Long Term Visa For Vietnam

[totlanh]

Hi,

Myself and my Wife(whi is Vietnamee)and daughter will be going to live in Hoi An for an initial period of a year in Jan 2008.I say initial as the plan is to re-locate there however i have to secure employment before we would entertain that fact.Now i have been lead to believe i could get the 90 day visa as my the Husband of an oversea Vietnamee does anyone know if this is correct?My Wife still has her passport and will obviously be using this to travel.Also,is it easy for me to obtain a Business visa once in Vietnam irrespective of whether or not i actually have employment?If not whay kind of visa could i hope to get?Any help with this would be greatly appreciated

Cam On

[stevenjm]

Hi,

Myself and my Wife(whi is Vietnamee)and daughter will be going to live in Hoi An for an initial period of a year in Jan 2008.I say initial as the plan is to re-locate there however i have to secure employment before we would entertain that fact.Now i have been lead to believe i could get the 90 day visa as my the Husband of an oversea Vietnamee does anyone know if this is correct?My Wife still has her passport and will obviously be using this to travel.Also,is it easy for me to obtain a Business visa once in Vietnam irrespective of whether or not i actually have employment?If not whay kind of visa could i hope to get?Any help with this would be greatly appreciated

Cam On

yes, the biz visas are relatively easy for Vietnam even if unemployed but obviously you don't state "unemployed" on your application. Something like "teacher" would be much better. Much like Cambodia you can keep renewing them.

I can't remember the cost or details because I have just been using tourist visas for the past couple of years.

[technocracy]

Biz visa for Vietnam just requires a letter of sponsorship from 'a company' in Vietnam turn up at the embassy with around $120 and same day you can have a 12 month visa!

Nice and simple!

[totlanh]

Hi,

I have just contacted the Vietnam embassy in London as i wanted to add my daughter onto her mothers Vietnam passport.They said they wont do it as she now holds a British passport and of course is not allowed dual nationality.So,should i get a business visa will she be covered by this or can i include her??

[technocracy]

Hi,

I have just contacted the Vietnam embassy in London as i wanted to add my daughter onto her mothers Vietnam passport.They said they wont do it as she now holds a British passport and of course is not allowed dual nationality.So,should i get a business visa will she be covered by this or can i include her??

Hmm the business visa is primarily for you not sure how your daughter could be added.

I thought the way of the world with the Communist countries was that they don't recognise dual nationality rather than cannot have it - so if in Vietnam she would be treated as Vietnamese she could not get any assistance as a UK citizen. I think it would be easier to get her a Viet passport in Vietnam rather that UK . . . see the right person a bit of tea money, a nod and wink and hey presto one passport or added to mums! Alternatively in Vietnam just apply to the Passport office with Viet Birth cert (you have?) and blag it!

That's how I would approach it in Lao anyhow!

[totlanh]

Hi,

I have just contacted the Vietnam embassy in London as i wanted to add my daughter onto her mothers Vietnam passport.They said they wont do it as she now holds a British passport and of course is not allowed dual nationality.So,should i get a business visa will she be covered by this or can i include her??

Hmm the business visa is primarily for you not sure how your daughter could be added.

I thought the way of the world with the Communist countries was that they don't recognise dual nationality rather than cannot have it - so if in Vietnam she would be treated as Vietnamese she could not get any assistance as a UK citizen. I think it would be easier to get her a Viet passport in Vietnam rather that UK . . . see the right person a bit of tea money, a nod and wink and hey presto one passport or added to mums! Alternatively in Vietnam just apply to the Passport office with Viet Birth cert (you have?) and blag it!

That's how I would approach it in Lao anyhow!

Thanks Techno,

The other thing is that she and i wil both wualify fot the new 3 month visa exemption form.Do you know anything of this ie can it be extended?But as you say i reckon we could get her a new passport in Nam.Cheers pal!

[technocracy]

Thanks Techno,

The other thing is that she and i wil both wualify fot the new 3 month visa exemption form.Do you know anything of this ie can it be extended?But as you say i reckon we could get her a new passport in Nam.Cheers pal!

Don't know anything about this new 3 month exemption thingy, I just know about the Business one as I supposed to be going there last month to do some work but in the end didn't (it's a long story!).

[totlanh]

Well i got the visa exemption certificate and it looks like it will serve my purposes.Basically its a multiple entry visa valid for 5 years with the stipulation that no more than 90 days are allowed per trip however one just needs to nip over to Laos for a day and come back and get another 90 days so thus its really a 5 year multiple entry visa by default!!

[PattayaParent]

Well i got the visa exemption certificate and it looks like it will serve my purposes.Basically its a multiple entry visa valid for 5 years with the stipulation that no more than 90 days are allowed per trip however one just needs to nip over to Laos for a day and come back and get another 90 days so thus its really a 5 year multiple entry visa by default!!

How long did it take you to receive your Visa Exemption Certificate?

I applied for mine in Bangkok expecting it to take 2 weeks (as it says in the announcement of the Certificate) onlyu to be later told by the VN Embassy that it takes a long time for Farangs to receive as it was designed for Viet Kieuw (sp).

They told me of one American guy that has been waiting for more than 1 month.

[totlanh]

Well i got the visa exemption certificate and it looks like it will serve my purposes.Basically its a multiple entry visa valid for 5 years with the stipulation that no more than 90 days are allowed per trip however one just needs to nip over to Laos for a day and come back and get another 90 days so thus its really a 5 year multiple entry visa by default!!

How long did it take you to receive your Visa Exemption Certificate?

I applied for mine in Bangkok expecting it to take 2 weeks (as it says in the announcement of the Certificate) onlyu to be later told by the VN Embassy that it takes a long time for Farangs to receive as it was designed for Viet Kieuw (sp).

They told me of one American guy that has been waiting for more than 1 month.

I guess they must have got their act together in London as i got mine 10 days after the initial application!

[PattayaParent]

So when I get back from Ha Noi next week I'll see about sending my application to London instead, and try visiting MOFA in Ha Noi while I'm there as well.

[SoCal]

Totlanh,

Hate to break it to you, and certainly encourage you to do your due dilligence in checking it out, but your child is Vietkieu not Vietnamese. Believe this is what the embassy in London was indirectly telling you.

A friend of mine proudly declared his daughter American on the birth certificate. She was born in Vietnam to a Vietnamese mother, and had all the rights of an American in Vietnam. She needed visas, couldn't attend public school, no access to Vietnamese health care, could not own land, etc.

He fought this for nearly four years. He is retired, and likes to show his knowledge of the local law. Finally he gave up, and went to the hospital where she was born, paid a little money, and had her birth certificate re-issued as a Vietnamese citizen. She now has both passports.

My daughter is 4mo old, and has a Vietnamese & American passport. The important point is that she was a Vietnamese citizen first. Vietnam doesn't seem to have a particular problem on this, as it is fairly transparent to immigration. If however, you want to claim Vietnamese citizenship once you are a citzen of another country, then believe you have to relinquish that citizenship first. My friend found his way around this, but don't see how that will work for you.

As far as visas, they are easy. Just get a tourist. Once you get in you can change to business. You just give your passport to a travel agent, and ask them to do. You can get a 6mo or 12 mo multi-entry easy. You can do the same for your daughter. No need to do border runs in Vietnam, at least not yet. Once you get over here you can also apply for temporary residency. They will want to see your work permit, but you have already satisfied the requirements in being married to a national.

Good luck, and welcome to Vietnamese bureaucracy.

[totlanh]

Totlanh,

Hate to break it to you, and certainly encourage you to do your due dilligence in checking it out, but your child is Vietkieu not Vietnamese. Believe this is what the embassy in London was indirectly telling you.

A friend of mine proudly declared his daughter American on the birth certificate. She was born in Vietnam to a Vietnamese mother, and had all the rights of an American in Vietnam. She needed visas, couldn't attend public school, no access to Vietnamese health care, could not own land, etc.

He fought this for nearly four years. He is retired, and likes to show his knowledge of the local law. Finally he gave up, and went to the hospital where she was born, paid a little money, and had her birth certificate re-issued as a Vietnamese citizen. She now has both passports.

My daughter is 4mo old, and has a Vietnamese & American passport. The important point is that she was a Vietnamese citizen first. Vietnam doesn't seem to have a particular problem on this, as it is fairly transparent to immigration. If however, you want to claim Vietnamese citizenship once you are a citzen of another country, then believe you have to relinquish that citizenship first. My friend found his way around this, but don't see how that will work for you.

As far as visas, they are easy. Just get a tourist. Once you get in you can change to business. You just give your passport to a travel agent, and ask them to do. You can get a 6mo or 12 mo multi-entry easy. You can do the same for your daughter. No need to do border runs in Vietnam, at least not yet. Once you get over here you can also apply for temporary residency. They will want to see your work permit, but you have already satisfied the requirements in being married to a national.

Good luck, and welcome to Vietnamese bureaucracy.

Hi Socal,

Thanks for your informative post.I think you are right in regards to my daughter.I was stupid to be honest as she was initially on her mothers passport and had her British passport as well but when her mothers passport expired we did,nt include her in the new passport,stupid i know.Anyhow myself and daughter have now got the visa exemption certificates and basically this allows you to enter multiple times as long as each visit is no longer than 90 days however the visa is good for 5 years so you can nip over the border for a day and come back in.

I am interested in what you say about work permits.Are you saying because my wife is Vietnamese i qualify for one because of this?I hope so because if not am i right when i say you must have a degree in order to obtain one?

[SoCal]

Totlanh,

Being married to a national allows you to apply for temporary residency once you are over here. This is good for 3yrs, and you do not need a visa. Unsure if you could do the same for your daughter, but do not see why not. I haven't done it because it is too easy to just get a visa from a travel agent. I pay $60/6mo. This does no exclude the need for a work permit.

You say your daughter was in your wife's passport before? Where was she born? I would think her being in the wife's passport means she was a citizen, at least at one point. Maybe you can use this in some way to get her status re-instated. If she were born in Vietnam, then should be possible to get her citizenship back. They are funny in that they don't seem to mind dual citizenship, but want Vietnamese to come first.

Work permits are really a pain in the arse. I know many who do not have, but work, and that doesn't seem to be too big an issue. The reason why it is a pain is that you must "authenticate" your foreign documents. ie- original document chopped, notarized, authenticated (in US- State Department), translated to Vietnamese, and approved/authenticated by your foreign Vietnamese embassy. Quite a process, especially as you must do for each document (criminal history, education, work history). The process is the same even if you reside in Vietnam, which only makes it all the harder. If you are the director of a foreign company, then you get it outright without all the hassle. No need for university degree, I don't even think for teaching.

Vietnamese bureaucracy is horendous. I went to immigration once, and vowed never to return. Crowded, pushing, shoving, yelling. That said, there are usually ways around subjecting yourself to these things. By and large, being a foreigner in Vietnam is a good thing. Government officials, police, immigration, etc really don't want anything to do with you. A vietnamese guy walking through immigration with 3 cartons of smokes they will stop, but a foreignor with 30 cartons they won't even bat an eye. This has a lot to do with Vietnam's wanting foreign investment, tourism, etc.

Good Luck and welcome to Vietnam.

[PattayaParent]

My kidwbas born outside of VN and we made sure to get the VN birth certificate and passport before appling for the UK one.

Took 1 day to get the passport (and 1 hour to correct the place of birth that they wrongly put in it), much quicker than getting the UK passport as it was the UK Embassy that wanted all the documents (marriage certificate, birth certificate) certified by the foreign offices of the issuing countries.

I was of the inderstanding though that VN does not recognise dual nationality at all so we always travel and get visas using the VN passport.

Edited November 21, 2007 by PattayaParent

[SoCal]

PP,

Almost everyone (foreigner with Vietnamese spouse) I know here in Vietnam who has kids, has pasports for both countries, and the kids travel on both.

Like I said, immigration does not seem to have a problem with this.

Your wife for instance could get a UK passport, and still keep her Vietnamese. Many of my friend's wives in the US have Vietnamese & US passports, and they travel on both, and present both when entering Vietnam, and they have not had a problem either.

The only problem I have seen is getting Vietnamese citizenship once you have citizenship with another country. Then you must renounce the other citizenship.

Technically you are right, but in practice it seems more about semantics.

[PattayaParent]

I just didn't want to take any chances SoCal, you know what they can be like, and as the company applies and pays for all the visas it's no problem for me.

We always use the British passport when entering UK though.

[PattayaParent]

Wouldn't ya know it.

This morning the missus gets a call from the VN Embassy in Bangkok to tell her my Visa Exemption Certificate is ready, 1 day before our departure and 2 days after having forked out 5,500 baht to get a tourist visa!