HANOI, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will permit foreigners working in the country to buy houses, local newspaper Youth reported Tuesday.

    Under the scheme compiled by the Construction Ministry and submitted to the government for approval, those eligible for house purchases include people who directly come to Vietnam for investment or make contributions to the country and receive medals, or scientists who are bestowed Vietnamese academic titles and degrees, experts in socio-economic fields, highly-skilled workers, and persons who get married to Vietnamese citizens.

    To buy houses in Vietnam, the people must meet three criteria: they are working and living in the country, they have entered Vietnam and been permitted to reside in the country for at least one year, and they will buy houses for accommodation for themselves and their family members.

    Also under the scheme, foreign economic entities in Vietnam can buy houses for their foreign employees to rent.

    The ministry has proposed that in the short term, the scheme should be conducted in the capital of Hanoi, southern Ho Chi Minh City and some provinces and cities under central management which house many investment projects and foreign investors, according to head of the ministry's Housing Management Department Nguyen Manh Ha.

    By late March, Vietnam had 7,067 operational foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of nearly 63.6 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.