There is no Thailand style retirement visa in Vietnam, at this stage, and similar to Thailand, they do not offer a pathway to PR / citizenship. As a single person, the best I can get is a 3 month tourist visa, but you can do back to back visa runs, so you can basically live in Vietnam on tourist visas, as a couple of my friends do. I have set out my plan for border runs in another post. Border runs are no problem for me. A lot of the expats I met on my trips to various places in Vietnam are married to Vietnamese Nationals, so they get a 5 year multi-entry visa. No other requirements. Some of these "marriages" are, shall we say, questionable. They are known as "visa wives." I'm sure you get where I'm coming from. There are no requirements to have any money in a Vietnam bank, nor insurance etc etc. On a trip to Danang, some time ago, I opened a bank account on a tourist visa, no problem. Got a prepaid sim card as well, which I keep on roaming and active. For those members who have never been to Vietnam, a local beer in a decent air conditioned sports bar is around 45 baht. Yes, 45 baht, no typo. 🙂 Cheaper in mom and pop style local bars. For those thinking that Vietnam must be like Cambodia with prices like that, Google "My Khe Beach Danang." 🙂 So, Thailand can make it as hard for foreigners as it likes. I really couldn't care less. I have my Plan B. For those wondering why I am not already living in Vietnam, well, there's one Pattaya in the world, and whilst I would miss living here, given that I do not intend to commit and crimes, or overstay my visa and get black listed, I would be a regular visitor to Pattaya, incorporating the visit into a visa run.
