As the whole world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic, foreigners being stranded in their host countries has become quite common due to the policies of some nations. Understanding this issue, Vietnamese law has promptly amended and promulgated legal documents to meet and assist foreigners during this difficult period. New regulations on applying for visas for foreigners in Vietnam are applied according to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam 2014 and Law 51/2019/QH14 amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, and the regulations of the Government and competent authorities in the prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic.
1. Types of visa symbols (Visas for foreigners in Vietnam)
– NG1 – Issued to members of delegations invited by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, the President, the National Assembly Chairman, the Prime Minister.
– NG2 – Issued to members of delegations invited by the Standing Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, the Vice President, the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, the Deputy Prime Minister, the President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, the Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the State Auditor General; members of delegations of equivalent rank invited by Ministers and equivalents, Provincial Party Secretaries, City Party Secretaries, Chairpersons of People’s Councils, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities.
– NG3 – Issued to members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations under the United Nations, representative offices of intergovernmental organizations, and their spouses, children under 18 years old, and accompanying domestic helpers for their term of office.
– NG4 – Issued to persons entering to work with diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations under the United Nations, representative offices of intergovernmental organizations, and their spouses, children under 18 years old; persons entering to visit members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations under the United Nations, representative offices of intergovernmental organizations.
– LV1 – Issued to persons entering to work with departments, agencies, and units directly under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam; the National Assembly, the Government, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the State Audit Office, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies; provincial party committees, city party committees, People’s Councils, People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities.
– LV2 – Issued to persons entering to work with socio-political organizations, social organizations, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
– ĐT – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam.
- ĐT1 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a capital contribution value of VND 100 billion or more, or investing in preferred sectors/industries, preferred investment areas as decided by the Government.
- ĐT2 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a capital contribution value from VND 50 billion to less than VND 100 billion, or investing in sectors/industries encouraged for development as decided by the Government.
- ĐT3 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a capital contribution value from VND 3 billion to less than VND 50 billion.
- ĐT4 – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and representatives of foreign organizations investing in Vietnam with a capital contribution value of less than VND 3 billion.
– DN1 – Issued to foreigners working with enterprises or other organizations with legal status according to Vietnamese law.
DN2 – Issued to foreigners entering to offer services, establish commercial presence, or carry out other activities according to international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.
– NN1 – Issued to the Head of representative offices, projects of international organizations, foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.
– NN2 – Issued to the head of representative offices, branches of foreign traders, representative offices of foreign economic, cultural, or other specialized organizations in Vietnam.
– NN3 – Issued to persons entering to work with foreign non-governmental organizations, representative offices, branches of foreign traders, representative offices of foreign economic, cultural, and other specialized organizations in Vietnam.
– DH – Issued to persons entering for internships or studies.
– HN – Issued to persons entering to attend conferences, seminars.
– PV1 – Issued to resident reporters and journalists in Vietnam.
– PV2 – Issued to reporters and journalists entering for short-term activities in Vietnam.
– LĐ1 – Issued to foreigners working in Vietnam who are confirmed not to be subject to a work permit, except where international treaties to which Vietnam is a member stipulate otherwise. DL – Issued to persons entering for tourism.
– LĐ2 – Issued to foreigners working in Vietnam who are required to have a work permit.
– DL – Issued to persons entering for tourism.
– TT – Issued to foreigners who are spouses or children under 18 years old of foreigners granted visas with symbols LV1, LV2, LS, ĐT1, ĐT2, ĐT3, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LĐ1, LĐ2, or foreigners who are parents, spouses, or children of Vietnamese citizens.
– VR – Issued to persons entering to visit relatives or for other purposes.
– SQ – Issued for cases specified in Clause 3, Article 17 of this Law:
- Persons having working relations with Vietnamese competent authorities for visa issuance abroad and their spouses, children, or persons with a written request from the competent authority of the host country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- Persons with a guarantee letter from diplomatic missions or consular offices of countries located in the host country.
– EV – E-visa.
2. Visa duration (Visa for foreigners in Vietnam)
- Visas with symbols SQ, EV are valid for no more than 30 days.
- Visas with symbols HN, DL are valid for no more than 03 months.
- Visas with symbol VR are valid for no more than 06 months.
- Visas with symbols NG1, NG2, NG3, NG4, LV1, LV2, ĐT4, DN1, DN2, NN1, NN2, NN3, DH, PV1, PV2, and TT are valid for no more than 12 months.
- Visas with symbols LĐ1, LĐ2 are valid for no more than 02 years.
- Visas with symbol ĐT3 are valid for no more than 03 years.
- Visas with symbols LS, ĐT1, ĐT2 are valid for no more than 05 years.
- Expired visas may be considered for a new visa issuance.
- The visa duration must be at least 30 days shorter than the validity period of the passport or international travel document.
- In cases where international treaties to which Vietnam is a member stipulate otherwise, the visa duration shall comply with the international treaty.
3. VN Law Firm’s visa consulting services for foreigners in Vietnam
- Consulting clients on issues related to legal regulations on visas for foreigners;
- Consulting on the conditions for foreign workers to be granted visas;
- Guiding clients to prepare necessary documents and papers to apply for visas for foreign workers;
- Completing visa application dossiers in Vietnam for clients;
- Representing clients in carrying out visa application procedures at competent state agencies;
4. Documents provided by clients when carrying out visa application procedures for foreigners in Vietnam
- Original passport;
- Visa approval letter;
- 02 passport photos 4 cm x 6 cm;
- Entry and exit declaration form;
If coming to Vietnam for purposes other than tourism, the following additional documents are required:
- Certified copy of Business Registration Certificate or equivalent document
- Certified copy of Seal Registration Certificate
5. Requirements and conditions for obtaining a visa for foreigners in Vietnam
The remaining validity period of the passport must be at least one month longer than the validity period of the visa applied for.
