Vietnam new immigration laws became effective Jan Ist or did they?!

[leggo]

Last year the Vietnamese government proposed new rules for immigration that were supposed to take effect on Jan 1st 2015.

The main points were

You cannot now change visa status in the country - whereas before if you entered on a business visa you could then apply for a work permit. Not so now according to the new laws and the website of the Vitenamese embassy in London - yes you can say a lot of the visa specialists in Hanoi!

You can't extend a tourist visa anymore you have to leave the country - not so according to the specialists

and so on.

Basically the situation is so complicated to get a work permit no one bothers but that is not really very satisfactory. Now you can be refused exit if you cannot prove you have paid taxes on your earnings and you are taxed if you have spent more than 180 days in the country ( not good for lonstayers!)

No one even the big global accountants who have offices there is capable of actually spelling out the facts, even the government there, having issued the decree that the new laws come into effects has yet to supply the details!