VISAS TO WORK IN VIETNAM

Friday, 19/10/18

All foreigner labors must apply for a short-term business visa to work, conduct or explore business opportunities in Vietnam. In this article, we specialize in the documents necessary for the foreign labors to obtain Short-Term Business Visas (including DN, LĐ, ĐT, LV visa) and these visas depend on your line of work. Specifically, DN visas are granted for people working with company in Vietnam. LĐ visas are granted for foreigners with working purpose. ĐT visas are granted for foreign investors in Vietnam and foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam. LV visas are granted for person working with the departments, agencies and units under the central Communist Party of Vietnam and under central authority. You can apply for visas allowing you to stay for a period of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or 1 year, all with single/multiple entry options.

AN OVERVIEW FOR EACH TYPE OF WORK VISAS

DN visas:

Granted for people working with company in Vietnam
Visa duration: no longer than 12 months
Condition: Foreigners must have a sponsored company in Vietnam

LĐ visas:

Granted for foreigners with working purpose
Visa duration: no longer than 02 years
Condition: Any foreigner who comes to work in Vietnam must have work permits in accordance with the Labor Code

ĐT visas:

Granted for foreign investors in Vietnam and foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam
Visa duration: no longer than 05 years
Condition:

Any foreigner who comes to make investment must have papers proving the investment in Vietnam in accordance with the Law on Investment
Any foreigner who works as a lawyer in Vietnam must have a practice license in accordance with the Law of Lawyers

LV visas:

LV1 - issued to persons working with the departments, agencies and units under the central Communist Party of Vietnam; The National Assembly, the Government, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Supreme People's Court; Supreme People's Procuracy, State, ministries, ministerial-level and governmental agency’s Audit, ; Provincial Party Committees, People's Councils, Provincial and City People's Committees under central authority.
LV2 - issued to persons working with political and social organizations, social organizations, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vietnam.
Visa duration: no longer than 12 month

TWO MAIN WAYS TO OBTAIN A WORK VISA FOR VIETNAM
All foreigners coming to Vietnam for short-term business, meeting or working purpose must apply for a business visa under sponsored by a registered company in Vietnam. There are 02 ways of obtaining such a visa:

Apply to get visa at Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate in your own country;
Apply for a Visa on Arrival (VOA);

Option 1: Via Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate

Key Features:

Traditional approach to getting a visa
Can be used to apply for any type of visa
The fee is uncertain as it depends on the consulate/ embassy
Can be used for any entrance point, whether by land, air, or sea
Takes about 5 working days to process, but can be sped up to 1- 2 days for urgent service.
Visa is stamped before departure.

In term of business visa, you cannot apply for a visa through the local Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate yourself. Instead of that, you could have a travel agency in Vietnam to help you get the Business Approval Letter in advance.

The advantage of applying this way is that you already have the visa stamped in your passport before leaving for Vietnam, which means you do not need to queue on arrival for your passport to get stamped.

The application process is not the most convenient, however, especially for people who do not live near a Vietnamese Embassy or Consulate. Moreover, the fees vary depending on the Embassy or Consulate, and the processing time is longer.

Option 2: Visa on Arrival

Key Features:

Convenient, as it can be done by completing an online application form
Can be used to apply for any type of visa (1- 3, or 6 months, or 1 year multiple-entry visa)
You will need to pay two fees: 1. Service fee for Visa approval letter, 2. Stamping fee.
The service fee is paid online to the service provider. The amount depends on the visa type (number of months and number of entries) and service provider.
The stamping fee is paid at the arrival airport when the visa is stamped. The fee starts at USD25 for 1 month and 3 month single entry, USD50 for 1 and 3 month multiple-entry visas. The stamping fee must be paid in cash (USD or VND).
Can only be obtained at Vietnam’s international airports in Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh, Cam Ranh or Phu Quoc Airport. Hence it is only an option for air passengers.
For tourist approval letter takes about 2 working days to process and can be sped up to 1 day or 4 hours for an extra charge. While the business approval letter takes 7 working days to process

Visa on Arrival is a viable option with various advantages. With Visa on Arrival, you can apply for longer-term and multiple-entry visas, and you do not need to go in person to the Embassy, or apply by post. You just need to submit an online application and get a pre-approval letter.

PROCEDURES TO APPLY A BUSINESS, WORK OR INVESTOR VISA FOR VIETNAM

STEP 1: Applying Business Approval Letter

For the purposes of business, work or investment, the applicants are required a Visa Approval Letter from the Ministry of Public Security in advance obtained by a company in Vietnam.

The required documents need to provide both the applicant and Vietnam’s sponsor company:

A notary certified copy of sponsor company’s business or investment or representative license in Vietnam, tax and stamp registration certificate;
Visa application forms must be signed and sealed by a legal representative of the company;
Scanning the applicant’s passport;
Providing the proposed date of arrival (this is the date you want your visa to start from. The start date of the visa itself will be the day you arrive - you can enter Vietnam at a later date (up to your exit date) but not before that date, so be sure to take time zone differences into account);
Providing the place of picking up the visa (the visa can be picked up at either the Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates in your own or another country, or airports of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang or Nha Trang);

Visa’s validity: 1-12 months with single or multiple entry

Normal processing time: 7 working days

STEP 2: Stamping Vietnam Business Visa (Visa code: DN, LĐ, ĐT)

After your Business approval letter is already, you will receive a scan copy of it via your email. And then you are pleased to prepare all the following documents to stamp your tourist visa:

Your original passport must be valid for six months from your intended arrival date, and must have at least one blank visa page;
2 passport sized photographs (4x6 cm);
The copy of visa approval letter;
Complete the entry and exit application form;
Visa stamping fee depending on the visa single or multiple entry and visa duration (USD25 for 1 and 3 month single entry, USD50 for 1 and 3 month multiple entry, USD95 for 6 month multiple and USD135 for 1 year multiple entry) must be paid in cash at the place of picking visa.

WHERE CAN YOU PICK UP THE BUSINESS VISA

There are three options to obtain Business Visa for those that require it

Obtain the visa at Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates in your own or another country or
Obtain the visa at Vietnam’ international airports including Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Noi Bai airport in Ha Noi City, Cam Ranh airport in Nha Trang, Da Nang airport in Da Nang City or Phu Quoc airport in Kien Giang Province or
Obtain the visa at Vietnam’ international border crossings, Vietnam has over a dozen international overland border crossings. These allow overland travel to Cambodia (via five crossings), Laos (via six crossing) and China (at least two crossings)

CITIZENS OF THE FOLLOWING 24 COUNTRIES ARE NOT REQUIRED A VISA FOR VIETNAM

Visitors to Vietnam must obtain a visa from one of the Vietnamese Embassies/ Consulates or via agencies on arrival unless they come from one of the visa-exempting countries. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months.

Citizens of Brunei and Myanmar are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 14 days;
Citizens of Philippines are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 21 days;
Citizens of Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are granted bilateral visa-free entry no more than 30 days;
Citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belarus are granted unilateral visa-free entry no more than 15 days
Citizens with APEC business cards from member economies of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are granted visa-free entry with no more than 60 days of residence;
For tourists to Phu Quoc, Vietnam: Foreigners and abroad residing Vietnamese citizens entering Vietnam through an international border and travelling to Phu Quoc island, then residing under 15 days are granted Vietnam visa free entry. Passport are required at least 45 days validity. After entering Phu Quoc, in case travelers want to have a visit to other destinations or reside in the island more than 15 days, they will be offered Vietnam visa by the Immigration department right in the island;

Kindly note that the citizens of Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belarus are granted unilateral visa-free entry no more than 15 days, after 15 days visa exemption they must leave Vietnam for their home or another country and it takes at least 30 days since the latest exit from Vietnam to enter again without Vietnam visa.

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VISAS TO WORK IN VIETNAM

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