Visa & Immigration
If you're serious about staying, not just visiting.
Most people searching for a Vietnam visa are planning a holiday, and the official e-visa process for that is genuinely simple — apply online, get approved in a few days, enter on a single-entry visa good for up to 90 days depending on your nationality.
If you're relocating, that's not really the question you need answered. The real question is what lets you stay beyond a few months, and that depends on how you're planning to support yourself here.
Work permit + labour visa
If you have a job offer from a Vietnamese employer, they'll typically sponsor your work permit and the labour (LD) visa that comes with it. The employer handles most of the paperwork, but it's not instant — budget weeks, not days, and know that as of 2024 your role generally has to be posted on Vietnam's Ministry of Labour portal before the application can proceed. A valid work permit is also the usual prerequisite for applying for a longer-term Temporary Residence Card afterwards.
Temporary Residence Card (TRC)
This is the document that actually lets you settle in for a meaningful stretch — typically issued for one to five years, renewable, and it removes the need to keep leaving the country to renew a short-term visa. Eligibility usually comes through employment (a sponsoring employer), investment, or marriage to a Vietnamese citizen. It's worth asking your employer or immigration adviser directly which route applies to your situation, since the requirements differ meaningfully between them.
Investor and business visas
If you're moving here to start or invest in a business rather than take a job, investor visas (DT-series) scale with how much capital you put in, and higher tiers can lead to longer stays and TRC eligibility. Business visas (DN-series) are shorter-term, generally up to 12 months, aimed at people here for ongoing business activity without a formal investment structure.
Family-sponsored residence
If you have a Vietnamese spouse, that opens a residence path of its own, generally with its own TRC eligibility and — after enough continuous years of residence — a route toward a Permanent Residence Card. The exact requirements change periodically, so this is worth confirming with current official sources or a qualified immigration adviser rather than assuming last year's rules still apply.
What changes often
Vietnam's immigration rules get updated more frequently than a lot of people expect — e-visa eligibility, permit durations, and application processes have all changed in the last few years. Treat anything you read here, or anywhere else online, as a starting point for a conversation with a current official source or immigration professional, not a final answer.
Indicative pricing
Price guides are coming soon.
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Common questions
- Can I just stay on a tourist e-visa while I look for work?
- Some people do this short-term, but it's not designed for it and carries real legal risk if you end up working while on a tourist visa. If you're serious about relocating, it's worth sorting a proper visa path early rather than treating the e-visa as a long-term workaround.
- Do I need a job offer before I can get a long-term visa?
- Not necessarily — investor and family-sponsored routes exist without one — but employment is the most common path, and most work-based visas and permits do require a sponsoring employer.
- How long does a Temporary Residence Card last?
- Typically somewhere between one and five years depending on the route, and it's renewable. Specific durations depend on current regulations, which change periodically — confirm with an official source before planning around a specific figure.