Issue · October 2026 · everything a nomad needs, city by city

Nomadzine

The visa · Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam has no visa for remote workers. Most nomads live on rolling 90-day multiple-entry e-visas or the 45-day exemption that 24 European and East Asian passports now enjoy, while the only long-stay routes are company investment, a sponsored work permit or a talent card that requires a Vietnamese institution to nominate the holder. The one thing to know before applying is that no tourist-class stay authorises any work, and 183 days in the country makes a person a Vietnamese tax resident on worldwide income under a new income-tax law in force since July 2026.

    Nomad visa · September 2026None as suchRoutes6Bases1

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The routes

Researched 11 September 2026 · rules as of September 2026 · as published, not legal advice

  1. Temporary stay

    Tourist e-visa (EV), 90 days

    Thị thực điện tử (EV) / Electronic visa

    Any nationality wanting up to three months at a time, which is how the large majority of remote workers in Vietnam actually stay.

    Income floor
    none
    Duration
    Up to 90 days per visa, single or multiple entry; not a residence permit, so a fresh visa or an exit and re-entry is needed after 90 days. No published cap on consecutive e-visas, but applicants report tougher questioning after several back-to-back stays.
    Cost
    USD 25 single entry, USD 50 multiple entry, paid online and non-refundable as reported.
    Processing
    Three working days is the portal's stated target; applicants report three to five working days and are advised to apply well before travel.
    Eligibility
    Open to citizens of all countries and territories since 15 August 2023 (Resolution 127/NQ-CP). Passport must be valid for the stay; entry is at the discretion of the border officer even with a valid e-visa.
    Work rights
    None. The e-visa is a tourist-class entry; the law barring employment without a work permit is unchanged. Working remotely for a foreign employer on it is not expressly permitted and is described by reporting and applicant accounts as a grey area that is tolerated in practice.
    Dependants
    No dependant category; each traveller, including children, applies and pays separately.
    Leads to
    no
    Apply
    Online only, on the Immigration Department portal evisa.gov.vn (also thithucdientu.gov.vn); entry at 83 designated checkpoints since December 2025.

    Documents Passport bio page scan · Digital portrait photo · Online application form with intended entry date, port and address in Vietnam · Card payment of the fee

    Official page →

  2. Temporary stay

    Business visa (DN1/DN2) sponsored by a Vietnamese company

    Thị thực DN1 / DN2

    People who want longer than 90 days without founding a company, typically obtained through a Vietnamese sponsor or agency; reported as the second most common way nomads rotate stays.

    Income floor
    none published
    Duration
    Issued for the sponsor's stated purpose; validity and renewal terms depend on the sponsoring enterprise and nationality and were not verified from an official page in this research.
    Cost
    Government visa stamping fees apply; agency fees vary and were not verified.
    Processing
    Not verified from an official source.
    Eligibility
    Requires an invitation and guarantee from a Vietnamese enterprise registered with the Immigration Department; the enterprise is liable for the guest.
    Work rights
    A business visa does not permit employment; any work for a Vietnamese entity needs a work permit or exemption certificate under Decree 219/2025. Remote work for abroad is in the same unpublished grey area as on the e-visa.
    Dependants
    Not covered by this category; family members need their own basis.
    Leads to
    no
    Apply
    Via the sponsor at the Immigration Department (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang) or a Vietnamese embassy or consulate abroad.

    Documents Passport valid beyond the intended stay · Sponsoring company's guarantee letter and approval from the Immigration Department · Visa application form and photo

    Official page →

  3. Investor

    Investor visa and residence card (DT1 to DT4)

    Thị thực và thẻ tạm trú ĐT1, ĐT2, ĐT3, ĐT4

    Freelancers and founders willing to register and capitalise a Vietnamese company; the only self-directed route to a multi-year residence card, and one nomads genuinely use.

    Income floor
    No income test; a capital contribution actually transferred into a registered Vietnamese company. DT4 is under VND 3 billion (about USD 122,000); DT3 is VND 3 billion to under 50 billion; DT2 is VND 50 billion to under 100 billion or an encouraged sector; DT1 is VND 100 billion or more or a priority sector or area.
    Duration
    DT4: 1-year visa, renewed yearly, no residence card. DT3: 3-year visa and temporary residence card up to 3 years. DT2: 5-year visa and card up to 5 years. DT1: 5-year visa and card up to 10 years.
    Cost
    Company registration and visa and card fees apply; government fee amounts were not verified from an official page in this research.
    Processing
    Temporary residence card: five working days from a complete file, per the Immigration Department practice reported by advisers; company licensing comes first and takes longer.
    Eligibility
    Investment Registration Certificate and Enterprise Registration Certificate in the applicant's name, proof of the capital wire transfer, passport with at least 13 months validity, notarised criminal-record check. A bank deposit does not count.
    Work rights
    Investors are exempt from the ordinary work permit for their own company. Client work through the company is local business activity taxed in Vietnam. Remote work for foreign clients billed through the company is legal; billed personally it is untested.
    Dependants
    DT1, DT2 and DT3 holders can sponsor a spouse and children for TT visas and residence cards; DT4 cannot sponsor family.
    Leads to
    The entry-exit law provides a permanent residence card for long-term temporary residents, but no source opened gave the current conditions, and applicant reporting describes grants as rare; no citizenship path in practice.
    Apply
    In-country at the Immigration Department (Ministry of Public Security) offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, after the company is licensed; the first DT visa can also be issued through a consulate.

    Documents Investment Registration Certificate · Enterprise Registration Certificate · Bank evidence that the capital was transferred · Passport with 13 or more months validity · Notarised and legalised criminal-record certificate · Temporary residence declaration at the local address

    Official page →

  4. Other route

    Talent card (special visa exemption card, 5 years)

    Thẻ miễn thị thực đặc biệt / Special visa exemption card, Decree 221/2025/NĐ-CP

    Nominated experts only: PhD-level scientists, senior executives of major enterprises, digital-technology specialists and public figures in culture, arts, sport or tourism; not reachable for an ordinary freelancer.

    Income floor
    none published
    Duration
    Card valid up to 5 years, multiple entry, stays of up to 90 days per entry; card must expire at least 30 days before the passport does.
    Cost
    Not published in the sources opened.
    Processing
    About five working days after nomination, as reported.
    Eligibility
    In force since 15 August 2025. Five categories: senior official guests; experts and scientists, including PhDs from OECD countries and executives of Vietnam's largest companies and high-quality digital technology talent; culture, arts and sports figures with international awards or a large following promoting Vietnam; honorary consuls; institutional guests. A competent ministry or agency must approve the nominating institute, university or enterprise; individuals cannot self-apply.
    Work rights
    Unclear as published; reporting notes it is not stated whether holders may take local employment or are limited to remote work.
    Dependants
    Not addressed in the decree summaries opened.
    Leads to
    no
    Apply
    Through the nominating institution and the Immigration Department; applicants report using a law office.

    Documents Nomination from a recognised Vietnamese institution or enterprise · Ministry or agency approval of the nominating body · Passport valid at least 30 days beyond the card

    Official page →

  5. Long stay

    Work permit with LD visa or residence card

    Giấy phép lao động; thị thực và thẻ tạm trú LĐ1 / LĐ2

    Someone taking a job with a Vietnamese employer, or an expert whose foreign employer seconds them to a Vietnamese entity; the standard route for teachers and local hires.

    Income floor
    none published
    Duration
    Work permit up to 2 years, renewable once; temporary residence card for LD1/LD2 holders up to 2 years.
    Cost
    Employer-paid permit fees set by each province; not verified here.
    Processing
    Under Decree 219/2025 the labour authority decides the single combined dossier within 10 working days; the residence card then takes about five to seven working days.
    Eligibility
    Employer-sponsored; the employer files one combined labour-demand and permit dossier. Fifteen exemption categories exist, including investors, and exempt workers still need an exemption certificate.
    Work rights
    Local employment for the sponsoring employer only, as permitted.
    Dependants
    Spouse and children under 18 may obtain TT visas and residence cards on the holder's card.
    Leads to
    Time on a temporary residence card counts toward the permanent residence card provided for in the entry-exit law; conditions not verified here and grants reported as rare.
    Apply
    Employer applies to the provincial labour authority, then the Immigration Department for the card.

    Documents Employer's combined labour-demand and work-permit dossier · Degree or qualification and experience evidence · Health certificate · Criminal-record certificate, legalised · Passport and visa · Employment contract

    Official page →

  6. Other route

    Digital technology visa (UD1, with UD2 for family)

    Thị thực UĐ1 / UĐ2 under the Law on Digital Technology Industry

    High-skilled digital technology professionals; the closest thing in law to a route for developers, but eligibility criteria were still unpublished when this research was done.

    Income floor
    Not yet published.
    Duration
    Up to 5 years, with renewal tied to employment or family status as reported.
    Cost
    Not yet published.
    Processing
    Not yet published.
    Eligibility
    Created by the National Assembly's digital technology industry law and effective from 1 July 2026 according to reporting; implementing regulations were still in draft and no income threshold, degree requirement or job list had been issued in the sources opened. UD2 covers spouses and children under 18.
    Work rights
    Aimed at working in Vietnam's digital technology sector; permit interaction not published.
    Dependants
    UD2 visa for spouse and children under 18.
    Leads to
    Not published.
    Apply
    Not published.

    Documents Not yet published · Passport

Without a visa, by passport

The stay you get on arrival, and whether working remotely on it is tolerated

  • EU / EEA / Switzerland45 days visa-free for Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland (Resolution 44/NQ-CP, to 14 March 2028) and Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland (Resolution 229/NQ-CP, to 14 August 2028); all other EU/EEA passports need the 90-day e-visaExemption applies regardless of passport type and purpose of entry. Remote work is not addressed in the resolutions and is treated as grey in practice; no employment. One visa-information site still reports a 30-day gap before a second visa-free entry, which the resolution text does not state.
  • United Kingdom45 days visa-free (Resolution 44/NQ-CP, to 14 March 2028); e-visa for longer, up to 90 daysGrey: no work authorisation on the exemption; remote work for a UK employer is tolerated in practice per applicant reports but not published as permitted.
  • United StatesNo exemption; e-visa up to 90 days, single or multiple entryGrey: the e-visa is a tourist-class entry and does not authorise work; tolerated in practice, not published as permitted.
  • CanadaNo exemption; e-visa up to 90 daysSame as above: no work rights, remote work for abroad unaddressed.
  • AustraliaNo exemption; e-visa up to 90 daysSame as above.
  • IndiaNo exemption; e-visa up to 90 daysSame as above.
  • BrazilNo exemption listed; e-visa up to 90 daysSame as above.
  • South AfricaNo exemption; e-visa up to 90 daysSame as above.
  • Japan / South Korea / Russia45 days visa-free (Resolution 44/NQ-CP, to 14 March 2028)No work rights on the exemption; remote work grey.
  • ASEAN (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Myanmar)30 days visa-free under bilateral agreements; Brunei 14 daysNo work rights; remote work grey.
  • Chile / Panama90 days visa-free under bilateral agreementsNo work rights; remote work grey.
  • Any passport, Phu Quoc island onlyUp to 30 days visa-free when arriving by direct international flight and staying on the islandLeaving the island for the mainland requires a visa or exemption; no work rights.

Tax

When the country starts counting you as its taxpayer

Residency trigger
An individual is a Vietnamese tax resident if present 183 days or more in a calendar year or in any 12 consecutive months from first arrival, or if they have a habitual residence in Vietnam, meaning a registered permanent residence or rented accommodation under a fixed-term lease. Residents are taxed on worldwide income; non-residents pay a flat 20 per cent on Vietnam-source employment income, with days worked in Vietnam apportioned against worldwide pay.
Special regime
None for newcomers or nomads. The new Personal Income Tax Law 109/2025/QH15 (passed 10 December 2025) took effect on 1 July 2026 with Decree 253/2026/ND-CP and Circular 87/2026/TT-BTC; employment and business income rules apply for the 2026 tax year. It cuts the schedule to five bands from 5 to 35 per cent and raises the personal deduction to VND 15.5 million a month (VND 186 million a year) and the dependant deduction to VND 6.2 million a month. Sources differ on the middle bands: one adviser summary gives 10 per cent to VND 20 million, 15 per cent to 40 million and 20 per cent to 100 million; the Vietnamese legal press gives 10 per cent to 30 million, 20 per cent to 60 million and 30 per cent to 100 million.
Social security
Compulsory social insurance (8 per cent employee, 17.5 per cent employer), health insurance (1.5 and 3 per cent) and unemployment insurance (1 per cent each) apply only to foreigners on a Vietnamese labour contract of 12 months or more with a work permit and under retirement age. A remote worker paid by a foreign employer or as a foreign freelancer has no Vietnamese contribution obligation as published; certificate-of-coverage rules were not verified in the sources opened.
Treaties
Vietnam has a network of double taxation agreements offering tie-breaker rules and foreign tax credit relief for dual residents; the count and list were not verified here. In practice a remote employee who becomes resident is taxed in Vietnam on worldwide employment income and must claim credit or treaty relief for tax paid abroad; annual finalisation is due by 30 April for self-filers, and foreigners leaving mid-year must finalise within 45 days of departure.

Practicalities

Bank account
Major banks open accounts for holders of a temporary residence card, work permit or business or work visa valid at least six months; applicants on a tourist e-visa report being turned away at branches such as Vietcombank. Requirements vary by bank and branch.
SIM registration
Every SIM must be registered to a passport on the national database, with the shop photographing the passport and the buyer; unregistered SIMs are cut off within days.
Electronic ID (VNeID)
Decree 320/2026/ND-CP of 13 August 2026 removed the Level 1 and Level 2 distinction for foreigners; registration is in person at the provincial police immigration office with a passport, and accounts issue within two working days where biometrics are already on file.
Address registration
The host or landlord must declare a foreigner's temporary residence to the local police, which is done online; the declaration is also the address used for e-visa, investor and residence-card files.
Tax number
Anyone liable to personal income tax must register for a tax identification number; employers register employees, and self-filers register directly with the tax authority.
Health insurance
No insurance is required for the e-visa or exemption; public health insurance is compulsory only with a Vietnamese labour contract. Private cover is otherwise the holder's own responsibility.
Overstay penalties
Decree 282/2025/ND-CP, in force 15 December 2025: under 16 days VND 500,000 to 2 million; 16 to under 30 days VND 5 to 10 million; up to VND 15 million under 60 days; VND 20 million under 90 days; VND 25 million to six months; VND 30 million to one year; VND 40 million for a year or more. Overstays of 16 days or more can bring deportation and future entry restrictions.
Entry declaration
A digital pre-arrival declaration launched at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat airport on 15 April 2026.

Vietnam: no nomad visa, a 90-day e-visa that everyone uses, and a tax line at 183 days

Where remote workers base, and on what

Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang are where the nomad population concentrates, with the Immigration Department's three offices in the same cities handling every in-country file. Almost everyone arrives on the 90-day multiple-entry e-visa at USD 50 or on the 45-day exemption, which now covers 24 passports including the United Kingdom, most of western and central Europe, Japan and South Korea. Americans, Canadians, Australians, Indians, Brazilians and South Africans have no exemption and go straight to the e-visa.

The stay is tourist-class whatever the passport. No published text permits remote work for a foreign employer on it, and none forbids it as such; the prohibition in law is on working in Vietnam without a work permit, which applies to local employment. Reporting and applicant accounts describe the position as a grey area that is tolerated, not a right.

What applicants report about the process

E-visa approvals arrive by email in three to five working days, and the consistent advice is to apply well ahead because the portal offers no expedited lane. Rolling e-visas with an exit between them is the common pattern; from Ho Chi Minh City the Moc Bai crossing into Cambodia is the half-day trip most often mentioned. No limit on consecutive e-visas is published, but border officers ask harder questions after several back-to-back stays, and entry remains the officer's decision.

The routes to a residence card are narrow. The investor track works if a company is registered and at least VND 3 billion, roughly USD 122,000, is actually transferred as capital; below that, DT4 gives a yearly visa with no card and no family sponsorship. The five-year talent card under Decree 221/2025 exists on paper since August 2025 but needs a ministry-approved Vietnamese institution to nominate the holder, so individual freelancers are effectively excluded. The 10-year golden visa promoted in 2025 remained a Tourism Advisory Board proposal with no decree number as of spring 2026.

Money and tax

A bank account is realistic only with a temporary residence card, work permit or a business or work visa of six months or more; tourist e-visa holders are routinely refused, so most nomads run on foreign cards and e-wallets. SIMs must be registered to a passport at purchase.

The tax line is 183 days in a calendar year or any 12 consecutive months, or a habitual residence such as a fixed-term lease, after which worldwide income is taxable in Vietnam. The new law in force since July 2026 keeps a five-band 5 to 35 per cent schedule for residents and a flat 20 per cent on Vietnam-source pay for non-residents, with a VND 15.5 million monthly personal deduction. Vietnamese social insurance applies only to local labour contracts of 12 months or more. Vietnam's double taxation agreements provide tie-breakers and foreign tax credits, but a remote employee who crosses 183 days should expect a Vietnamese filing obligation.

What is changing

Enforcement tightened on 15 December 2025 when Decree 282/2025 doubled the top overstay fine to VND 40 million and made deportation possible from 16 days over. The first legal instrument that names digital technology professionals, the UD1 visa with a UD2 family visa, took effect on 1 July 2026, but its eligibility criteria, income tests and application process had not been published in the sources opened, so it is not yet a route anyone can file for.

The exemption resolutions run to March and August 2028 and are reviewable, e-visa checkpoints rose to 83 in December 2025, and foreigners gained simpler electronic ID under Decree 320/2026 in August 2026. Nothing published as of September 2026 changes the core position: no nomad visa, no work rights on tourist-class stays, and tax residence at 183 days.

Researched from evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn · vietnam.travel · vietnamtourism.com · vietnamnews.vn · english.luatvietnam.vn · kpmg.com · vietnam-briefing.com · english.luatvietnam.vn · vietnam.acclime.com · emerhub.com · the authority