Vietnam exempts visas for citizens of 13 countries | ANT Consulting

 In order to encourage international tourists to return Vietnam after a long pause due to the pandemic and quickly adapt to the new situation of recovering the tourism industry, gradually bringing the tourism industry back to life, Vietnam Government has issued Resolution No. 32/NQ-CP visa exemption for citizens of 13 countries. This policy is an appropriate solution to bring international tourists to travel to Vietnam and also an opportunity for Vietnam’s tourism to recover.

Subjects exempt from visas are citizens of the following countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Northern Ireland, Russian Federation, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Belarus. Accordingly, citizens of these countries will be exempted from visas for 15 days from the date of entry, regardless of passport type, entry purpose, on the basis of meeting all conditions as prescribed by Vietnam immigration law.

Regarding the application period of the visa exemption policy, the visa exemption on entry to Vietnam for citizens of the above countries will be implemented for a period of 3 years, from March 15th, 2022 to the end of March 14th, 2025. Besides, this policy may be considered for extension in accordance with Vietnamese law.

In addition, to enter Vietnam, visitors need to comply with the requirements on epidemic prevention and control for people on entry. Specifically, visitors must have a negative test result for SARS-CoV-2, must make a medical declaration before entry and monitor their health and apply Covid-19 prevention measures.

Therefore, it can be seen that Vietnam has created favorable conditions for tourism to gradually approach international tourists in an effective and safe manner. These would gradually improve the economic environment, and bring more potential investors to Vietnam to set up company and make investment.

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Change of Headquarter of Da Nang Immigration Department

As of August 2018, according to the project for rearranging the administrative function of the Government and the Ministry of Public Security, Immigration Department of Da Nang has been merged into Immigration Department of Hanoi. Therefore, the procedures related to entry, exit of Vietnamese citizens and foreigners such as issuing visa, exempting visa, temporary residence card, permanent residence in Da Nang shall be implemented in Immigration Department of Hanoi.

Relating to the dossier and procedures carried out at the Immigration Department of Da Nang such as issuing passport, temporary residence card, permanent residence, the application shall be submitted to Immigration Department of Da Nang. Thereafter, this agency shall transfer such dossier to Immigration Department of Hanoi for approval. Finally, the results shall be returned to Da Nang.

For most of immigration procedures which used to be implemented in Immigration Department of Da Nang, such as issuing visas, the applicant shall submit the dossier directly to Immigration Department of Hanoi. The change could possibly add up processing time, and inconvenience if there is requirement for re-submission, amendment and supplement.

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Temporary residence card for foreigner in Vietnam

If the foreign investor, the employee needs to reside in Vietnam to be able to facilitate the implementation of investment, labor contract, the investor and the employee needs to have the company sponsored and proceed to apply Temporary residence card in accordance with the purpose of residence in Vietnam.

Temporary residence card is a document issued by an immigration authority or a competent authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a foreigner who is permitted to reside for a limited period of time in Vietnam and is valid for visa replacement. When a temporary residence card is available, the foreign investor or worker will present a temporary residence card instead of a visa when entering, leaving Vietnam and is legally residing in Vietnam.

To avoid administrative fines or deportation for violations of the law on residence in Vietnam, foreign investors and employees need to follow procedures for applying for a temporary residence card suitable for the purpose of entry (symbol visa). Investors, employees who have appropriate entry visas (DT or LD visa) will be considered by the Immigration Authority to grant a temporary residence card.

For the application for a temporary residence card that requires the investor, the employee needs to have all business documents, proving that it is eligible to sponsor a foreigner and enter the country for the right purpose. Request a Certification of exemption from a work permit, work permit, entry visa for the right purpose, legal residence address in Vietnam.

When all of the above conditions are met, investors and employees shall carry out the procedures for applying for temporary residence cards in Vietnam so that they can reside, leave and enter in accordance with law. The duration of the temporary residence card is issued pursuant to the purpose of entry and the proposal of agencies, organizations and individuals. The temporary residence card is from 1 to 5 years but shorter than the passport duration by at least 30 days, specifically:

– Temporary residence cards with symbols NG3, LV1, LV2, ĐT and DH are valid for no more than 05 years.

– Temporary residence cards with symbols NN1, NN2, TT are valid for not more than 03 years.

– Temporary residence cards with the symbol LD and PV1 are valid for no more than 02 years.

When the temporary residence card expires, the foreign individual will be considered to request the sponsored company to apply for a new temporary rresidence card.

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The Government Continues to Exempt Visas for Western European Countries

It has been announced on May 3rd, 2018 that visa exemption policy for 5 Western European countries has been extended as part of the Vietnam immigration policy to attract tourists to Vietnam. At the same time, the Government has decided to increase the exemption period from one year to three years.

Accordingly, the Government has a high consensus and the Prime Minister has decided to continue the visa exemption for five Western European countries, including England, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. As previous regulation, the visa exemption will be expired at the end of June 2018. The exemption period has also increased from one year to three years.

Visa policy is considered to be an extension of the tourism industry because Vietnam is a country has strict visa policies, with only visa exemption for citizens of 24 countries, much less than other countries in the region.

For example, Indonesia exempts visas from 168 countries, Malaysia 162 countries, Singapore or the Philippines 159 countries, Thailand 57 countries. Besides that, these countries apply the policy of issuing visas at the border and electronic visas.

Western Europe is considered a high-paying group. Statistics show that the first visa exemption year (2015) has 720 thousand guests. In 2016, the number of visitors increased 16%, turnover reached 202 million.

In 2017, Western European visitors reached 1.5 million people, contributing to the record of the first-time Vietnam reaching 12.9 million international visitors.

According to many experts, if visas for these countries are not renewed, tourism industry of Vietnam will lose 20% of its visitors from large markets with a loss of several hundred million USD. However, losses will not stop there, as guests may form a habit of not coming to Vietnam.

This new immigration regulation will start from July 1st, 2018.

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The procedure for issuing and extending investment visa

Investment visa which is symbolized as DT, is granted to foreign investors who establish or contribute capital to companies operating in Vietnam with the maximum time limit for each grant is no more than 01 year. The issuance of investment visas for foreigners must comply with the provisions of the Law on entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam 2014 and Circular 14/2015 / TT-BCA.

According to the current law, in order to be granted a investment visa, the foreign investor need to prepare 01 set of documents including: Certified copy of Business License / Investment License; certificate of seal sample registration or the Notice of posting information about the seal sample of the enterprise on the national portal of enterprise registration; registration of seal sample and signature of the legal representative of the enterprise operating in Vietnam (form NA16); visa application form, visa extension, temporary residence extension for foreigners in Vietnam (form NA5); The original passport is valid as prescribed and the temporary residence registration is required. The dossier is fully prepared and submitted at the Immigration Department of the province where the enterprise is located. The time limit for settlement is 05 days from the date of receipt of complete and valid dossiers.

If foreign investors want to extend the visa, they must apply for the extension within 06 months before the expiration date. Dossiers include: Original passport (valid for at least 06 months); NA5 visa application form; investment certificate, business registration certificate; power of attorney (if any). Dossiers of application for extension of temporary residence visas for foreigners shall be submitted at the Immigration Department or the Immigration Department of the Public Security of the city/province where the enterprise or organization is headquartered. Time for returning results is no more than 5 working days. The investment visa is extended once for no more than 01 year.

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Three Difficulties in Applying Temporary Residence Card in Da Nang

In recent years, more and more foreigners are coming to live, work, study or to reside in Da Nang, therefore, many foreigners apply for Temporary residence card (TRC) for more convenience in Vietnam.

According to the regulation of Section 13, Article 3 of Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, Temporary Residence Card (TRC)is a legal document issued by an immigration authority or a competent authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a foreigner who is permitted to reside in Vietnam for a certain period of time. This card has the same validity as a visa. Therefore, if the foreigners have TRC, they will reside and entry/exit Vietnam without applying for visa.

However, the process and procedures to apply for TRC would have many different practical applications in each province. Particularly in Da Nang, the issuance of temporary cards for foreigners is more challenging.

The first, for the issuance of a TRC, the foreigner must apply for suitable visa, the issuance of TRC is executed at the Immigration Department of the Da Nang City Public Security. The application for a visa in Da Nang is more complicated than in other provinces. It is necessary to have specific information relating to the operation and management of the enterprise which guarantee foreigner to enter Vietnam(if any). For the submission of dossiers to apply for the visa, the foreigner shave to submit by themselves or by the staff of their company. This makes it necessary for the foreigner or the sponsor have to spend the time to complete the procedure.

Secondly, after having a valid visa, the foreigners should apply the TRC at the Immigration Department of the Da Nang City Public Security. The dossiers for applying the TRC is regulated in the Article 37 of the Law on enter, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam. However, when applying for temporary residence cards in Da Nang, the Immigration Department could request more other relevant documents to the business, which is some time not found in the law, which poses challenges to applicant.

Thirdly, the granting of TRC to foreign investors, workers in Da Nang requires the confirmation of work permit exemption, work permits. The duration of the TRC issued will be valid for a period of two (2) years. As a result, for foreign investors, only have TRC with the validity term of 02 years are granted, instead of maximum 5 years, as provided for in Clause 2, Article 38 of the Immigration law. In order to be granted a TRC for a period of more than two years, the Immigration Department shall consider the business situation of the company, the tax payment status of the investor, etc. Therefore, if investors want to be granted TRC for more than 02 years, they need to work in Vietnam for a longer time and the business must be profitable.

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Visa, Work Permit and PIT – What Enterprises Should Consider When Employing Foreign Workers in Vietnam

Enterprises employing foreign workers in Vietnam should be aware of issues on visa, work permit, liability of enterprise related to Personal Income Tax (PIT) of the foreign employee as declaration, payment and finalization to ensure legal compliance.

Visa

Foreigners eligible working in Vietnam are foreign investors who contribute capital to set-up company in Vietnam, chief representative of NGO, lawyers licensed by Vietnam Ministry of Justice, foreigners workers with valid working permits in Vietnam. Working visa in Vietnam is granted to foreigners working legally in Vietnam. Working visas for foreigners in Vietnam have a maximum length of 12 months. In the case of a foreigner wishing to stay longer, he/she could apply for temporary residence card for a period of up to three years. The application must be submitted to the provincial Immigration Department, and may include supporting documents such as a housing lease contract and an employer’s certificate of incorporation.

Work permit

Decree No. 102/2013/ND-CP elaborating some articles of the Labour Code on foreign workers in Vietnam states that for foreigners that require work permit in Vietnam, the employing enterprises will have to apply for work permit for such employee before they start working. The head of the provincial People’s Committee will have to approve the necessity to hire foreigners before the Vietnam Department of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs (DOLISA) grants work permits in Vietnam. For foreigners belonging to one of the cases exempted from work permit, the employing enterprises will have to request the provincial DOLISA where foreign workers regularly work to certify that such foreign workers are exempted before the day on which they start to work.

Personal Income Tax obligation

Foreigners who are subject to Personal Income Tax (PIT) in Vietnam are resident and non-resident workers. Foreigners who reside in Vietnam for less than 183 days in a tax year are considered non-residents for tax purposes. The first tax year is the consecutive 12 months period from the arrival date in Vietnam, and the second tax year will follow the calendar year. Non-resident foreigners working and earning income in Vietnam are subject to PIT at a flat rate of 20%. Foreigners who reside in Vietnam for 183 days or more in a tax year are considered tax residents in Vietnam and subject to PIT at progressive rates on their world-wide employment income. Incomes of foreign workers in Vietnam are based on salaries, wages, allowances and other benefits such as housing allowances, memberships at sport and health clubs, personal entertainments. The expenses not being subject to PIT include return air tickets between Vietnam and home country of the foreigners, school tuition fees of children of foreigners which employing enterprises pay on their behalf.

Vietnam has signed double tax agreements (DTA) with a number of countries, in which tax exemptions may be applied in specified circumstances. To request for tax exemptions, the application has to submit the request to the Ministry of Finance.

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Visa and Immigration Matters in Vietnam

Foreigners entering Vietnam for different purposes will need proper visas issued, failing which would lead to the revocation, invalidation of entry/exit/residence permits issued by Vietnamese competent authorities. The length of stay in Vietnam for foreigners depend on the visa type and the time duration specified on the visa itself. For some visas, especially work related visas, the foreigners need to be sponsored by Vietnam enterprises for working purpose. The proper works visa must be obtained before work permit in Vietnam would be issued and the foreigners could apply for temporary residence card to stay in Vietnam for a longer period.

Below lists down all visa symbol for references.

-NG1 – Issued to members of delegations invited by the Secretary General of Vietnam’s Communist Party of, the President of Vietnam, the President of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister.

-NG2 – issued to members of delegations invited by standing members of the Secretariat of the Vietnam’s Communist Party, Deputy President of Vietnam, Deputy President of the National Assembly, Deputy Prime Minister, President of Vietnamese Fatherland Front, Executive Judge of The Supreme Court, Chief Procurator of the Supreme Procuracy, State Auditor General; members of delegations at the same levels of Ministers, Secretary Generals of Provincial Communist Authorities, President of the People’s Committees of provinces.

-NG3 – Issued to members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations affiliated to the UN, representative offices of intergovernmental organizations and their spouses, children under 18 years of age, and housemaids during their term of office.

-NG4- Issued to people who come to work with diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations affiliated to the UN, representative offices of intergovernmental organizations, visitors of members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, representative offices of international organizations affiliated to the UN, and representative offices of intergovernmental organizations.

-LV1 – Issued to people who come to work with units affiliated to Vietnam’s Communist Party; the National Assembly, the government, Central Committee of Vietnamese Fatherland Front, the People’s Supreme Court, the People’s Supreme Procuracy, State Audit Agency, Ministries, ministerial agencies, Governmental agencies, the People’s Councils, the People’s Committees of provinces.

-LV2 – Issued to people who come to work with socio-political organizations, social organizations, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

-ĐT – Issued to foreign investors in Vietnam and foreign lawyers practicing in Vietnam.

-DN – Issued to people who come to work with companies in Vietnam.

-NN1 – Issued to Managers of representative offices or projects of international organizations and foreign non-governmental organizations in Vietnam.

-NN2 – Issued to heads of representative offices, branches of foreign traders, representative offices of other foreign economic, cultural, professional organizations in Vietnam.

-NN3 – Issued to people who come to work with foreign non-governmental organizations, representative offices, branches of foreign traders, representative offices of other foreign economic, cultural, professional organizations in Vietnam.

-DH – Issued to people who come to study or serve internship.

-HN – Issued to people who come to attend conventions or conferences.

-PV1 – Issued to journalists who have permanent residences in Vietnam.

-PV2 – Issued to journalists who come to work for a short period of time in Vietnam.

-LĐ – Issued to people who come to work.

-DL – Issued to tourists.

-TT – Issued to foreigners that are parents, spouse, children under 18 years of age of the foreigners issued with LV1, LV2, ĐT, NN1, NN2, UNIVERSITY, PV1, LĐ visas, or foreigners that are parents, spouse, children of Vietnamese citizens.

-VR – Issued to people who come to visit their relatives or for have other purposes.

-SQ – Issued to people at an overseas visa-issuing authority of Vietnam

It is important that the immigration lawyers in Vietnam to be retained for advice in regard to visa, work permit, temporary residence card or other immigration matters.

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Change of Headquarter of Da Nang Immigration Department

As of August 2018, according to the project for rearranging the administrative function of the Government and the Ministry of Public Security, Immigration Department of Da Nang has been merged into Immigration Department of Hanoi. Therefore, the procedures related to entry, exit of Vietnamese citizens and foreigners such as issuing visa, exempting visa, temporary residence card, permanent residence in Da Nang shall be implemented in Immigration Department of Hanoi.

Relating to the dossier and procedures carried out at the Immigration Department of Da Nang such as issuing passport, temporary residence card, permanent residence, the application shall be submitted to Immigration Department of Da Nang. Thereafter, this agency shall transfer such dossier to Immigration Department of Hanoi for approval. Finally, the results shall be returned to Da Nang.

For most of immigration procedures which used to be implemented in Immigration Department of Da Nang, such as issuing visa, the applicant shall submit dossier directly to Immigration Department of Hanoi. The change could possibly add up processing time, and inconvenience if there is requirement for re-submission, amendment and supplement.

ANT Lawyers law firm offer offices in both Hanoi and Da nang, there fore could facilitate the process for individuals and businesses to register entry, residence permit in Da Nang for the smooth experience, to assist foreigners entering Vietnam doing business, setting up company and making investment.

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