is worth one broker conversation before you commit.
Can I refinance my Australian investment property from Ho Chi Minh City if it is rented out?
Usually, yes. The Australian rental income can be assessed alongside your dong, AUD or USD salary, and an investment loan that has not been reviewed since you left Australia is often the first place to look. The whole process runs remotely on the assessment described on this page, and refinancing a property you already own involves no FIRB approval.
Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne is one conversation. Start it tonight, your time.
Your VND salary through the right lender’s eyes, your real budget in both currencies, and the whole purchase run remotely by former bankers. No cost, no obligation.
Book a chat with a former bankerThe people behind Everstone
You’re trusting someone with one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll make. Here’s who you’ll actually be working with.
Ahmed Lotfi
A former major-bank lender who now works entirely for you. Ahmed handles structuring, refinancing and investment lending across the 40+ lender panel.
Zappelin Heng
Co-founder with deep lender experience, focused on getting complex and self-employed files assessed on their real strength, not a tick-box.
About the author. Ahmed Lotfi is co-founder of Everstone Finance and a former banker who now works as a mortgage and finance broker in South Yarra, Melbourne, arranging home, investment and commercial lending for Australians at home and abroad. Everstone Finance operates under the Best Interests Duty as Credit Representative 574314 of LMG Broker Services Pty Ltd, Australian Credit Licence 517921.