Temporary residence card for foreigners in Vietnam

In the current era of economic exchange and integration and development, the number of foreign workers in Vietnam has increased significantly. This not only helps develop our country’s economic level but also attracts foreign investors to invest in Vietnam. According to the provisions of the Law on entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam, they must be issued temporary residence cards to conveniently manage the number and time in Vietnam.

1. Legal basis for procedures for applying for temporary residence cards for foreigners in Vietnam

• Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam (Law No. 47/2014/QH13, June 16, 2014).
• Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BCA, dated January 5, 2015 of the Ministry of Public Security regulating document forms related to the entry, exit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam.
• Circular No. 219/2016/TT-BTC dated November 10, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance regulating the collection, payment, management and use of fees and charges in the fields of exit, entry, transit and immigration. residing in Vietnam.

2. Cases of being granted temporary residence cards, temporary residence card symbols according to Vietnamese law

• Foreigners who are members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations under the United Nations, intergovernmental organizations in Vietnam and their spouses, children under 18 years old, maid accompanying on term;
• Foreigners entering the country with visas with symbols LV1, LV2, LS, DT1, DT2, DT3, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LD1, LD2, TT.

The meaning of visa symbols is understood as follows:

• LV1 – Issued to people working with departments, agencies, and units directly under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam; National Assembly, Government, Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front, Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuracy, State Audit, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government ; Provincial Party Committee, City Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee of provinces and centrally run cities;
• LV2 – Issued to people working with socio-political organizations, social organizations, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry;
• LS – Issued to foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam;
• DT1 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with contributed capital worth VND 100 billion or more or investing in industries, occupations with investment incentives, and localities. investment incentive table decided by the Government;
• ĐT2 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with capital contribution worth from 50 billion VND to under 100 billion VND or investing in industries and professions that encourage investment Development investment is decided by the Government;
• DT3 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with contributed capital worth from 03 billion VND to under 50 billion VND;
• NN1 – Issued to people who are Heads of representative offices or projects of international organizations and foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam;
• NN2 – Issued to heads of representative offices, branches of foreign traders, representative offices of economic, cultural, and other foreign professional organizations in Vietnam;
• DH – Issued to people who practice and study;
• PV1 – Issued to reporters and press residing in Vietnam;
• LĐ1 – Issued to foreigners working in Vietnam with confirmation that they are not subject to work permits, unless an international treaty to which Vietnam is a member has other provisions;
• LĐ2 – Issued to foreigners working in Vietnam who are required to have a work permit;
• NG3 – Issued to members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative agencies of international organizations under the United Nations, representative agencies of intergovernmental organizations and spouses, children under 18 years old, housekeepers accompanying on term;
• TT – Issued to foreigners who are spouses, children under 18 years old of foreigners who are granted visas with symbols LV1, LV2, LS, DT1, DT2, DT3, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LD1, LD2 or Foreigners are fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, and children of Vietnamese citizens.

3. Procedures for applying for a temporary residence card for foreigners in Vietnam

Step 1: Prepare documents according to legal regulations

Step 2: Submit application

Where to submit applications for temporary residence cards for foreigners

The applicant for a temporary residence card or an authorized unit submits the application at one of the three offices of the Immigration Department – Ministry of Public Security:

• 44-46 Tran Phu, Ba Dinh, Hanoi.
• 254 Nguyen Trai, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
• 7 Tran Quy Cap, Da Nang City
• Or the Immigration Department of the Provincial Police of centrally run cities.

The Immigration Agency mentioned above receives the application to check the legality and content of the application

• If complete and valid, receive the documents, print and give a receipt, and set a date to return the results.
• If the dossier is not valid, the officer receiving the dossier will guide the submitter to supplement the dossier to make it complete.

Application submission time

• From Monday to Saturday morning every week (except Tet, holidays and Sunday).

Step 3: Get results

Within 05 working days, the person who receives the results gives the receipt, ID card or passport to the officer who returns the results for inspection and comparison. If there is a result of granting a temporary residence card, a fee is required. The fee is then signed and given to the person who comes to receive the results (even if it is not processed).

Time to return results

From Monday to Friday every week (except Tet, holidays and Saturday, Sunday)

4. Requirements and conditions for being granted a temporary residence card

• Passport valid for 1 year or more.
• Documents proving that a foreigner’s temporary residence card is valid for at least 1 year or more (eg: Work permit, etc.)

5. Documents required to apply for a temporary residence card

5.1. Application for temporary residence card for foreigners with work permits in Vietnam

• Written request from the agency, organization or individual to carry out invitation and guarantee procedures;
• Application form for temporary residence card with photo;
• Passport for foreigners applying for a temporary residence card;
• Certificate of operation of the enterprise employing foreign workers (Business registration license, Investment license, Operation license of VPDD, branch… Depending on the enterprise and type of enterprise, there will be different types of documents);
• Certificate of seal sample registration or Written notice of posting information about the enterprise’s seal sample on the national business registration information portal;
• Authenticated copy of the foreign worker’s work permit or work permit exemption certificate;
• Register seal and signature sample for the first time at the Immigration office (Form NA16);
• Official dispatch and application for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA6);
• Application form for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA8);
• Letter of introduction for Vietnamese employees to apply for a temporary residence card at the Immigration Department;
• Original passport (Note that the passport has a visa for the correct working purpose. In case the foreign worker has previously been issued a temporary residence card, it is required to include the current temporary residence card);
• The foreigner’s temporary residence registration confirmation or temporary residence registration book has been confirmed by the ward or commune police where the foreigner is temporarily residing in Vietnam (if any). In some cases, immigration authorities will require workers to provide this document;
• 02 personal photos measuring 2cm x 3cm.

5.2. Application for temporary residence card for foreigners married to Vietnamese people

• Written request from the agency, organization or individual to carry out invitation and guarantee procedures;
• Application form for temporary residence card with photo;
• Passport for foreigners applying for a temporary residence card;
• Notarized copy of Marriage Registration Certificate in Vietnam or Consular legalized copy of Marriage Note in Vietnam in case of marriage registration abroad;
• Application for sponsorship and temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA7);
• Application form for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA8);
• Original passport and visa (passport valid for at least 13 months and visa to enter Vietnam for the correct purpose);
• 02 personal photos measuring 2cm x 3cm;
• Notarized copy of Vietnamese household registration book of Vietnamese spouse;
• Notarized copy of ID card of Vietnamese spouse;

5.3. Application for temporary residence card for foreigners who are investors in Vietnam

• Written request from the agency, organization or individual to carry out invitation and guarantee procedures;
• Application form for temporary residence card with photo;
• Passport for foreigners applying for a temporary residence card;
• Notarized copy of Business Registration Certificate, Investment License which clearly and detailedly shows the capital contribution of the foreign investor;
• Certificate of seal sample registration or Written notice of posting information about the enterprise’s seal sample on the national business registration information portal;
• Register seal sample and signature for the first time at the Immigration Agency (Form NA16);
• Official dispatch and application for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA6);
• Application form for temporary residence card for foreigners (Form NA8);
• Letter of introduction for Vietnamese employees to apply for a temporary residence card at the Immigration Department;
• Original passport and visa (passport valid for at least 13 months and visa to enter Vietnam for the correct purpose);
• Confirmation of temporary residence registration or temporary residence registration book of the foreigner that has been confirmed by the police of the ward or commune where the foreigner is temporarily residing in Vietnam;
• 02 personal photos measuring 2cm x 3cm.

5.4. Authority to issue temporary residence cards to foreigners

• Diplomatic missions, consulates or other authorized foreign agencies in Vietnam submit dossiers requesting issuance of temporary residence cards with the symbol NG3 to the competent agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• Agencies, organizations, and individuals invite and sponsor directly to submit applications for temporary residence cards to foreigners entering the country with visas with symbols LV1, LV2, LS, DT1, DT2, DT3, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LĐ1, LĐ2, TT at the immigration management agency where the inviting or sponsoring agency or organization is headquartered or where the inviting or sponsoring individual resides;
• Within 05 working days from the date of receiving complete documents, the immigration management agency or competent agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will consider issuing a temporary residence card.

5.5. Temporary residence card validity period of foreigners in Vietnam

• The duration of the temporary residence card issued is at least 30 days shorter than the remaining validity of the passport;
• The temporary residence card with the symbol ĐT1 is valid for no more than 10 years;
• Temporary residence cards with symbols NG3, LV1, LV2, LS, ĐT2 and DH are valid for no more than 05 years;
• Temporary residence cards with symbols NN1, NN2, DT3, TT are valid for no more than 03 years;
• Temporary residence cards with symbols LD1, LD2 and PV1 are valid for no more than 02 years;
• Expired temporary residence cards will be considered for issuance of new cards.