Question 1

What entry rights and short-stay conditions apply to foreign nationals in Vietnam?

Accepted Answer

Vietnam grants visa-free entry to nationals of roughly 38 countries and territories under unilateral, reciprocal, or special tourism regimes. Under Resolution 44/NQ-CP, citizens of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland may stay visa-free for up to 45 days regardless of entry purpose, from March 15, 2025 to March 14, 2028. Belarus is not part of that resolution and is governed separately by a bilateral agreement in force since January 30, 2025, granting ordinary passport holders visa-free stays of up to 30 days per entry and a cumulative maximum of 90 days per calendar year. Under Resolution 229/NQ-CP, citizens of Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland may stay visa-free for up to 45 days for tourism purposes only, from August 15, 2025 to August 14, 2028.

ASEAN exemptions vary by nationality. Most member states, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, receive 30 days, Philippine ordinary passport holders receive 21 days, and Brunei ordinary passport holders receive 14 days. Chile and Panama ordinary passport holders may stay up to 90 days. Holders of an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) valid for Vietnam may enter without a separate visa and are issued a temporary stay certificate of up to 90 days per entry at the border, subject to passport and card validity. Phu Quoc island operates a separate 30-day visa exemption open to all nationalities arriving by air or sea, which also covers travellers who transit through another Vietnamese international border gate before continuing to Phu Quoc.

Nationals not covered by an exemption, including ordinary passport holders from the United States, Canada, Australia, India, and Mainland China, generally need an electronic visa. The e-visa is available to nationals of all countries and territories for stays of up to 90 days, in single-entry or multiple-entry form, applied for through the official immigration portal at evisa.gov.vn. The fee is USD 25 for a single-entry e-visa and USD 50 for a multiple-entry e-visa, set by Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC effective April 1, 2026, which replaced the earlier Circular 25/2021 and Circular 62/2023. Official processing is stated as 3 working days, though travellers are advised to allow additional time in practice. Vietnam recognises 83 e-visa entry-exit border gates following Resolution 389/NQ-CP of December 2, 2025. Long Thanh International Airport near Ho Chi Minh City is on that list but applies only once the airport is operational, and its commercial launch has slipped from an initial June 2026 target toward the fourth quarter of 2026, so it is not yet an active e-visa entry point.

Permitted activities depend on the entry basis and the declared purpose. Resolution 44 covers entry regardless of purpose, Resolution 229 is restricted to tourism, and e-visa activities follow the purpose approved at application, so tourism, family visits, and limited business activities such as meetings may be possible under the relevant basis while paid employment is not. Paid work requires a separate authorization, generally a work permit or a work permit exemption, and working without that authorization on a tourist or e-visa basis exposes the holder to administrative fines of VND 15 to 25 million under Decree 12/2022/ND-CP, deportation or forced exit, and a recorded immigration history that can affect future entry. Since April 15, 2026, Vietnam has run a mandatory digital pre-arrival declaration for foreign nationals and overseas Vietnamese entering on a foreign passport and visa through Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, submitted free of charge on the official portal at prearrival.immigration.gov.vn within three days before departure, with transit passengers staying airside exempt. Travellers receive a confirmation code to present at immigration, and failure to complete it does not bar entry but typically means longer processing, with the scheme expected to extend to other airports. The declaration does not replace any applicable visa or visa-exemption condition.

Question 2

What long-term residence options exist in Vietnam for internationally mobile individuals?

Accepted Answer

Vietnam offers a tiered investor visa system under Law No. 47/2014/QH13 (as amended by Law No. 51/2019/QH14 and Law No. 23/2023/QH15) with four DT categories indexed on capital contribution. The DT1 visa (capital of VND 100 billion or more) carries a 5-year visa term and a Temporary Residence Card (TRC) up to 10 years. DT2 (VND 50 billion to under 100 billion) grants a 5-year visa and a TRC up to 5 years. DT3 (VND 3 billion to under 50 billion) grants a 3-year visa and a TRC up to 3 years. The DT4 tier (under VND 3 billion) is limited to a 12-month visa with no investor TRC eligibility and no family sponsorship rights. DT1, DT2, and DT3 holders may sponsor spouses and minor children under 18 for TT (Tham Than) dependent visas under Article 8 of the Immigration Law, while common-law partners and adult children are excluded.

Work-based pathways include the LD1 visa (work permit exempt) and the LD2 visa (work permit holders), both valid up to 2 years and convertible to a TRC up to 2 years. The governing framework is now Decree 219/2025/ND-CP, effective August 7, 2025, which replaced Decree 152/2020/ND-CP and Decree 70/2023/ND-CP, merged the foreign labour demand approval and the work permit application into a single online dossier, decentralized approval to provincial People's Committees, and shortened the statutory work permit timeline to 10 working days. It did not merge the work permit with the visa application, which remain separate steps. Foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam under the Law on Lawyers obtain the LS visa with a 5-year term. The Special Visa Exemption Card (SVEC) under Decree 221/2025/ND-CP, in force from August 15, 2025, is a multi-entry waiver of up to 5 years capped at 90 days per stay per entry, reserved for international elites including executives of the world top 100 enterprises by market capitalization, holders of prestigious international science and technology awards, and globally top-ranked athletes. From July 1, 2026, under Law No. 118/2025/QH15, two preferential visa symbols become available, the UD1 for high-quality digital technology industry personnel and other persons eligible for incentives under a law or a National Assembly resolution, and the UD2 for their spouses and children under 18. Under the general regime, amended Article 9 caps the UD1 and UD2 visa at 5 years, while amended Article 38 sets the matching UD1 and UD2 Temporary Residence Card at up to 10 years, the same ceiling as the DT1 investor card.

Within the Vietnam International Financial Centre (IFC), Decree 327/2025/ND-CP lets the UD1 visa itself reach 10 years rather than the general 5-year visa cap, with a UD1 TRC up to 10 years and a matching UD2 for spouses and children under 18, for key investors, experts, managers, and highly skilled staff of IFC-headquartered organizations. Outside the IFC framework, Vietnam offers no general DT investor pathway to permanent residence. The Permanent Residence Card (PRC) under Article 39 of Law 47/2014 is restricted to four narrow categories, namely meritorious persons recognized by State decoration, scientists or experts sponsored by ministerial-level authority, spouses or children or parents of Vietnamese citizens with at least 3 years of continuous residence, and stateless persons resident since 2000, with a 10-year renewable validity. Decree 327/2025/ND-CP introduces a separate IFC-specific permanent residence route for key investors, experts, scientists, persons of special talent and senior managers who have worked continuously for at least 3 years at an organization headquartered in the IFC.

On nationality, Law No. 79/2025/QH15, effective July 1, 2025, broadened the dual citizenship exceptions beyond the prior near-total prohibition. Retention of foreign nationality on naturalization is now possible for applicants with a Vietnamese spouse, child, parent or grandparent, for those making meritorious contributions or whose naturalization is deemed beneficial to Vietnam, and for minors naturalizing alongside a parent, in each case subject to Presidential approval and compliance with the law of the foreign country. A separate 10-year Investor Golden Visa announced in May 2025 remains under government review and is not yet enacted as of May 2026, with no draft law published and no application channel open.

Question 3

How does taxation apply to residents and foreign-source income in Vietnam?

Accepted Answer

Vietnam taxes individual tax residents on their worldwide income, while non-residents are taxed only on Vietnam-source income. Tax residency for individuals arises after 183 days of presence in a calendar year, or with a permanent residence in Vietnam, or with a leased accommodation for at least 183 days under Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC. Residents are taxed on worldwide employment income at a progressive scale topping at 35%. The current 7-bracket schedule (5/10/15/20/25/30/35%) triggers the top rate above VND 80 million per month. Personal Income Tax (PIT) Law No. 109/2025/QH15, passed December 10, 2025 and effective July 1, 2026 with employment provisions applying from tax year 2026, simplifies the schedule to 5 brackets (5/10/20/30/35%) and raises the top-rate threshold to VND 100 million per month. The same law raises the personal deduction from VND 11 million to VND 15.5 million per month and the dependent deduction from VND 4.4 million to VND 6.2 million per month. Non-residents pay a flat 20% on Vietnam-source employment income only. Securities transfers such as shares are taxed at 0.1% of the transfer price, while transfers of capital contributions are taxed at 20% on the net gain, or 2% of the transfer price where the acquisition cost and related expenses cannot be determined. Vietnam levies no net wealth tax and has no separate estate or inheritance tax, but inheritances and gifts of covered assets are taxable under personal income tax at a flat 10% on the portion above VND 10 million, rising to VND 20 million under the new law, with transfers between close family members exempt. The double tax treaty network covers approximately 80 jurisdictions including most OECD members and major Asian economies.

Vietnamese-incorporated enterprises are subject to corporate income tax (CIT) on their worldwide income, with a credit for foreign tax paid, while foreign enterprises are taxed on Vietnam-source income. The standard CIT rate is 20% under Article 10 of Law No. 67/2025/QH15 on Corporate Income Tax (effective October 1, 2025), with two reduced tiers for smaller companies of 15% (annual revenue under VND 3 billion) and 17% (revenue VND 3 to 50 billion). Article 13 grants a preferential 10% CIT rate for 15 years to new investment projects in priority sectors (high technology, research and development, software production, renewable energy, supporting industries, education, healthcare, environmental services, infrastructure, press agencies) or in extremely difficult socio-economic areas, hi-tech parks, high-tech agricultural zones, and centralized information technology zones. The 17% rate for 10 years applies to qualifying projects in standard difficult areas and selected manufacturing. Article 14 layers a 4-year exemption plus 50% reduction over 9 years on top of the 10% rate, producing 0% effective in years 1 to 4 and 5% in years 5 to 13. The Prime Minister may extend the preferential period by up to 15 additional years for strategic projects. Standard industrial parks are no longer incentivized locations in their own right under the 2025 Law, so a new project located in one qualifies for CIT incentives only if it independently meets a sector-based, project-based, or preferential-area criterion.

The Vietnam International Financial Center (IFC), established under Resolution No. 222/2025/QH15 effective September 1, 2025 and detailed by Decree No. 323/2025/ND-CP on establishment and Decree No. 324/2025/ND-CP on financial policies (both dated December 18, 2025), offers IFC members in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang a 10% CIT rate for 30 years with the same 4-year exemption plus 9-year reduction architecture. It also provides a personal income tax exemption through end of 2030 on salaries and wages earned from work performed in the IFC by qualifying managers, experts, scientists, and highly skilled professionals, both Vietnamese and foreign, subject to prescribed conditions, plus a personal income tax exemption on income from transfers of shares, capital contributions, or capital contribution rights in IFC members through end of 2030, excluding transfers of stocks or warrants of public companies or listed or trading-registering organizations. Eligible sectors include capital markets, banking, asset and fund management, fintech, green finance, digital assets, insurance, family offices, and aviation finance. Resolution No. 107/2023/QH15 implements the OECD Pillar Two Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) effective January 1, 2024, which can materially reduce the benefit of Vietnam's 10% headline incentive rates for in-scope multinational enterprise (MNE) groups with consolidated revenues above EUR 750 million in 2 of 4 preceding years, because a domestic top-up tax applies where the Vietnam effective tax rate falls below 15%.

Question 4

Can foreign residents open bank accounts and deploy capital in Vietnam without friction?

Accepted Answer

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) regulates the banking sector under the Law on Credit Institutions 2024 (Law No. 32/2024/QH15). Major domestic retail banks include Vietcombank (Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade), VietinBank, BIDV, Agribank, MB Bank, Techcombank, VPBank, and ACB. Foreign-incorporated banks operate through licensed subsidiaries or branches, with HSBC Vietnam, Standard Chartered, Shinhan Bank Vietnam, and United Overseas Bank (UOB) active in retail. ANZ exited retail banking in Vietnam after selling its retail business to Shinhan Bank Vietnam in 2017 and now maintains only an institutional and corporate presence. The baseline account-opening requirement for a foreign individual is a valid passport together with a valid visa or residence document such as a Temporary Residence Card (TRC). Banks may additionally request a local address, proof of income, source-of-funds documentation, and in-person biometric verification depending on the account type, residency status, and anti-money laundering risk profile. Account-opening lead times are bank-specific rather than set by regulation and vary widely between institutions and customer segments.

Vietnam implements the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) through a Model 1 Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) signed on April 1, 2016 and in force since July 7, 2016, under which Vietnamese financial institutions report United States account holders to the local authority for onward exchange. Vietnam is not a participating jurisdiction under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and has not commenced automatic exchange of individual financial account information, although it joined the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in 2023 and signed the country-by-country reporting Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement in January 2025 for corporate group reporting. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Vietnam on its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, commonly called the grey list, in June 2023 over anti-money laundering deficiencies, and Vietnam remained listed at the February 2026 FATF plenary, with remediation under the Anti-Money Laundering Law 2022 (Law No. 14/2022/QH15) ongoing.

Vietnam maintains active foreign exchange controls under Ordinance 28/2005/PL-UBTVQH11 as amended. The Vietnamese dong is not freely convertible, and foreign currency may be held in onshore accounts but used within Vietnam only in permitted cases. Foreign residents may operate foreign-currency accounts and remit lawful post-tax income abroad through licensed banks against supporting documents, while foreign investors may repatriate lawful profits and recovered capital from direct investment through dedicated capital accounts. Circular 20/2022/TT-NHNN governs one-way outward transfers and current-account payments, but its personal transfer categories such as study, medical treatment, support for relatives, inheritance, and settlement abroad are framed under Article 7.2 of Decree 70/2014/ND-CP around residents who are Vietnamese citizens rather than foreign residents generally, so it should not be read as the universal outbound regime for all foreign individuals. The International Financial Center (IFC) regime under Resolution 222/2025/QH15 adds a targeted carve-out for IFC members, including freer use of foreign currencies between IFC members and simplified capital flows, which is not a general liberalization of the capital account for all foreign residents.

Foreign investors face restrictions on real estate. Foreign individuals may purchase apartment units in eligible commercial housing developments capped at 30 percent of any one building and 250 landed houses per ward-equivalent area, with ownership rights generally limited to 50 years and renewable once for up to 50 more years subject to provincial People's Committee approval rather than automatic renewal. Land remains under all-people ownership administered by the State and cannot be held freehold by foreigners, and agricultural land is closed to foreign ownership. On digital assets, Law No. 71/2025/QH15 on Digital Technology Industry, effective January 1, 2026, recognizes crypto assets as property that can be owned, traded, and inherited, ending years of legal ambiguity, while cryptocurrency remains barred as a means of payment and is not legal tender. A controlled five-year pilot under Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP running from 2025 to 2030 governs issuance, trading, and supervision, with all crypto trading and settlement denominated in Vietnamese dong, and the Ministry of Finance began accepting licence applications from Vietnamese crypto service providers in January 2026.

Question 5

Is Vietnam a viable operational base for foreign professionals?

Accepted Answer

Vietnam offers strong operational fundamentals across both Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Hanoi. Internet infrastructure is now competitive by global standards, with average fixed broadband download speeds around 280 Mbps in early 2026, ranking Vietnam inside the world top 15 on the Ookla index, supported by widespread fiber to expat-grade apartments and major providers such as Viettel and VNPT raising entry-level fixed broadband packages to 300 Mbps from 2025. Commercial 5G is live and expanding quickly across HCMC, Hanoi, and Da Nang, with average 5G download speeds above 500 Mbps in early 2026, although coverage remains concentrated and most users still rely on the mature 4G network. Coworking is well established through operators such as Toong, Dreamplex, and CirCO, with day passes around VND 140,000 to 200,000, monthly hot-desk memberships roughly VND 1.5 to 3.7 million, dedicated desks around VND 3 to 4 million, and private offices from VND 6 million per person. English is usable across the new Vietnam International Financial Center ecosystem, multinational business circles, expat services, and premium hospitality, but Vietnamese remains essential for administrative dealings outside foreign-invested enterprises.

Air connectivity is strong. Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) handled 42.4 million passengers in 2025, well above its original design capacity, with direct flights to major Asian hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, and Taipei, plus selected long-haul services to Europe and the United States operated mainly by Vietnam Airlines and foreign carriers. Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) serves Hanoi with comparable regional depth. Long Thanh International Airport, which received its first technical flight on December 19, 2025, is now targeted for commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2026 after an initial first-half 2026 timeline slipped. Under a phased transition plan submitted by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) and still pending approval, more than 90 percent of international passenger traffic in the Ho Chi Minh City area would shift to Long Thanh by 2027, beginning with long-haul services from December 2026 and leaving SGN focused on domestic and non-scheduled international flights.

Cost of living remains one of Vietnam's strongest operational advantages. A modern one-bedroom apartment in central or expat-heavy HCMC districts such as District 1 and Thao Dien runs roughly VND 14 to 25 million per month, while non-central one-bedrooms sit closer to VND 7 to 12 million and three-bedroom central units around VND 29 to 60 million. Hanoi is marginally cheaper overall, around 5 percent on a rent-inclusive basis, but the gap is driven almost entirely by rent, where HCMC runs about 21 percent higher, since daily non-rent costs are essentially equal between the two cities. Local restaurant meals cost VND 50,000 to 150,000 and street food often stays under USD 3. International schooling is the major family-cost outlier. Value and bilingual schools start around USD 6,000 to 12,000 per year, British-curriculum schools fall near USD 15,000 to 24,000, and top-tier International Baccalaureate schools such as the International School of Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC) and United Nations International School Hanoi (UNIS Hanoi) reach USD 32,000 to 38,000 in senior grades. Healthcare is tiered, with affordable local clinics at roughly USD 10 to 50 per visit and high-end international hospitals such as FV Hospital, Vinmec, and Hanoi French Hospital at Western private rates. Local and regional insurance plans run roughly USD 300 to 800 per year, while comprehensive international plans cost USD 1,000 to 5,000, with the average individual international plan around USD 4,547 in 2024.

Personal safety is strong by regional standards, with low violent crime, but road traffic is the dominant daily risk and air quality in Hanoi periodically reaches unhealthy levels during the winter and dry season. Institutional risk also remains material. Vietnam is a single-party state where policy can shift quickly through National Assembly resolutions and government decrees, foreign investors still face regulatory unpredictability in key sectors, and Vietnam remained on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list at the February 2026 plenary.

Vietnam

Lucky Nomads Proprietary Indices

Country snapshot

General facts

Tax system

Special tax regimes

Visa and mobility

Your access

Overview

Programmes

Residence by investment

Business founder routes

Work (employer sponsored)

Work (self sponsored)

Talent (outstanding)

Family and dependant routes

Student and graduate routes

Dimensions breakdown

Strongest dimensions

Weakest dimensions

FAQ

What entry rights and short-stay conditions apply to foreign nationals in Vietnam?

What long-term residence options exist in Vietnam for internationally mobile individuals?

How does taxation apply to residents and foreign-source income in Vietnam?

Can foreign residents open bank accounts and deploy capital in Vietnam without friction?

Is Vietnam a viable operational base for foreign professionals?

Lucky Nomads editorial note

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