Vietnam November 8, 2026

Living in Vietnam 2026 for Americans and Other Foreigners: Temporary Residence Cards, the VNeID Account and the Resident Legal Representative Rule

Key takeaways

Entering, residing and working are three separate permissions. A visa or residence card does not allow work, and a work permit does not replace a residence document.
US passports have no visa waiver for mainland Vietnam. The e-visa allows stays of up to 90 days per entry, single or multiple entry, and cannot be extended inside the country.
Residence card length depends on status: employees 2 years; investors 10, 5 or 3 years depending on capital of VND 100 billion, 50 billion or 3 billion; spouses of Vietnamese citizens 3 years. Investors below VND 3 billion get a visa only.
Law 118/2025 took effect on 1 July 2026: new UĐ1 and UĐ2 categories, residence cards of up to 10 years, and authorities may no longer demand documents already held in national databases.
Since 28 September 2026, under Decree 320/2026, foreigners' VNeID electronic identity accounts no longer have levels. Any foreigner lawfully in Vietnam can apply in person at the provincial immigration office.
Since 1 June 2026, a sponsoring company files visa letters, extensions and residence card applications only through its corporate VNeID account, and that account can be opened only by a legal representative who already holds a personal account and a residence card.
Vietnam joined the Apostille Convention on 11 September 2026. US marriage certificates, FBI background checks and other public documents now need one apostille, not consular legalisation.
A company must always have at least one legal representative living in Vietnam. If the only one leaves, a written authorisation to a resident is required, and absence of more than 30 days without it forces the appointment of a new representative.

Americans come to Vietnam to scout a market, attend meetings, run a company, work on a contract, manage an investment, or live with a Vietnamese spouse. Each purpose maps to a different visa, a different residence card and a different set of filings. Two changes in 2026 make this worth re-reading even for people who have done it before: the immigration law was amended again on 1 July, and the VNeID electronic identity system that the government now routes most procedures through was opened to all lawful foreign residents on 28 September. Setting up the company itself is covered in our guide The Complete Guide to Establishing Your Business in Vietnam for Taiwanese Companies 2026 , which applies to any foreign investor; this article is about the people.

1. Three facts about entering Vietnam on a US passport

Point	Rule in 2026
Visa waiver	None for US citizens on the mainland. The only exception is Phu Quoc Island, where a stay of up to 30 days on the island alone is visa-free
E-visa	Issued online for up to 90 days, single or multiple entry. A multiple-entry e-visa does not reset the 90 days on each re-entry, and an e-visa cannot be extended inside Vietnam
Working on a visitor visa	Not allowed. Meetings, site visits and negotiations are not work; managing staff, running a department or performing professional services for a Vietnamese company is, and needs a work permit or an exemption

One more rule that short-term visitors overlook: temporary residence declaration. Under Article 33 of the immigration law the accommodation provider, whether a hotel, a landlord or a company dormitory, must report a foreign guest to the ward police within 12 hours, online or on paper. The duty is the host's, not the guest's, but a missing record surfaces later when you apply for a visa or a residence card. If you rent privately or stay with friends, confirm that the declaration was made.

2. The four residence statuses and how long each card lasts

Status	Visa and card symbol	Maximum card length	What the card is based on
Employee	LĐ1 (work permit exempt), LĐ2 (work permit holder)	2 years	The work permit or exemption confirmation
Investor, capital of VND 100 billion or more	ĐT1	10 years	Also available for investment in government-listed priority sectors or areas
Investor, VND 50 billion to under 100 billion	ĐT2	5 years	Also available for investment in encouraged sectors
Investor, VND 3 billion to under 50 billion	ĐT3	3 years	Actual contributed capital
Investor, under VND 3 billion	ĐT4	No card	Visa only, up to 1 year at a time
Spouse, parent or child of a Vietnamese citizen	TT	3 years	The marriage or family relationship

Rules that apply across the board:

The card must expire at least 30 days before the passport does. If your passport has less than two years left, renew it before applying.
The sponsoring company or individual applies to the immigration office where it is located, and the office decides within five working days of a complete file.
Expiry means a new card, not an extension. If the conditions still hold, you apply again. Vietnam has no grace period for overstaying.
Since 1 July 2026, authorities may not ask for documents that the national databases already hold. In practice bring everything anyway, but you can cite the rule if asked twice for the same paper.
The new UĐ1 and UĐ2 categories, for people the government designates as priority talent and their families, carry cards of up to 10 years. Most business readers will not use them.

Work permits themselves, including the 10-working-day procedure under Decree 219/2025 and the 90-day exemption, are covered in Hiring in Vietnam 2026 for US and Foreign Employers .

3. Investor cards look at money actually paid in, not at titles

The ĐT tiers follow the capital recorded in the investment and enterprise documents and actually contributed. A company whose registration certificate shows charter capital of VND 100 billion but whose owner has paid in a fraction of it will have the file returned. "Investor" in the company's own organisation chart means nothing to the immigration officer; what counts is the legal document naming you as an investor and the evidence of the contribution. Below VND 3 billion, which is roughly USD 110,000 at 2026 rates, there is no card at all, only a visa of up to one year at a time. Where the shares are held through a Vietnamese nominee, the problem is worse, because the foreigner is not an investor on paper at all; see Nominee Investment in Vietnam 2026 .

4. Married to a Vietnamese citizen: the TT card, work without a permit, and apostilles

A foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen can hold a TT visa and a residence card of up to three years, renewed as long as the marriage and the residence conditions continue. The file usually includes the sponsorship documents, the passport, the marriage certificate, the Vietnamese spouse's identity card, proof of the shared address and the temporary residence declaration.

For Americans the paperwork became much lighter on 11 September 2026, when the Apostille Convention entered into force for Vietnam. The Vietnamese Embassy in Washington has stopped accepting consular legalisation for US public documents covered by the Convention. A US marriage certificate, birth certificate or FBI background check now needs one apostille from the Secretary of State of the issuing state, or from the US Department of State for federal documents, plus a notarised Vietnamese translation. Documents legalised the old way before that date remain valid. A marriage registered abroad may still need to be recorded in the Vietnamese civil status register before the TT application.

A TT card is a residence permit, not a work permit. But under Article 154 of the Labor Code a foreigner married to a Vietnamese citizen and living in Vietnam is exempt from the work permit, and under Decree 219/2025 the employer does not apply for an exemption certificate; it notifies the provincial authority at least three working days before the start date with the employee's name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, employer, place and period of work. Exemption is not exemption from procedure. If the notice is missed, the employer is liable.

5. The VNeID account: no more levels since 28 September 2026

VNeID is the electronic identification and authentication system run by the Ministry of Public Security. Foreigners have been able to open accounts since 1 July 2025, originally at two levels. Decree 320/2026, issued on 13 August 2026 and in force from 28 September, abolished the levels for foreigners: anyone who has lawfully entered or lawfully resides in Vietnam may apply when they need one. The passport, visa, residence card and work permit can be linked to the account, and the ministry can lock the account if the holder breaks the law. Online guides and agents still describing a "level 2 account" are out of date.

How to apply:

In person at the immigration department of the Ministry of Public Security or the immigration office of the provincial police.
Bring your passport and give a mobile number and an email address in your own name.
Face image and fingerprints are captured on the spot and matched against the national immigration database.
The result arrives through the VNeID app, the registered phone number or email. Processing times changed with Decree 320; ask the receiving office for the current timeline.

Use your own phone number and your own email. Verification codes and account notices go to the registered channels, and an account tied to an assistant's or agent's number cannot be recovered when that person moves on.

6. Registering a phone number

A Vietnamese mobile number is the key to VNeID, verification codes and most online services. Under Decree 163/2024 implementing the Telecommunications Law, a foreigner registers a subscription with a passport valid for the permitted stay or with an electronic identity account, and the number must be in the user's own name; company numbers are registered to the individual users. Go to an official carrier store, check that the name, passport number and validity are recorded correctly, and do not buy or keep using a SIM registered to someone else. Reports that carriers added facial checks in 2026 are not confirmed by a published instrument, but the risk of a mismatched SIM is the same either way: VNeID verification, bank services and account recovery all stall.

7. The corporate account, and the loop that catches foreign-run companies

Under Decree 69/2024 an organisation can hold its own electronic identity account, opened inside the app by the legal representative or an authorised person using their personal VNeID account. The company's details are checked against the national business registration database, and gaps or mismatches trigger a request for more documents. The account binds the company, not the person, but opening and managing it depends on the personal account and the legal authority of whoever does it.

Since 1 June 2026, sponsoring companies have been required to file entry approval letters, visa extensions, work and exit visas and residence card applications through the corporate VNeID account; the old corporate token login was withdrawn without a transition period. That creates a loop for a company whose only legal representative is a foreigner without a residence card: the corporate account needs a representative who holds a personal account and a residence card, and the residence card application now needs the corporate account. Companies that already hold a corporate account can delegate filing rights to a staff member or an authorised agent who has a personal account. The practical answer for most foreign-owned companies is the one in section 8: a second, resident legal representative.

8. One legal representative must live in Vietnam

Foreign owners often make themselves the legal representative of the Vietnamese company and visit for a few weeks at a time. Article 12 of the Law on Enterprises is explicit:

The company must at all times have at least one legal representative residing in Vietnam.
If the company has only one, that person must, before leaving Vietnam, authorise in writing another individual residing in Vietnam to exercise the representative's rights and duties, and remains responsible for what the authorised person does.
If the sole representative is absent for more than 30 days without such an authorisation, the owner or the board must appoint another legal representative.
Where there are several representatives and the charter does not divide their powers, each has full authority toward third parties and all are jointly liable for damage to the company.

What the authorisation should say: the period and scope; which contracts and transactions may be signed and up to what amount; dealings with banks and state agencies; use of the seal, the digital signature and the electronic accounts, including corporate VNeID; which matters need prior approval; and reporting and handover duties. Too vague and it invites disputes about authority; too narrow and the stand-in cannot handle the unexpected.

The stable solution for an owner who lives abroad is to add a resident legal representative and write the division of powers into the charter: the foreign representative keeps investment strategy, major transactions and the parent relationship; the resident representative runs daily operations, labor, tax, banking and administration. Adding one is not a single filing. The charter, the internal rules, the bank signature cards, the digital signature, the tax account, the corporate VNeID account and the seal procedure all change, and counterparties should be told the limits of each representative's authority.

The personal liability that comes with the title, the tax-debt exit ban and how to draft the authorisation are covered in Legal Representative of a Vietnamese Company 2026 for US and Foreign Owners: Personal Liability, the Tax-Debt Exit Ban, Power of Attorney and the Second Representative .

9. Common mistakes

Mistake	Consequence	What to do instead
Assuming a residence card allows work	Fines for the individual and the company for working without a permit	Check whether a permit or an exemption applies before the first day
Spouse is exempt, so no notice is filed	The employer breaches the notification duty	Notify the provincial authority at least three working days before the start date
Applying for ĐT1 on registered capital that has not been paid in	File returned or downgraded	Apply on actual contribution with the evidence
Applying with a passport that expires within a year	Card validity cut short	Renew the passport first
Opening VNeID with an agent's phone number	Codes never arrive, account cannot be recovered	Use your own number and email
Following old "level 2 account" instructions	Procedure does not match	No levels since 28 September 2026
Sole legal representative travels without an authorisation	Nobody can sign; after 30 days a new representative must be appointed	Sign a written authorisation before leaving, or add a resident representative
Nobody filed the temporary residence declaration	Later applications stall for corrections	Confirm that the landlord or hotel reported to the police

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Can Americans enter Vietnam without a visa in 2026?

No. US passport holders need a visa for mainland Vietnam; the e-visa allows up to 90 days per entry. The only visa-free option is a stay of up to 30 days confined to Phu Quoc Island.

How long is a temporary residence card for an American working in Vietnam?

Up to two years on an LĐ1 or LĐ2 card, tied to the work permit or exemption. Investor cards run 10, 5 or 3 years depending on capital, and a spouse of a Vietnamese citizen gets up to 3 years. The card must expire at least 30 days before the passport.

I own a small company in Vietnam. Do I qualify for an investor residence card?

Only if your actual contributed capital is at least VND 3 billion, about USD 110,000. Below that you are ĐT4, which gives a visa of up to one year at a time but no card.

Do I still need Vietnamese consular legalisation for my US marriage certificate or FBI check?

Not since 11 September 2026. Vietnam is now a party to the Apostille Convention, so a US public document needs an apostille from the competent US authority plus a certified Vietnamese translation. Documents legalised before that date remain valid.

Do I have to get a VNeID account?

There is no general obligation on individuals. In practice, however, a company cannot open its corporate account without a legal representative who has a personal account, and since June 2026 visa and residence card filings by a sponsoring company go through that corporate account. If you are the legal representative of a Vietnamese company, open the account early.

I live in the United States and am the only legal representative of my Vietnamese company. Is that allowed?

Not on its own. The company must have at least one legal representative living in Vietnam. Either sign a written authorisation to a resident before each departure and accept responsibility for that person's acts, or, more durably, add a resident legal representative and divide the powers in the charter.

How Louis Group can help

Louis Group's Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City offices help foreign nationals and foreign-owned companies identify the right residence category, obtain residence cards for employees, investors and spouses, open personal and corporate VNeID accounts, draft legal representative authorisations and charter amendments adding a resident representative, and resolve mismatches between residence and work documents. Contact our Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City office.

Sources

Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam, as amended by Law 118/2025/QH15 in force 1 July 2026: consolidated English text
Embassy of Viet Nam in the United States, 10 September 2026: Notice on the Application of the Apostille in Place of Consular Legalisation as from 11 September 2026
LuatVietnam, 2026: 10 điểm mới của Nghị định 320/2026/NĐ-CP về định danh và xác thực điện tử
LuatVietnam: Decree 163/2024/ND-CP detailing the Law on Telecommunications
Vietnam Briefing, 15 August 2025: Vietnam Work Permit Regulations: New Rules from August 2025