5 Year Visa Exemption (Mien Thi Thuc)
It used to be that anyone wanting to stay in Vietnam for a long time could just get a 3 or 6 month tourist/business visa and extend it indefinitely. Many expats have stayed in Vietnam for years using this method. However, in the past year there seems to be a concerted effort by the Vietnamese Government to crackdown on “undesirables” which includes “backpackers”, illegally employed Chinese/non-Vietnamese Asians, and Africans that are accused of propagating drugs and prostitution.
There seems to be two goals for this recent crackdown:
1.) To control (and get an accurate count of) the number of foreigners in the country by forcing them to the border checks.
2.) To get rid of foreign workers/cheap labor that take jobs away from the local people and money out of the country.
Nowadays, most people entering Vietnam can only obtain 1 month/3 month tourist visa’s which they can at most renew twice from within Vietnam for a maximum 9 month stay in Vietnam. This is a major issue for retired expats that have chosen to settle in Vietnam and for foreign English teachers without a work permit. I have heard that it may be possible to get a new tourist Visa once you are out of the country….but it is a risky proposition since there is no guarantee that once you leave…you will be able to get back in. As such…many people that have lived in Vietnam for years suddenly have to think about possibly having to move somewhere else.
Of course, If you have a work permit, you can stay as long as your permit allows…however work permits are not easy to come by. If you are employed in Vietnam, it is the responsibility of your employer to obtain a work permit for you. Many employers are not willing to go through the trouble and expense (about $500) of filing for a work permit, except for their most valued employees. I am not going to delve into the process of what it takes obtain a work permit since many other expat blogs have already expounded on this issue. Work permits are only valid for 12 months…so you will have to go through the entire process yearly.
If you or your parents were born in Vietnam or if you are married to a current or former Vietnamese citizen, you do have another option if you wish to stay in Vietnam for an extended period of time…..it’s called the 5 Year Visa Exemption (Mien Thi Thuc). In an effort to boost the number of overseas Vietnamese that come to Vietnam and infuse the country with money and investments….in 2007, the Government of Vietnam passed a bill which allows people who meet specific conditions to stay in Vietnam for 5 years (90 days continuous) without being required to have a Visa. This is akin to having a 3 month multiple entry Tourist Visa that is valid for 5 years. If you meet the criteria, the cost to obtain a 5 Year Visa Exemption is only $20 for the first certificate and only $10 to renew it thereafter. For detailed information on how to obtain the exemption certificate go to:
http://mienthithucvk.mofa.gov.vn
I’m not going to regurgitate all the information on that website, but I will give a brief summary of the steps I took to get my certificate. If either you or your parents were born in Vietnam you only need to mail the following items to the Vietnam Embassy in San Francisco or Washington D.C.
1.) Completed copy of the Visa Exemption Application
2. ) U.S. Passport (still valid for at least 6 months) + 1 copy
3.) 2 recent (4 x 6 cm) photos —– notice the size!! These are NOT the same size as U.S. passport photos.
4.) 1 form (Giay Bao Lanh) filled out by a Vietnamese Citizen vouching for me. I had my cousin fill out the form and include a copy of her Vietnamese Passport.
5.) $30 money order ($20 for the certificate, $10 processing fee) – update!! According to a reader the new fee is $40…but I would call and make sure before mailing in your application.
6.) A Self-Addressed/Stamped Envelope
If you are a foreigner married to a current or former Vietnamese citizen or the child of one, you also need to include some sort of proof of relation to your Vietnamese spouse/immediate relative.
It was a relatively painless process. It only took about a week after the Vietnamese Embassy in the U.S. received my package before I got it back. Make sure that you send your package via Express Mail to guarantee the quickest service.
The 5 Year Visa Exemption is great if you regularly travel to Vietnam to vacation or visit relatives and you don’t want to apply for Visas each time. The only problem is that the certificate states that you can only stay 90 days continuously in the country….which means that you must leave the country at least 4 times each year….or so I thought. A few people I know with the Visa Exemption have been taking short “vacations” every few months due to the 90 day stipulation. I, myself had planned on taking a trip to Cambodia via the Moc Bai border crossing to satisfy the 90 day rule…but that was before I found out that there was a way to extend your exemption from within the country. Thanks to a user in the “Living in Vietnam forum“, I learned that you can go to the Vietnamese Immigration office in Saigon (161 Nguyen Du) and obtain Form N14/M…..officially called:
Application for visa renewal, replacement or modification, length of stay extension (Don De Nghi Cap, Bo Sung, Sua Doi Thi Thuc, Gia Han Tam Tru(1))
Form NM/14 Extension Form
When you get to the Immigration office, just walk straight to where the cashier’s are and ask for the above form. You will have to fill out the form and then sign it. You also need to get 2 other signatures before you can turn in the application for an extension. In my case, I just needed the signature of my Aunt because I live in her house, and the signature of the police in the ward where I live. If you are staying in a rental property you will most likely need the signature of your landlord.
Passport with Stamped Visa Extension (thanks rmanbike)
After you get all your required signatures….go back to the immigration office and turn in your form. You will need to also hand over your Passport with your application. You should get a receipt that shows the date that you can pick up your Passport and pay the $10 fee for the application. It should only take a week for you to get back your passport with a red and blue stamp approving your extension. I was told that they used to allow extensions for up to 1 year….but recently due to the crackdown on foreigners in Vietnam, the maximum extension allowed is capped at 90 days. So you will have to repeat this process 4 times a year unless you leave the country before your 90 days are up.
The entire process I described above is from the perspective of a U.S. Citizen applying for a 5 Year Visa Exemption and Extension…however I believe the steps for overseas Vietnamese (Spouses/Children) from other countries should be similar. Contact the Vietnamese Embassy in your respective countries to find out the exact steps you may need to obtain the 5 Year Visa Exemption.
Very informative post – indeed when I was researching my options the visa exemption was high on the list – just the 3 month thing was offputting. Then I also read somewhere that it was possible to renew in country but didn’t know whether it was an under the table thing – the precise info you provide on how to do this very useful!
Hey Jon….I was lucky I had my Aunt help me figure it all out. When I showed up at the immigration office it was completely packed. I probably would have taken a number and sat down like everyone else instead of going straight to the cashiers and getting the extension form. I don’t even know how I would have asked for the form since I didn’t even know what it was called. My Aunt also knew one of the Cong An that worked there and he told us what signatures we needed and then took us to the front of the line and got my application submitted immediately….or I surely would have spent hours waiting. We spent less than 30 minutes in the Immigration Office.
Tip: Grab a few extra copies of Form NM/14 while at the Immigration Office so that you can prefill out the info and just submit it every 3 months…that way you don’t have to come back twice.
Thanks for a great post! Somehow it still feels like the best option for pretty much everyone that wants to be here for the long term without leaving the country every 3 months is to set up a business. Then you get a temporary residence card for 3 years. That is my way to do it at least. Cheers.
Thanks Anders! Can you setup a business in Vietnam without actually having a business?
And how much does it cost to setup a business in Vietnam? The great thing about the 5 year exemption is that it is so easy to apply for…and relatively cheap to process. It obviously is not much of an option unless you are a Viet Kieu or married to a Viet….so your solution would be much more suitable for most expats coming to Vietnam. Your website is great (www.expat.vn)!! I learned a lot from it before I arrived in VN.
BTW…you are the lucky 200th comment on Saigon in a Cup!! You get your choice of a half eaten bag of Kit Kats or a slightly used Poncho!!
Well, as you surely know there is always a way to do almost anything in Vietnam, but I suggest setting up a small proper business. The easiest for a foreigner is some kind of software development (no VAT) or trading. Those licenses normally run for around $2000 and takes around 45 days. With the current visa situation I realized I would save those $2k in just visa costs during the 3 years and if we add the constant visa runs, it is a huge save. Then you will need to file tax reports every month, but a service will do this very cheaply if it is a small business (around 500k VND/month). Of course it is much better if you actually have the intention to do a little bit of business as well.
Thanks for the compliment, we are working hard to write more useful articles for expats in Vietnam. And thanks for a nice blog! Haha I will pick the half eaten bag of Kit Kats.
[...] you are Viet Kieu (Abroad Vietnamese) and interested in getting a 5 year visa exemption, TD (Saigon in a Cup) gives a very detailed descriptions on how you can obtain this. This 5 year visa exemption also [...]
Thank you so much for this post. My wife and I (she is Vietnamese)will be retiring in Bao Loc hopefully next March. My son-in-law lives there and will be very instrumental in doing the correct thing for us. To date I have been pretty naieve knowing that everything would be done for me. Can you think of any other obstacles that I will be faced with? What about medical insurance? Is it available? Thanks again.
Mike
Hey Mike….I’m trying to figure out the whole health insurance thing myself. I know that there are international health insurance plans available….but they are usually designed for short term travelers/vacationers….and are probably pretty expensive to keep long term. I have also heard of local plans…but am unsure if the local doctors/hospitals even accept them. One thing that does seem clear is that if you have any major health issues….Vietnam is not a good place to have them taken care of. Although extremely cheap by American standards, the quality of care seems to vary dramatically….even at the international hospitals. I have recently read of major misdiagnosis and doctors that are extremely indifferent to their patients. The International SOS Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City has received the best reviews from a lot of expats in Saigon….but they are extremely expensive. Your best bet might be to fly to nearby Bangkok if you have a serious health issue. Sorry I couldn’t give you a better answer….you might try the “Living in Vietnam” forum I have listed in my links on the right sidebar. There is a American expat there named BMT who has lived in Vietnam for over 17 years…..he can probably answer any questions you have about retiring in Vietnam better than I. Good luck on your move!
Hi Mike,
I use Bao Viet insurance for me an my staff, we are quite happy so far but then again we are all young and (pretty) healthy. I normally go to a small clinic on Dien Bien Phu St. when I have some problem and they have been better than my local clinic in Sweden so far when it comes to dealing with ear infections etc. And Bao Viet insurance has covered all meds and all visits without blinking so far. Bao Viet is also really cheap. But as said above, I wouldnt want to be here for something major.
odgnut, thanks for taking the time to post this. The information is invaluable. Now I know what to do if I decide to stay in VN for an extended period of time.
I’d like to reiterate that the requirement to “stamp” the visa exemption every 90 days is a formality that allows the government to keep tabs on foreigners (as is their right). You do *not* have to leave the country for this. You do have to fill out a form with signatures of the person “sponsoring” you and the local police authority. The cost to have these forms processed is 200,000VND. It takes about a week. It’s all done at the immigration office, much like getting the initial exemption, and the process is painless (though annoying). I’m sad to say that the whole process moves along much quicker if you’re white or with a white guy.
If you’re eligible for the visa exemption, it’s really the cheapest and easiest alternative for a long term stay.
I think you pretty much summarized exactly what I wrote in my post…..200,000VND is about $10 which is what the stamp shows. And no you DO NOT have to be “white or with a white guy” to have things done quickly. I was in and out in less than 30 minutes….and in the future I don’t even have to show up at all. They are allowing my Aunt to represent me and to do all the paperwork for me in the future.
Hi,
I have this certificate of visa exemption already.
I have since left Vietnam but plan to return to visit my wife there.
What i need to know now is: Do I simply turn up at the airport and get my passport stamped? Or does it need to be stamped beforehand in the country I flew in from?
thanks muchly.
You get your passport and certificate stamped in VN…you only need to show the certificate to the airline where you are flying out of so they know that you don’t require a Visa.
Greetings, I followed the instruction and guess what happened…no visa exemption. Why? The fee price in your instruction and the mienthithucvk.mofa.gov.vn is outdated.
My application was received on April 16, 2010 by the Embassy of Vietnam in Washington D.C. and I called on May 5, 2010 to check the status because it was over 7 “business” days. I was told that the new fee is $40 and it takes 10 “business” days.
Furthermore, once the officer found out when I will be going to Vietnam he noted that the once the Embassy receive the addition $10…that is when the 10 “business” days to process starts. Unlucky for me…I leave to VN before then…so
I asked the officer to send back my whole package and he added that the $30 is non-refundable…Unlucky for me again…
Conclusion: I should have called the Embassy regardless of both sites instruction for the fee process…send either $20 or $30?…neither because it is $40. Sucks to be me…
Sorry to hear about that. I also had an issue with my application when I mailed it because there was no mention of the $10 processing fee. Unfortunately the Vietnamese govt doesn’t seem to care to clearly spell out their policies or update them whenever they change. If I were traveling to Vietnam in less than a month’s time…I would definitely not apply for something like a Visa Exemption which requires you to mail in your passport. You can never be sure anything will get done in time…whether it is the VN government or the U.S.
In my situation…I just Express Mailed the additional fees to the Vietnam Embassy and they immediately mailed me my Visa Exemption after. You could have done that instead of having them mail you back everything and lose the $30…of course overnighting another $10 will probably cost you $20. If you read the other VN Expat blogs you will see the frustration from people trying to attain a work permit in VN. The rules change all the time and the only way people learn is by word of mouth from other expats. Sorry to hear about your misfortune…but you possibly will save someone else from having to go through the same situation.
I used the visa exemption until recently,as i am now divorced from my vietnamee wife.I now am back in the uk,however,my 6 year old daughter still resides in Vietnam(vietnamee national),so im wondering if i could use this certificate again
That’s a good question Stephen. I honestly don’t know in your particular situation. I would assume that you would probably be good for the remaining duration of your 5 Year Exemption because the record keeping in VN is atrocious.
Longer term, you might be able to apply for a Temporary (or Permanent) Residency Permit because you are related to a Vietnamese citizen (your daughter)…but I wouldn’t know how to go about doing that. You might have better luck asking John Hoff on his “Final Word” blog….or maybe even Expat.VN. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Best of luck to you.
To reply to Mike’s question of March 26 and the 2 subsequent follow up comments, I use Vien Dong Pacific for my medical insurance. They are a member of the Pacific Cross group of companies and are also known as Blue Cross Vietnam. I discovered them by visiting a couple of the clinics in town and asking who they would recommend for my insurance.
Their premiums are approx. half those of the Bao Viet group and to date I have had no problems with any claims I have made (although I’ve only made 3 claims). I have been with them now for 12 months.
I am currently 60 years of age so my premiums are getting up there but I am currently paying US$1,231.00 for maxi care inpatient and US$615.00 for outpatient for a comprehensive cover. I’m in the process of dropping the outpatient because I really only want to be covered for some disaster like a bad accident or serious illness that requires medical evacuation. Now that can be expensive!
Unfortunately though, after 65 even Blue Cross premiums will be way too expensive so I may be forced to either return to Australia where all of my medical is covered or continue to live here with no cover.
Does anybody know of an insurer who will cover you for a medical disaster only?
cheers
Hey all,
Quick question: Is it still possible to get a third 3-month visa? I originally got a 3-month visa and have extended it once. The original post here said that I should be able to extend/renew again for another 3-months (for a total of 9 months). Is this the case? If so, I’ll renew and extend as I get my WP next month. I hope!
I think that’s still the case CT, but things change so quickly in VN that it might be easier/more difficult now. You should just call your local travel agent to find out for sure.
Does a Viet Kieu visa allow you to work in VN without a work permit?
Nope…you still need a work permit.