The short answer
Your visa symbol decides your residence rights in Vietnam, and almost nothing else does. A temporary residence card is available only if you currently hold a visa in one of fifteen listed categories, and its maximum term is set by that symbol: ten years for an ĐT1 investor, five years for ĐT2 and for a foreign lawyer, three years for ĐT3 and for a dependent, two years for an employee. Investors below 3 billion dong get the ĐT4 visa, which carries no temporary residence card at all. Permanent residence is a different track with only four qualifying categories, and the decision rests with the Minister of Public Security, who has four months to make it. Vietnamese citizenship is a separate question governed by the Law on Nationality, not by this statute.
The statute
Everything below comes from Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam No. 47/2014/QH13, as amended by Law No. 51/2019/QH14, Law No. 23/2023/QH15 and Law No. 118/2025/QH15, the last of which took effect on 1 July 2026.
The investor thresholds, which surprise people
Article 8 sets four investor visa symbols by capital contribution:
ĐT1 for a foreign investor or representative of a foreign investing organisation with a capital contribution of 100 billion dong or more, or investing in a sector or location eligible for investment incentives as decided by the Government. ĐT2 for a contribution from 50 billion to under 100 billion dong, or investment in a sector encouraged for development. ĐT3 for a contribution from 3 billion to under 50 billion dong. ĐT4 for a contribution under 3 billion dong.
The ĐT4 visa runs for a maximum of one year under Article 9, Clause 4, and ĐT4 does not appear in the temporary residence card list in Article 36. A small-capital investor therefore renews a visa indefinitely rather than holding a card. If a card matters to you, the capital figure in your investment registration certificate is the lever, and it needs to be right before the application, not after.
The other symbols that qualify
LĐ1 is for a foreigner working in Vietnam with written confirmation of exemption from the work permit requirement. LĐ2 is for a foreigner who does require a work permit. The distinction is not cosmetic: LĐ1 depends on an exemption confirmation that must be obtained first, and both carry a two-year ceiling under Article 9, Clause 5.
TT is the dependent symbol, issued to the spouse and under-18 children of a holder of LV1, LV2, LS, ĐT1 to ĐT4, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LĐ1 or LĐ2, and to the parent, spouse or child of a Vietnamese citizen. The second limb is the one that matters to mixed families: a foreign spouse of a Vietnamese citizen qualifies for TT directly, without an employer sponsor.
NN1 and NN2 cover the head of a representative office or project of an international or foreign non-governmental organisation, and the head of a representative office or branch of a foreign trader. DH covers interns and students. LS covers foreign lawyers practising in Vietnam.
Law No. 118/2025/QH15 added two symbols from 1 July 2026. UĐ1 is for high-quality digital technology personnel and other categories given preferential treatment by law or by resolution of the National Assembly or its Standing Committee. UĐ2 is for the spouse and under-18 children of a UĐ1 holder. Both carry a five-year visa and, as set out below, a ten-year temporary residence card. For a technology hire, this is now the strongest residence position available short of permanent residence.
Who gets a temporary residence card
Article 36, Clause 1:
The cases eligible for a temporary residence card include: (a) foreigners who are members of diplomatic missions, consulates, representative offices of United Nations organisations and intergovernmental organisations in Vietnam, and their spouses, children under 18 and domestic helpers accompanying them for the term of office; (b) foreigners temporarily residing in Vietnam who are eligible for visas symbolled LV1, LV2, LS, ĐT1, ĐT2, ĐT3, NN1, NN2, DH, PV1, LĐ1, LĐ2, TT, UĐ1, UĐ2.
Clause 2 gives category (a) the NG3 card and gives category (b) a card symbol matching the visa symbol. Note what is absent from the list: ĐT4, DN1, DN2, NN3, DL, HN, VR and EV. A business visitor on DN1, a tourist and a small investor are all outside the scheme.
How long the card runs
Article 38, as amended:
1. The temporary residence card is issued for a term at least 30 days shorter than the remaining validity of the passport. 2. Cards symbolled ĐT1, UĐ1 and UĐ2 have a term of not more than 10 years. 3. Cards symbolled NG3, LV1, LV2, LS, ĐT2 and DH have a term of not more than 5 years. 4. Cards symbolled NN1, NN2, ĐT3 and TT have a term of not more than 3 years. 5. Cards symbolled LĐ1, LĐ2 and PV1 have a term of not more than 2 years. 6. An expired card is considered for the issuance of a new card.
Clause 1 is the provision that quietly shortens cards. The card must end at least 30 days before the passport does, so a passport with 26 months left caps an LĐ2 card below its two-year ceiling. Renew the passport first, then apply, or you pay the full fee for a short card.
Applying for the card
Article 37, Clause 1 sets the dossier: the written request of the sponsoring organisation or individual, the application form with photograph attached, the passport, and documents proving eligibility under Article 36, Clause 1.
Clause 2 sets the route and the clock. An NG3 card is filed with the competent authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For everyone else, the inviting or sponsoring organisation or individual files directly with the immigration authority where that organisation has its head office or where the sponsoring individual resides. Then:
Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of a complete dossier, the immigration authority or the competent authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall consider the issuance of the temporary residence card.
Five working days from a complete dossier. Delays in practice come from incomplete eligibility documents, not from the review itself, and the sponsor files, not the applicant.
Permanent residence: four doors only
Article 39:
1. Foreigners with meritorious service and contributions to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland of Vietnam who have been awarded medals or state honorary titles by the Vietnamese State. 2. Foreigners who are scientists or experts temporarily residing in Vietnam. 3. Foreigners sponsored by a father, mother, spouse or child who is a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in Vietnam. 4. Stateless persons who have continuously temporarily resided in Vietnam since 2000 or earlier.
Article 40 adds the conditions. All four categories require lawful accommodation and a stable income sufficient to support life in Vietnam. The scientist and expert route additionally requires a recommendation from the Minister or head of the ministerial-level or Government agency responsible for that person's professional field. The family route additionally requires three or more years of continuous temporary residence in Vietnam.
Note what is not there. Length of residence alone does not qualify you. Investment, however large, does not qualify you. Marriage to a Vietnamese citizen opens the family route only after three continuous years of temporary residence, and the sponsor must be permanently residing in Vietnam.
The permanent residence procedure and its timeline
Article 41, Clause 1 sets a heavier dossier than the temporary card: an application for permanent residence, a criminal record certificate issued by the competent authority of the applicant's country of nationality, a diplomatic note from that country's representative mission requesting that Vietnam grant permanent residence, a certified copy of the passport, documents proving the Article 40 conditions, and a letter of sponsorship for the family route.
The criminal record certificate and the diplomatic note are the two items that take longest, and both must be obtained abroad before filing.
Clause 2: within four months from receipt of a complete dossier the Minister of Public Security considers and decides; where further verification is needed the period may be extended by up to two months. Clause 4: the provincial police notify the applicant within five working days of receiving the immigration authority's notice. Clause 5: the applicant must attend the provincial immigration office to collect the permanent residence card within three months of being notified. Miss that three-month window and you are re-applying, not collecting.
Article 43 completes the picture: the permanent residence card is issued by the provincial police, and every ten years the permanent resident must attend the provincial police where they reside to have the card replaced.
What about citizenship
Naturalisation is not governed by this statute. Vietnamese citizenship, including naturalisation, retention of a foreign nationality and renunciation, falls under the Law on Nationality and its implementing regulations, which impose their own conditions on residence duration, language, livelihood and renunciation of existing nationality, and which route the final decision to the President. Permanent residence is a prerequisite in practice, not a substitute. Treat it as a separate application with its own evidence file rather than as the next renewal of your card.
Five things to get right
Fix the visa symbol first. It sets your card eligibility and your maximum term. Changing symbol later means a new application, not an amendment.
Check your capital figure if you are an investor. The 3, 50 and 100 billion dong thresholds are the difference between no card, a three-year card and a ten-year card.
Renew the passport before applying. The card must expire at least 30 days before the passport.
Count the three years before relying on family sponsorship. Continuous temporary residence, and the Vietnamese sponsor must be permanently resident in Vietnam.
Start the foreign documents early for permanent residence. Home-country criminal record and a diplomatic note from your embassy, before the four-month clock can even start.
How UniLaw helps
We assess which visa symbol and card your situation supports, prepare and file temporary residence card applications through the sponsoring entity, handle work permit and exemption confirmations that underpin LĐ1 and LĐ2, and advise on and assemble permanent residence applications including the foreign evidence they require.
Sources
- Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam No. 47/2014/QH13, as amended by Law No. 51/2019/QH14 (effective 1 July 2020), Law No. 23/2023/QH15 (effective 15 August 2023) and Law No. 118/2025/QH15 (effective 1 July 2026) – Article 8 (visa symbols), Article 9 (Clauses 4, 5, 5a, 6 – visa terms), Article 36 (Clauses 1, 2), Article 37 (Clauses 1, 2), Article 38, Article 39, Article 40, Article 41 (Clauses 1, 2, 4, 5), Article 43.
- No judgment cited: residence card and permanent residence decisions are administrative acts and the commercial judgment database holds no case on point. Naturalisation provisions are not sourced here and are treated at statute level only.
Related
- Work permits in Vietnam — the permit or exemption confirmation that underpins an LĐ1 or LĐ2 card.
- Immigration lawyers in Vietnam — how we handle entry, residence and work authorisation matters.
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