24.09.2026 
Vietnam
Vietnam offers no single national programme yet for acquiring a golden visa. Its investor regime nonetheless allows lawful residence of up to a decade, repeated border crossings and business management. Given a sufficiently large investment, the regime also lets the investor arrange status for the family. The term has no statutory definition, and this article uses the label Vietnam golden visa, by convention, for the DT1 to DT4 permits held by persons who invest capital.
A separate 10-year regime covers certain investors, experts, managers and highly qualified specialists connected with the International Financial Centre (IFC). Access depends on special criteria, and the regime offers no open route to status for a fixed payment.
Vietnam is meanwhile drafting a dedicated golden visa scheme for investors, qualified professionals and wealthy foreigners planning a long stay. The draft envisages a general permit for between 5 and 10 years, renewable thereafter. Because the selection criteria, the investment floor and the filing procedure still await approval, no applicant can lodge a file yet.
Below, the label covers both the draft and the routes that investors can use today. The article first addresses the thresholds and eligibility conditions, then the document set. Procedure follows, then relatives, work rights and the outlook for permanent status.
Vietnam golden visa: prospects for the new programme
The Tourism Advisory Board initiated the programme, still in draft, and submitted it to the Prime Minister. Its intended beneficiaries are investors and qualified professionals, figures from science and culture, and affluent foreigners able to help the Vietnamese economy grow.
The concept rests on three self-contained tracks. A basic permit would last between 5 and 10 years and remain renewable. For holders of capital, officials are discussing a separate permit with the same maximum duration, which would let the holder seek permanent residence (PR) after maintaining the investment for half of that term. Professionals in short supply would get a 5-year category renewable by a simplified procedure.
Pilot operation would cover Phu Quoc island, Da Nang, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Filing would move online. The drafters have yet to fix the investment floor, the qualifying assets and the requirements for candidates. Equally unsettled are the terms for including family, employment rights and any minimum period of presence.
No dedicated legal instrument has been published, and intake for this proposed type of Vietnam golden visa has not opened. Until the new route arrives, foreign nationals rely on the investor categories already in force.
What is available in 2026
In 2026 the country still has no stand-alone national programme for golden visas. No single fee or special application exists, and neither real estate nor bonds nor an investment fund confers resident status automatically.
Immigration instruments in force
The letters DT stand for đầu tư, Vietnamese for "investment". This symbol marks four permit types for investors from abroad and for persons acting for organisations based outside Vietnam.
An entry document in categories DT1 to DT4 admits its holder and authorises a stay within the period it states. Holders in the three higher categories may obtain a Vietnam temporary residence card (TRC). Once issued, the card replaces any visa and permits exit and re-entry any number of times without fresh authorisation. PR is a distinct status with its own procedure and legal ground, and a capital injection does not lead to it automatically.
Significant IFC participants who meet special criteria may receive an entry visa or a temporary card with a 10-year maximum under separate concessions. Under another scheme, a competent state body or an authorised organisation may recommend a foreign national for a 5-year visa exemption, which permits repeated trips yet confers no residence.
DT categories and thresholds
The registered stake of the individual applicant determines which tier of Vietnam investor visa applies. For an official representative, what counts is the contribution of the organisation represented.
|
Category |
Amount and nature of the investment |
Visa term, max. (years) |
TRC term, max. (years) |
|
DT1 |
VND 100bn (about USD 3.85m) or more, or activity in a sector or area the Government lists as qualifying for incentives |
5 |
10 |
|
DT2 |
VND 50bn (about USD 1.92m) to under VND 100bn (about USD 3.85m), or a project in a sector whose development the State encourages |
5 |
5 |
|
DT3 |
VND 3bn (about USD 115,000) to under VND 50bn (about USD 1.92m) |
3 |
3 |
|
DT4 |
Under VND 3bn (roughly under USD 115,000) |
1 |
Not issued |
Which investments support a Vietnam investor visa
The right to apply rests on an officially registered connection with a business entity or a stand-alone project. Investors use the following models:
- incorporating a company that has a foreign co-owner;
- taking a stake in an operating Vietnamese enterprise;
- buying shares or part of the charter capital;
- carrying out a stand-alone project;
- representing an investing organisation from abroad in an official capacity.
Proving the investor's standing
The foreign national must be named in the registration filings and corporate registers of the business. The personal contribution is established from the list of members or shareholders, any statutory approval for the stake acquisition and bank evidence of the funds transfer.
Where an organisation from abroad supplies the capital, its duly authorised representative may obtain a Vietnam golden visa. That representative's immigration file documents the appointment, the link to the investing organisation and the value of its participation.
Buying a flat, a house or commercial premises gives no independent entitlement to DT1 to DT4. A residence permit becomes possible once the property forms part of a registered investment project in which the applicant holds officially recognised participant status. Even then officials count the registered corporate stake and disregard the price of the building or premises.
Admissibility of the intended activity is tested under the Law on Investment and applicable sector rules. The review covers market-access restrictions, caps on foreign ownership, prior-approval requirements, special licences and territorial bans.
General conditions for applicants
Each Vietnam golden visa filing presupposes lawful entry and established identity, and the applicant must comply with the rules of stay.
Crossing the border requires a current passport plus a visa or other entry permit. The passport must remain valid no less than 30 days beyond the expiry of the visa or TRC. Anyone seeking a TRC must already be lawfully inside Vietnam, and the address of the hotel, rented home or other permitted place of stay must be registered.
Actual conduct in Vietnam has to match the declared purpose of the visit. Local rules must be observed, falsified papers may not be used, and information given to officials must be accurate. Recent deportation or forcible removal can lead to refusal of entry, as can a restriction imposed for security or public order. A foreign national whose illness endangers public health is likewise denied admission.
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Assembling the file for the visa and the TRC
File contents depend on how the investor enters the business, on the DT category and on the procedural stage.
The applicant's own papers comprise the passport, a recent photograph and a request for the relevant immigration document. Attached are particulars of the foreign national's current legal status in Vietnam and proof of the registered place of stay. A loose-leaf visa takes a 4 × 6 cm photograph, while a TRC request requires two pictures in 2 × 3 format.
At its core the corporate file holds the enterprise registration certificate, project evidence or stake-purchase papers. Where the structure calls for them, the file adds the charter, the members' or shareholders' list, proof of the representative's authority and the inviting party's request. On its first filing with the immigration service, an organisation also supplies an attested copy of its founding document and a sample signature of its authorised signatory. Seal particulars are added where one is used.
Documents showing the value of the foreign national's own contribution establish entitlement to Vietnam residency by investment. They comprise project registration data and the corporate register, the participation agreement and, where needed, the competent authority's approval. Bank statements confirm that funds arrived through the account prescribed for the transaction. A representative additionally proves the appointment and the represented organisation's capital contribution. Should corporate data and payment records disagree, the immigration service may ask for explanations and further papers.
From investment to TRC: the investor's roadmap
The Vietnamese company handles every immigration filing, and the investor attends a consular post personally only for visa collection outside Vietnam. In all, the procedure comprises eight stages.
A new project begins with an application to the local Department of Finance, or to a special zone's administration for activity inside that zone. Incorporation follows approval. For a stake purchase, any required prior approval must be secured before the enterprise enters the candidate in its registration details.
The bank sets the payment route given the form of investment and the ownership structure. Money moves by non-cash transfer through an account designated for operations involving foreign capital. The payer and amount, together with the stated purpose, must match the registration documents or the share purchase agreement.
A bank statement confirms the credited funds, while the enterprise certifies the contribution and updates its ownership records. These records establish which of the four tiers (DT1–DT4) the Vietnam investment visa falls into.
The enterprise registers with the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security by lodging its incorporation papers together with seal particulars and a sample signature of its authorised representative. Thereafter the organisation can log in to the government's electronic portal.
Through the portal, the inviting party files a request stating the foreign national's passport details, the purpose and dates of the journey and the chosen consular post. The Immigration Department's ruling follows within 5 business days, with notice sent to the enterprise and to the diplomatic mission.
Once entry is cleared, the applicant receives the decision number from the company. At the designated consular post, the applicant produces the passport and the completed form, plus a photograph and fee receipt. Consular staff issue the visa within 3 business days after Vietnam replies. An investor already lawfully present and entitled to switch the purpose of stay need not leave, since the local organisation applies to the immigration service for the new permit.
When the investor arrives, the hotel administration, the landlord or the accommodation manager receives the passport particulars. Within 12 hours the host must report the address to the local police. In remote areas the deadline is 24 hours.
After visa issuance, the inviting organisation lodges the form and passport together with photographs and investment evidence with the central immigration authority or one of its regional units. A decision is due within 5 business days of a complete filing. An authorised company representative collects the card, or the applicant receives it by the chosen method. No such card exists for DT4.
Family reunification is available under DT1–DT3. A spouse and any child under 18 qualify for TT status, which denotes a family visit. For relatives abroad, the company first applies for entry clearance, after which they apply at a consular post. Once the principal applicant holds a TRC, the inviting organisation may seek an equivalent card for the spouse and minor children.
The IFC ten-year regime
The IFC preferences reach only a narrow circle of foreign nationals, namely those linked to Centre participants located in Da Nang or HCMC.
Who qualifies
This route stands outside the DT framework. UD1 covers significant holders of capital, experts, managers and highly qualified specialists. Its symbol abbreviates the Vietnamese ưu đãi, meaning "preference". Employment with an organisation registered at the IFC is a precondition.
Investors must satisfy the strategic investor criteria laid down by the IFC's executive body, while the other three groups are assessed under labour regulations. The permit term depends on passport validity, the employment and the continuation of the preferential ground.
Recommendations originate with that executive body, and a foreign national cannot obtain the preference unaided. Once the immigration service receives the complete application set, it issues a decision within 3 business days at most.
No fixed contribution entitles anyone to UD1 automatically. The mechanism therefore cannot count as a Vietnam golden visa granted against a set investment amount.
UD2 for relatives
A UD1 holder's spouse and minor children receive UD2. UD2 visas carry a maximum validity of 5 years and UD2 cards one of 10, though a derivative permit may not outlast the principal applicant's document.
Five-year visa exemption card
Visits become simpler with a special visa exemption card, although the card cannot replace a residence permit. As an alternative to a Vietnam golden visa, this card targets foreign nationals of particular interest to the country, including major investors. Capital holders and top executives need a link to a group or enterprise among the 100 largest companies in the world by market capitalisation. The application rests on a request from a ministry, another competent state agency or an authorised organisation.
Validity reaches 5 years at most, with unlimited trips. Each arrival permits a stay of 90 days at most, or only the remaining validity if the card lapses sooner.
Permanent residence and citizenship
Vietnam residency by investment confers no right to PR. Certain IFC participants may obtain PR by way of exception after working without interruption for 3 years, provided the competent body has put their names forward.
Vietnam runs no citizenship-by-investment scheme. A passport follows neither from the size of a stake nor from DT status, nor even from a permanent card. Entrepreneurs may seek citizenship through the separate naturalisation procedure, with relaxed conditions if the responsible ministry certifies that their long-standing activity serves the State. Even then no fixed payment is involved, and the President rules only after vetting the applicant.
Conclusion
Legal support throughout the Vietnam golden visa process extends to selecting the right residence permit category, testing the applicant against each requirement and assembling evidence of the investment basis. Our company's specialists coordinate the steps taken by the host party, the bank and the immigration authorities, which lowers the risk of delay or refusal.
